Joined
·
1,097 Posts
I just finished reading an article over at CNN.com, in the Health section, saying that most of the time, truely obese people (using the BMI calc) mis-classify themselves as being less than obese, and therefore are not paying enough attention to their weight and overall health.
The article went on to say that many physicians and researchers feel that BMI is of limited use because it does not take into account body composition, citing the fact that athletes and those who lift weights regularly might be on the upper end of overwieght for thier heights, but are in fact, very lean on fat.
So, why the heck are we sending mixed messages like this to a nation that is on the brink of a health crisis as it relates to weight and health? Why not drop the calculation altogether? Or at the least, seriously modify it? My understanding is that is quite an old calculation, designed before we knew what we know about the body now.
The article went on to say that many physicians and researchers feel that BMI is of limited use because it does not take into account body composition, citing the fact that athletes and those who lift weights regularly might be on the upper end of overwieght for thier heights, but are in fact, very lean on fat.
So, why the heck are we sending mixed messages like this to a nation that is on the brink of a health crisis as it relates to weight and health? Why not drop the calculation altogether? Or at the least, seriously modify it? My understanding is that is quite an old calculation, designed before we knew what we know about the body now.