Body mass index BMI cannot assess whether you are overweight or underweight

Calculated based on height and weight, BMI has long been regarded as a health measurement tool. Most people rely on BMI to determine if they are overweight. However, a recent study has shown that people who are labeled "overweight" or "obese" based on BMI are being mistakenly attributed.

According to the US National Health Service (NHS), a BMI higher than the weight ratio may increase the risk of serious health problems such as cardiovascular, diabetes and stroke. But this tool is actually not able to recognize and reflect the difference between the amount of fat, muscle and bone in the body. This is the reason for the inaccurate self-assessment of body mass index of BMI.

BMI increases the risk of serious health problems such as cardiovascular, diabetes and stroke.

Researchers have discovered this " paradox " when analyzing the amount of fat in the body who are thought to have slender bodies. They own BMI in the thin group, but the measurement results " denounce " they are no less fat.

In contrast, people with BMI in the overweight group have a remarkable amount of muscle, typically football players.

This study was published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine after analyzing 50,000 men and women to produce results. The team mainly conducted bone density tests on each person, which is also the most accurate method of calculating body fat.

The study also pointed out the surprising fact: The lower the BMI (ie, thin, underweight) the greater the risk of . dying earlier than those with average BMI. This is because skinny people often have many diseases in their bodies, resulting from the lack of essential nutrients in the body. At the same time, people with high body fat rates also face the risk of premature death, regardless of their BMI.

BMI does not accurately assess the health status of each person.

According to Dr. William Leslie from the University of Manitoba (Canada), BMI can still be a useful tool in assessing health, however: " The fact that many people complain about fat or fat loss is still fat. It is very likely that they only believe in BMI. It is a minimal to negative health assessment . "

In other words, many people rely on BMI to assume that they are fat or thin is not really relevant. A study not long ago showed that although half of the participants had been confirmed to be obese by medical screening methods, there was still a BMI of a healthy group.