Juicy Morsel - Putting BMI in its Place

I've been enjoying Kate Harding's blog today: http://kateharding.net/.
I was introduced to it by another great woman whom I met in Toronto last weekend: http://www.fatnutritionist.com/
While I don't agree with everything at these blogs, I enjoy the conversation.

I've been well-versed in weight, health, and BMI for more than 10 years now and I hate how BMI is commonly used.

BMI (body mass index) is a measure of weight in relation to height. It is a crude indicator for increased risk of disease (and death), most likely due to inactivity and poor eating habits. On a population level, those with lower and higher BMI's are at an increased risk. I cannot emphasize enough the two qualifiers in the previous sentence: "population level" and "risk". They mean that when you look at groups of many people, the chances of ill-health are increased. In other words, when you look at hundreds of thousands of people, those who are heavier and lighter are more likely to have poor eating habits and be inactive. It is the poor eating habits and inactivity that increase the risk for ill health. BMI does not indicate that an individual is unhealthy (or healthy).

BMI was designed to only be used with individuals with a huge grain of salt (what in the health profession is termed "within the clinical context"). What are your eating habits like? How active are you? What are your family members' bodies like? Do you have high blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure? Etc, etc, etc. BMI is only one (crude) piece of the puzzle because healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. And, on the flip side. unhealthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

So, I'm not ready to throw BMI out with the bath water. But I will continue to fight for it to be used only within context.

My bottom-line: enjoy healthy eating, be active most days, and take your eyes off the scale. Your healthy body is going to be the size that it's going to be. Oh yeah, and stop bashing others' bodies. Please.