American Medical Association says BMI is racially biased
BOSTON - When you go to your doctor's office, chances are they will calculate your BMI but a prominent medical organization says the simple calculation is racially biased.
The body mass index, or BMI, estimates a patient's body fat using their height and weight and has been used for years to gauge someone's risk for obesity-related health conditions. But the American Medical Association issued new guidelines on how the metric should be used, saying it's an imperfect measure of body fat, was based on historical data from white populations, and doesn't take into consideration a person's body shape, gender, age, race or ethnicity.
For example, even at the same BMI, a Black woman may carry more weight in the hip and thigh area while a white woman may accumulate more weight around the middle, putting her at higher risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The organization said BMI should be used in conjunction with other health measures such as a patient's genetics, blood pressure, cholesterol, visceral fat, and waist circumference.