Does BMI Matter?
The Gist: BMI isn’t that useful.
Video: Introduction to Why BMI Isn’t That Useful.
Really!?
BMI was invented in the early 1800s by a mathematician as a tool to talk about weight in the overall population - not individuals. It’s an arbitrary calculation comparing your weight and height that doesn’t capture relative proportions of fat, muscle, and bone.
Visual: representation that BMI isn’t for individuals but for talking about weight for a population.
What Now?!
So why do we still use BMI? It’s an easy benchmark - we’ve been using it, so it’s easy to keep using is… and it’s easy to calculate with equipment that it’s every doctor’s office. Don’t take BMI (or the number on the scale for that matter) too seriously. Worried about your risk of heart disease? Try calculating your waist-to-height ratio instead.
A Full Picture of Your Health
Weight is just one piece of your overall health.
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