Why BMI Is Not a Reliable Measure of Health

Paula Brochu, an associate professor in the College of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University who specializes in weight stigma, told Good Housekeeping: “One large study examined people’s cardiometabolic health across the BMI spectrum and found that nearly half of ‘over-weight’ people and nearly one-third of ‘obese’ people were metabolically healthy. Researchers estimated that nearly 75 million adults in the U.S. have their health misclassified on the basis of BMI.”

BMI does not account for a person’s body type, which is genetically determined. A high BMI does not automatically mean an increased risk of death. Brochu told Good Housekeeping: “Many people are surprised to learn that those who are ‘overweight’ have lower mortality risk than ‘normal’-weight people and that people who are ‘obese’ have the same mortality risk as ‘normal’-weight people.”

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