"BMI IS NOT A MEDICAL MEASUREMENT"

This is a real story. I worked as a nurse in the medical field before I studied Journalism and worked in Hollywood. BMI was created by a non-medical mathematician trying to solve an easy format for weight and height of human beings. However, his formula is seriously flawed due to the fact it was 1832 and he only used average men of that time. Enjoy the story. I have added a little inspiration to an otherwise very dull story.

BMI stands for body mass index. It is a formula that uses a person's height and weight ratio to assess whether they are underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.

Why would the medical profession bring back the measurement BMI system to modern progressive times?

The first thing to know about the BMI is that it was created by a Belgian mathematician who was not a doctor or health practitioner.

In the 1830s, a Lmbert Adolphe Jcques Quetelet set out not to devise a test to quickly diagnose obesity, which was still years away from being widely perceived as a problem, but to find the "l'homme moyen" or "average man".

His thinking was that you could take thousands of measurements, compare them, and find the ideal weight. Upon calculating these samples, he found that weight typically increases in relation to the square height of a person.

However, there were big limitations to Quetelet's experiment. All of the participants were western European men. The experiment had nothing to do with measuring individual health.

It was not until the 1970s when American physiologist and dietician, Ancel Keys and a group of his colleagues promoted Quetelet's index as the best way to quickly screen for obesity that it became what we know today as BMI.

But like Quetelet, the Keys studies did not account for all body types. It only measured 7,426 healthy men from 12 sample groups. They included American students and professionals, Italian railway workers, men from east and west Finland, Japanese farmers and fishermen, and Bantu men from South Africa. The study was not a representative sample of all Bantu men.

When the test was devised in the 1800s it only considered white European bodies. In the centuries since, research has revealed that a healthy weight is different for certain ethnicities such as Polynesians are healthier at a higher weight range, while people of Asian descent are healthier at a lower BMI.

Similar conditions exist for women and elderly people, who carry weight differently throughout their lifetimes. For people over 65 a higher BMI is often linked to better health because it might mean one is well nourished according to Doctor Crowe. The extra padding also provides some protection against broken bones, which can lead to fatalities for the elderly.

There are also people who are healthy while clinically overweight, just as some people who fall into the healthy range have metabolic issues. This fact is at the heart of the growing new health movement that promotes the acceptance of all bodies and rejects concepts like the BMI that ascribes healthy and unhealthy status without considering an individual's actual wellbeing.

BMI takes someone who is overweight that felt like their health was fine who lived an experience as their body was non-problematic, except for other people's attitudes. They walk, talk, swim, whatever they want to do. BMI tells that person, "No, you will never have health while you are like you are", quoted by Fiona Willer, a dietician who advises health practitioners on weight-neutral approaches to overweight treatment.

"If we can stop labelling people as unhealthy immediately on the basis of their BMI, that will do a lot for helping those people to improve their wellbeing."

For some people, a BMI label beyond what is considered healthy will lead to feelings of shame, which result in worse health outcomes if they avoid seeking treatment in the future. Alternatively, an over-reliance on the BMI as a diagnosis by health professionals can mean other issues go untreated.

There have been countless times overweight people have gone to a Doctor's appointment with a simple viral infection, and they leave the doctor feeling ashamed or frustrated because the doctor chose to only focus on their BMI or weight.

The obsession with BMI makes one feel like they are not worthy of care. We should move towards a space when all bodies get equal access to healthcare that does not focus on weight or size.

I have heard arguments to the affect that one can change their genetics to be skinny even though their family tendency is to gain weight easily.

That is another thought. So, one would have to have no muscle weight, no bone weight, eat one meal a day or less to be like the skinny model on the front of Vogue.

We live in a society where it is okay to shame fat people who are overweight regardless of height or bone structure or muscle tone. However, this is extremely targeted towards women.

I remember as a young girl growing up, I wanted to look like all those skinny models, dye my hair blonde and wear two-piece bikini bathing suits. So, I poured a bottle of hydrogen peroxide on my long black curly hair and dieted to the extent of one meal a day. I weighed 100 pounds at 14. I assumed I was fat because I developed at an early age. All that happened was my hair turned a bright orange and I was anemic from eating one salad all day.

I attended nursing school at age 19. My professor was very adamant about BMI, by teaching BMI was an archaic measurement for weight that was created in 1832. She told us that medicine changed from 1832 and that in the late 60s the medical profession learned to consider bone structure and family genetics. That made practical sense to me. I thought, "So glad we don't live in 1832 times."

Then when BMI measurement was brought back to how we measure a human being's weight, I was appalled.

Some of the issues related to BMI measurement are:

1. It may reinforce weight stigma and discrimination, which are forms of bigotry that target people based on their body size or shape. Weight stigma and discrimination can have negative affects on one's mental and physical health such as low self esteem, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and a reduced quality of life. Weight stigma and discrimination can also affect one's access to health care, education, employment, and social opportunities.

2. It may ignore the social and environmental factors that influence weight and health, such as poverty, food insecurity, racism, sexism, and oppression. These factors can create barriers for people to achieve optimal health and well-being. People who live in low-income communities may have less access to healthy food, safe places for physical activities, and quality healthcare. These factors can also affect one's stress levels, coping skills, and mental health, which may affect their weight and health.

3. It may not account for diversity and variability of human bodies, such as ethnicities, genders, ages, and abilities. BMI does not measure body fat or muscle mass, bone density, or body composition. BMI does not reflect fat distribution. BMI may not be relevant for all populations, and it might misdiagnose some people as healthy or unhealthy based on their weight. Some studies have suggested Asian populations may have a higher risk of health problems at lower BMI levels than other groups. African groups may have a lower risk of health problems at higher BMI levels. BMI may also not be appropriate for elderly people as they tend to lose muscle tone and accummulate fat easily.

4. It does not measure body fat directly, nor does it account for muscle mass, bone density, or body composition. This means that some people, such as athletes, may have a high BMI but a low fat percentage. Others may have a low BMI but a high fat percentage.

5. It does not consider other factors of health, such as age, sex, or metabolic health. These factors may influence how weight affects one's health and risk for disease, regardless of their BMI category. It does not consider fat distribution, which is an important indicator of health risk. The visceral fat around the waist is more harmful, as it can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and inflammation.

6. It may lead to weight bias, stigma, and discrimination, as it labels people based on their weight without considering their individual circumstances. This may affect one's self esteem, mental health, and quality of life.

7. It might not be relavant for all populations. It does not account for racial and ethnic differences in body shape, size, and composition.

So, why would the medical profession even consider using the BMI formula to humiliate people, give false assumptions, and overlook other body illnesses? The medical profession needs to explain its use of BMI to assess all people across the globe.

In conclusion, BMI was created by a non-medical person to measure the body weight and height of an average man. When the formulate was created in 1832 there was no consideration of different nationalities, or age, or the elderly population or women. Yet, the medical profession uses this archaic body measurement in 2024.

Written by

VICKI LAWANA TRUSSELLI

JANUARY 27, 2024

The author studied nursing, business, union management, journalism, art, film and graphic design and photography in college.