Unhealthy fixation on BMI
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I’m so disturbed by the obsession with BMI and its continued use is due to the fact it’s a simplistic and easily calculated measuring tool.
BMI was a measured developed in the 1800s by a mathematician for population wide purposes based on white European bodies. https://amp.abc.net.au/article/10072841 A measure like the waist circumference calculator is a far better indicator of risk to health the level of internal fat deposit coating key internal organs. https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/waist-measurement |
Anonymous
|
Okay….
Is it perfect? No. But it’s a quick easy way for practitioners to have a starting point/guide. |
Anonymous
That's so wrong though. About ten years ago I went to my usually PCP and he shamed me for being 4 lbs over BMI. My blood work had always been perfect, and I was maybe 1 lb under at the previous visit. That's literally a pms gain/loss: nothing. I never went back. I think even just looking at a patient and asking about habits is better than BMI. |
Anonymous
| Well you had a crappy PCP. Glad you left that practice. |
Anonymous
I did, but I don't think he is a rare case in medicine. People like him do a lot of harm. |
Anonymous
| I keep reading this as unhealthy fixation on BMs. |
Anonymous
| So BMI isn't a perfect proxy for health. So what? It's a tool. Presumably doctors know how to use it and won't tell a body builder that they are fat and need to lose weight. |
Anonymous
What on earth do you mean "4lbs over BMI." That makes no sense. |
Anonymous
You have more confidence in doctors than I do. There are plenty of doctors who dogmatically stick to established guidelines. My doctor told me I should think about statins due to my high cholesterol levels. I requested a coronary artery scan and advanced lipid panel and, based on the results, he told me to forget about the statins. |
Anonymous
|
People don't like BMI because they don't like the answer the formula gives. Everyone is the exception for whom it does not apply, even though in 99% of the cases it is a very useful tool.
In a hypothetical world, we could switch to metrics that are more instructive, yet hard to measure, and make those easier to measure. People would still not like the answer. Examples: 1) percentage body fat, or even more narrowly 2) visceral body fat. That's what this all boils down to. |
Anonymous
|
Most Americans are way too fat. If their bmi is 26 or 30, they are too fat.
If you can run a 10k in 40 minutes and work out every day, and still have a high bmi, you’re probably fine. Otherwise you’re probably fat. |
Anonymous
Agree. If you are a woman with a BMI over the heathy range, then yes you are overweight. There is no way you are not unless you are a high level strength athlete- in which case that would be obvious on examination |
Anonymous
Over normal bmi |
Anonymous
So you were a couple of inches too short of BMI? |
Anonymous
|
Surprising. Mortality risk following surgery.
“3,245 (1.7%) out of the 189,533 individuals included in the examination died within 30 days following surgery. The team reported that the percentage of deaths (2.8%) among individuals whose BMI was lower than 23.1 was more than two times that of the percentage of deaths (1%) among individuals whose BMI was 35.3 or higher. Furthermore, they found that statistically there was a considerable increased risk (40%) of death among individuals who had a BMI of less than 23.1, compared to those with a BMI of between 26.3 and 29.6. “These results indicate that BMI is significant predictor of mortality within 30 days of surgery, even after adjusting for the contribution to mortality risk made by type of surgery and for a specific patient’s overall expected risk of death.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238142#3 |