Why you should not use BMI as a health metric

if you are like me, as someone who has a lot of muscle, you may end up with a BMI reading as overweight or obese, even though you are not.

When it comes to measuring your health and tracking your results, there are a variety of tools available. Unfortunately, Body mass index, or BMI, is one of them, and many Doctor’s still compare your weight to your height to determine whether you are within a healthy weight range (insert eye roll)

In order to calculate BMI, you divide your weight (in kilograms) by your height (in meters). Then, divide this answer by your height again. The result is used to categorise you as either underweight, healthy weight, overweight, obese or severely obese. Often times, health professionals will use BMI to assess whether you are at risk for chronic disease.

The five categorisations of BMI include the below:
< 18.5 = underweight
18.5 – 24.9 = normal weight
25 – 29.9 = overweight
30 – 35 = obese
> 35 = severely obese

Please do not use BMI as a measurement tool. BMI does not consider your age, gender or body composition, meaning it doesn’t differentiate between muscle and fat.

Additionally, it doesn’t measure where the fat predominantly sits on your body. Fat around your abdominal cavity (your waist) is called visceral fat and is more dangerous than other areas as it surrounds your internal organs. High levels of visceral fat can lead to a number of health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.

Depending on what you are looking to measure, BMI may or may not be the right tool for you, or, may be a measurement you use in combination with another. It’s important to remember that every body is different and that your weight can be affected by several other contributing factors.

References:
https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/bmi#bmi-ranges