BMI Gone Bye Bye?

As I read through my favorite health blogs, I noticed that there’s more discussion of how “off” or incorrect using BMI can be. Body Mass Index is supposed to be the gold standard of figuring out if you are overweight or obese. I read a post today by a physician and she mentioned that BMI can be very off for African American and Asian women, whose body mass index doesn’t fall in the typical range.

Do you use BMI to gauge whether you think you’re overweight or not? What do you think about it?

Hi Jeanne,

BMI is one tool I use. Another is to measure my waist. This article “BMI Calculation” explains the importance of doing both.

Donna

It had been awhile since I’d taken my BMI, but I did it again this week. Oh boy, it sure was an eye opener. It’s had me blogging about it all week, but what’s more important is that it got me back on track once again. When I saw that my risk factors were dangerously close to high and at the high end of moderately high, I didn’t need another slap in the face to bring me back to reality. When I eat for health my weight and inches come off, but when I concentrate on weight and inches I tend to end up eating more! Wonder why that is?

Donna