Bye bye, BMI?

I’ve written previously about the Body Mass Index, or BMI, a measurement system healthcare providers use to assess risk for health conditions linked to excess weight. An inherently flawed system, the index measures the ratio of an individual’s height and weight to estimate body fat levels. This means a bodybuilder with high levels of skeletal muscle and low body fat could have a BMI in the overweight or obese category.

In 2023, the American Medical Association warned doctors that BMI has a “problematic history” (it was created with data exclusively from white populations) and is “an imperfect way to measure body fat.” So why is the BMI still widely used by physicians? Software used by doctor’s offices automatically calculates and integrates a patient’s BMI into their chart, it’s presented as objective data (25-29.9 is overweight, over 30 is obese), and there’s been nothing to replace it with…until now.

The Body Roundness Index, or BRI, focuses on a body’s shape instead of size. It combines height with waist and hip circumference to predict how much fat an individual has and where it’s located. A 2013 study found that BRI is more accurate in predicting body fat percentages and levels of visceral fat—the adipose tissue surrounding internal organs. Excess visceral fat is linked to several conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

By heeding the medical association’s advice, doctors can increase accuracy in assessing a patient's body fat and associated health risks.

Want to learn your BRI? Using a tape measure, measure your waist circumference (this is the narrowest part of your torso and is typically located at or just above your navel). Then, measure your hips (where your hips and butt muscles are widest). Plug those numbers into the BRI calculator to learn your body fat percentage and risk category.
https://app.webfce.com/PublicBRICalculator.aspx