What are the problems with BMI measurement?
Body mass index (BMI) is a ‘good’ assessment of ideal body weight, partly due to the simplicity of calculation.
BMI = your weight (in kg) divided by the square of your height (in cm) = weight/height2.
But there are problems with its measurement as well.
Athletes or individuals with high muscle mass can have a high BMI despite having a low body fat percentage, leading to misclassification as overweight.
BMI doesn’t tell you where fat is stored on the body, which is important as abdominal fat is considered more dangerous than fat in other areas.
Different ethnicities may have different healthy BMI ranges, which BMI doesn’t take into account.
While BMI can be a starting point, it should not be used alone to assess health as it doesn’t consider other important factors like waist circumference or fitness level.
