Rethinking BMI: Researchers Say It’s Time to Retire the Metric

BMI doesn’t measure what we think it does.

A new University of Waterloo study argues that body mass index (BMI) — long treated as a universal measure of health — is outdated, inaccurate, and rooted in bias.

Researchers have found that BMI fails to distinguish between fat and muscle by overlooking fat distribution, and it ignores factors such as age, sex, and race.

The BMI was developed in the 19th century as a statistical way too define the “average man,” but it was never meant for clinical use, the authors say. They call for better, evidence-based ways to assess health that don’t reinforce stigma or discrimination.

“[BMI] cannot distinguish between muscle and fat, doesn’t account for where fat is distributed in the body and overlooks important factors such as age, sex and race. Two people can share the same BMI but have completely different health profiles.” 

— Dr. Aly Bailey

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