For decades, the body mass index (BMI) has been used by physicians as a quick and simple way to assess whether a patient’s weight presents a health risk for this purpose, with calculations based on height and weight. However, despite its convenience, BMI has faced increasing criticism, and recent research suggests that the body roundness index (BRI), might be a better gauge of the health risks associated with obesity.
BMI has always been a very crude measure to characterize disease risks. For example, BMI incorrectly classifies individuals with significant muscle mass, like bodybuilders, as obese, as it doesn’t distinguish between fat and muscle mass. It also provides no information about fat distribution in the body — whether it’s concentrated in the hips or the abdomen, for example. This means that a person with a normal BMI could already have prediabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, which might go undetected if no further investigations are conducted, based solely on their BMI.
According to experts, BRI may more accurately identify people with high levels of visceral fat than BMI: it’s well documented that abdominal fat is strongly linked to higher risks for obesity-related diseases. As its name suggests, this index seeks to capture a person’s ‘roundness’. The formula for calculating BRI includes waist circumference and height but excludes body weight.
However, opinions differ on whether the BRI should replace the BMI. While some are optimistic about the BRI’s future, others point out that since an entire medical system has been built around the BMI, this cannot be changed overnight.
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