New study suggests replacing BMI with body curvature index to measure obesity

A recently published study suggests that a body “roundness” index may be a better measure of health than body mass index (BMI).

The article, titled “Body curvature index and all-cause mortality among US adults,” was published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). It promotes the use of the body roundness index (BRI), created in 2013.

BMI, which has been the standard measure of obesity since the 1980s, is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height in feet. It was first developed by the Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet in the 19th century.

On the BMI scale, anything below 18.5 is considered underweight. A BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight, and a BMI above 30 is considered obese.

SLEEPING TREND ON VIRAL HOSTAGE TAPE GAINS STEAM AS DOCTORS WARN OF POTENTIAL DANGERS

A new study advocates using the body curvature index (BRI) instead of the body mass index (BMI). (iStock)

Although BMI is the standard way to measure obesity, it still has drawbacks. For example, because muscle adds weight, a healthy, muscular person who weighs a certain weight could be considered overweight or obese using BMI.

The BIS, on the other hand, is calculated using height and weight circumference, instead of just height and weight. BIS scores are also determined using a more complicated mathematical equation.

“In addition to weight and height, the BIS also takes into account waist circumference and can therefore more comprehensively reflect the distribution of visceral fat,” the study explains.

According to the study, the BIS was found to be a more effective way to measure mortality in a group of patients.

MORE AMERICANS SMOKE MARIJUANA DAILY THAN DRINK ALCOHOL, STUDY SAYS

BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height in feet. (iStock)

“The BIS was found to be superior to other anthropometric indicators in estimating risk for various clinical parameters, including cardiometabolic diseases, kidney diseases and cancer,” the study states.

The researchers also said their results suggest that the BIS “may hold promise as a new anthropometric measure associated with all-cause mortality.”

“Our results provide compelling evidence for the application of BIS as a non-invasive and easily obtainable screening tool for mortality risk estimation and identification of high-risk individuals, a novel concept that could be incorporated into public health practice pending consistent validation in other independent studies,” the article concludes.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has already taken on BMI. Last year, a WADA report called the use of the BMI “flawed” and “problematic,” and claimed it had been used for “racist exclusion.”

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

BRI uses height and weight circumference, instead of just height and weight. (iStock)

“BMI thresholds are based on the ideal imagined for white people and [do] does not take into account a person's gender or ethnicity,” reads a report presented at the 2023 AMA Annual Meeting.

Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel criticized the allegations, calling them “politics, not medicine.”

“I didn't think the AMA was going to get involved in cancel culture, but now they're canceling body mass index, which I'm considering to at least go in the obesity direction” , Siegel said. .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The recent study claims that the BIS was a more effective way to assess the health of a population. (iStock)

“It’s not racist, it’s called good medicine.”

Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.