The term BMI is all over health care. The abbreviation stands for body mass index, a simple number that has evolved into a ubiquitous medical tool for obesity screening. For example, a BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 indicates a “normal” weight status, according to the World Health Organization, while a BMI of 30 or higher signifies obesity, a condition that raises your likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, various cancers and other illnesses.
Even though BMI is useful to assess population-level trends, it isn’t an accurate measure of obesity at an individual level. It doesn’t measure body fat directly and can’t distinguish between fat, muscle and bone. Relying on BMI to diagnose obesity is like diagnosing diabetes on the basis of weight instead of testing someone’s blood sugar level. Someone who weighs more may be more likely to have higher blood sugar, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect measuring their blood sugar.
On the other end of the spectrum, people of Asian descent tend to have more body fat than white people at the same BMI, so their risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases are more likely to be overlooked.
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