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Body Mass Index: Bona Fide or Biased?

Use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) score as an indicator of how heavy a person became popular in the 1960s, as obesity became a prominent societal issue. The logic behind use of the BMI was that it provided a more accurate classification system for body composition than the simple number produced by a scale, as the BMI takes into account both height and weight. However, the BMI has become controversial due to its growing usage as a diagnostic tool and its inability to measure muscle and bone mass distribution.

By BMI guidelines, an athlete who is six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds would fall into the overweight category, though he or she may actually have very little body fat and carry most of that weight in lean muscle. Similarly, BMI is not an accurate measure of growing children, who can expect to double their weight and increase their height 20% during puberty. Placing a child who classifies as overweight on a diet could be an egregious mistake with long-term negative consequences.

Of the BMI’s limitations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website acknowledges, “It is important to remember, however, that BMI is not a direct measure of body fatness and that BMI is calculated from an individual's weight, which includes both muscle and fat...[Still], although some people with a BMI in the overweight range (from 25.0 to 29.9) may not have excess body fatness, most people with a BMI in the obese range (equal to or greater than 30) will have increased levels of body fatness.”

So, the BMI is not an accurate calculation for everyone, nor should it replace a fitness assessment by a trained health professional. But as a basic, free measurement of overweight and obesity, it’s hard to beat. For a more accurate picture, BMI can be compared to other measurements rendered by more sophisticated processes such as underwater testing, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), computerized tomography, and others.

At Live-in Fitness Enterprise (LIFE) adult, teen, and bridal boot camp, ongoing testing is used to tailor individual workout plans for maximum results. We use hydrostatic body fat testing, VO2max testing, and a Body Age Machine—which calculates BMI, in addition to other measurements—to make sure that the level of boot camp physical training is sufficient to meet your weight loss goals. In addition, the LA weight loss program features custom gourmet meals, nutrition education, optional therapy sessions, and more, all at our beautiful location in Marina Del Rey. Start making permanent lifestyle changes when you enroll in LIFE’s fitness vacations today.