Professor Trefethen believes that the BMI height 2/weight term divides the weight by too much in short people and too little in tall individuals. It has prevailed for over 160 yearsīMI = weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.

Share on Pinterest Adolphe Quetelet devised the BMI for measuring human body shape. Lazar noted “Future research should be focused more on molecular pathways, especially how metabolic factors altered by obesity change the development of diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and other ailments, and influence the health status and mortality.” Lazar and Ahima point out that the true impact of obesity may not be fully understood, because population studies focus on the link between BMI, health and mortality risks, without taking into account how unintentional/intentional weight loss/gain may affect these outcomes.ĭr. Patients with a BMI of 23.1 or less were more than twice as likely to die within 30 days of surgery than those with a BMI of 35.3 or more.ĭrs. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that some individuals with obesity have lower cardiovascular risk and an improved metabolic profile, while a subset of “normal-BMI” people are metabolically unhealthy and have increased mortality risk.Ī team of researchers at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, found better post-surgical short-term survival rates among people with obesity than patients of normal weight 3.

Having obesity heightens the risk of premature death. individuals with obesity, have a significantly higher risk of eventually becoming diabetic, developing cancer, cardiovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, and liver and gallbladder diseases. Advances to improve the measurement of obesity and related factors will help determine the optimal weight for an individual, taking into account factors such as age, sex, genetics, fitness, pre-existing diseases, as well novel blood markers and metabolic parameters altered by obesity.” “There is an urgent need for accurate, practical and affordable tools to measure fat and skeletal muscle, and biomarkers that can better predict the risks of diseases and mortality. A paradox that generates a great deal of controversy. In the Science article – “The Health Risk of Obesity – Better Metrics Imperative” 2 – the authors refer to the pros-and-cons of obesity as the “obesity-mortality paradox”. However, according to recent studies, obesity may also protect against death from all causes, as well as death due to stroke, heart failure and diabetes. We all know that obesity increases the risk of developing heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea and other diseases and conditions. Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Genetics and Director of the Institute of Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, and Rexford Ahima, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Obesity Unit in the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, discuss the challenges health professionals face when studying the mortality risks and health of people with obesity in the journal Science 1. Anybody with a BMI of 30 or more has obesity. You are of normal weight if your BMI is between 18.5 and 25, overweight if it is between 25 and 30. The news hits the headlines, everybody agrees, and then all goes quiet for a while. BMI (body mass index), which is based on the height and weight of a person, is an inaccurate measure of body fat content and does not take into account muscle mass, bone density, overall body composition, and racial and sex differences, say researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.Įvery few months the same comment is made by experts “ BMI is flawed”.

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