BUH-BYE, BMI?

 A new tool called body adiposity index (BAI) may soon replace body mass index (BMI) as the standard measure of body size.  A study in Obesity found BAI, which is calculated using height and hip circumference, to be significantly more precise than BMI, which is based on height and weight.  "BMI doesn't distinguish wether a large body size is due to muscle mass or obesity," says study author AnneE Sumner, MD


This was taken from Women's Health Magazine

Very Interesting!

That is very interesting.  BMI is a good guide, but I feel it's too general.  I have a very large frame and am only 5' 4-1/2", so the BMI charts say I should be around 122 lbs.  However, when I got down to 148 for a nano second back in college, I had bones sticking out everywhere.  At 122 I would look anorexic.  Hopefully this new scale is more specific to body type.

I agree...  I have a very large frame and I lift a decent amount of weight...  I am 5'9 and there is NO WAY 150-155 is appropriate for me...   hard to tell exactly because I have ALOT of extra skin...  But I think 170 -175 will be more like it.   Need to get body fat done when I reach that and then decide.  Interesting topic, thanks for sharing it!    Amy

How does this help apple shaped people- some women and most overweight men?!  With all of the research on ab fat, this new tool seems useless. The apple shaped people will be healthier than the pear shaped, which goes against much research, especially the research on diabetes.

There is a man in my office with a rock hard abdomen that sticks out so far, that I was surprised that he was able to drive his truck.  He is at least 70 inches (I was 58 sitting next to him), but his hips were smaller than mine. He is drowningin co-morbidities.   

There has been research that said that the waist (measured at belly button level) should be half of height. 

This just does not seem better than BMI.