BMI was never discredited. It’s always been intended as a population-level estimate of obesity. There have been a number of studies over the years that have correlated other health outcomes to BMI, but those things are intended to be population-level correlations. For example BMI is correlated with average expected life span, where a BMI in the “healthy” range is correlated with longer average lifespans, and both under or overweight BMIs are correlated with shorter average lifespans. Your specific health situation may vary.
MRI or DXA scans can more accurately determine body fat percentage to determine obesity. Comparing those with BMI has an error rate of around 20% of people being miscategorized as under or overweight.
Bottom line, don’t be sedentary all the time, get physical activity and eat a healthy diet instead of getting too hung up on what metrics are best. Progress over perfection.
I like Harvard’s Nutrition Source for science-based nutrition info that’s easy to read.
For example BMI is correlated with average expected life span, where a BMI in the “healthy” range is correlated with longer average lifespans, and both under or overweight BMIs are correlated with shorter average lifespans.
Actually, there’s a curve where all cause mortality is lowest at BMIs that are slightly overweight, between 25-30 kg/m^2 :
So the traditional “overweight” range appears to be slightly healthier overall than the “healthy” range. Perhaps because some healthy people have higher lean tissue mass (muscle, bone density, etc.).
BMI was never discredited. It’s always been intended as a population-level estimate of obesity. There have been a number of studies over the years that have correlated other health outcomes to BMI, but those things are intended to be population-level correlations. For example BMI is correlated with average expected life span, where a BMI in the “healthy” range is correlated with longer average lifespans, and both under or overweight BMIs are correlated with shorter average lifespans. Your specific health situation may vary.
MRI or DXA scans can more accurately determine body fat percentage to determine obesity. Comparing those with BMI has an error rate of around 20% of people being miscategorized as under or overweight.
Bottom line, don’t be sedentary all the time, get physical activity and eat a healthy diet instead of getting too hung up on what metrics are best. Progress over perfection.
I like Harvard’s Nutrition Source for science-based nutrition info that’s easy to read.
Actually, there’s a curve where all cause mortality is lowest at BMIs that are slightly overweight, between 25-30 kg/m^2 :
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11051237/
So the traditional “overweight” range appears to be slightly healthier overall than the “healthy” range. Perhaps because some healthy people have higher lean tissue mass (muscle, bone density, etc.).