Researchers in Italy compared the tool to scans which provide an analysis of fat, muscle and bone in the body
The Body Mass Index (BMI) system may be misdiagnosing people as overweight or obese, according to a study.
Researchers in Italy compared the tool – which measures body fat based on height and weight – to scans providing an analysis of fat, muscle, and bone.
The study, published in the journal Nutrients, involved 1,351 adults referred to the University of Verona’s Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences.
This doesn’t account for cardiovascular markers. Having a low body fat and high weight eg 170cm 120kg bodybuilder isn’t healthy; blood pressure and bloodwork would show that.
Defining healthy weight is a complex problem that we have no clear answer for. BMI is a reasonably broad tool to start with. It is a starting point, not a rule. In today’s culture of an obesity epidemic and obesity acceptance, it’s easy to get sidetracked and use this data as an excuse.
My BMI is 26 and I should be happy with that because I work out about 9h a week, maintain around 15-20% body fat and my VO2 is in the “excellent” range for the age group younger than me. But my blood pressure is knocking on pre-hypertension, so I’m going to drop a few kilos and see if it helps.
Big problem with BPnis it’s a symptom, and understanding the root cause is difficult, at best.
We’ve seen Olympic runners with high BP - clearly genetic.
I’ve been elevated since age 17. Clearly genetic, but docs have been saying the same “you need to change your diet” nonsense for multiple decades. Dude, it’s clearly genetic.
Yeah. It’s a myriad of causes - like the BMI conversation, biology is messy - and I think my BP is genetic but I’m a little fluffy anyways so why not drop 5kg and look good this summer.
My BP is “safe”, depending who you ask, but it’s concerning because my diet and lifestyle (short of becoming vegan) one would “expect” it to be at least 10% lower.