on PinterestBMI measurements may drastically underestimate obesity rates among U.S. adults, new research suggests.
on PinterestBMI measurements may drastically underestimate obesity rates among U.S. adults, new research suggests. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images
- A growing body of evidence suggests that a waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) measurement is a better indicator of obesity and health than body mass index (BMI).
- New research suggests that BMI measurements may be significantly underestimating the number of U.S. adults with obesity, which can lead to other chronic diseases.
- Experts say obesity misdiagnoses may be preventing people from getting the treatments that they need.
New research suggests that body mass index (BMI) may be drastically underestimating the number of people in the United States with obesity.
Around a quarter of people considered to have a healthy BMI measurement may actually meet the standard of having obesity, which raises the risk of various chronic health conditions.
Researchers say that half of those classified as “overweight” based on their BMI should be reclassified as having obesity. The findings were published on June 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The authors said that measurements of abdominal fat may be better indicators of obesity. They noted that people who are misdiagnosed based on BMI may not be getting the medical intervention they need or qualify for pharmacologic or surgical treatments for obesity.
In addition, physicians may not flag these patients as needing lifestyle modifications that could improve their health.
“Many people assume that if their BMI says they are not obese, they don’t have to worry about the many health problems linked to obesity,” said Brian P. Lee, MD, a hepatologist and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine and principal investigator of the study, said in a statement.
“Our findings show that millions of Americans may already have obesity-related health impacts and may be missing needed health interventions.”
BMI may not accurately measure obesity
For their study, researchers from Keck Medicine at the 600 participants, with an average age of 49, who’d been tested for BMI and hip and waist circumferences, such as the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).
They concluded that 26% of people with a “normal” BMI and 50% of people with an “overweight” BMI actually qualified as having obesity.
“BMI is problematic because it does not specifically measure body fat and instead reflects total body weight, which includes muscle and bone,” Lee said in a statement.
“So, a muscular person can have a very high BMI but not have excess fat, while someone without much muscle can have a normal BMI but have excess fat causing health problems.”
David Cutler, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California, who wasn’t involved in the study, said that, based on BMI, some professional athletes might be classified as overweight or obese when, in reality, they are in peak shape.
“All you have to do is watch a football game to see that,” he told Healthline.
Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, said that while BMI alone isn’t the most accurate measure of obesity, there are reasons for its
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