2023-07-18 19:17:51
by Stefano Erzegovesi
certainly a very practical index that does not cost the patient anything but, by itself, does not represent a reliable measure of how much overweight impacts on health
I went to the dietician who, after weighing me and measuring my height, told me that I have a body mass index of 30, so I’m obese. In your opinion, is the body mass index the right way to understand if extra pounds are a health risk?
Answers: Stefano Erzegovesi, nutritionist and psychiatrist, scientific communicator in the field of preventive nutrition and eating disorders
(VAI AL FORUM).
The body mass index, often referred to as BMI (Body Mass Index), is the simplest and most widespread system to define the normality of a person’s weight. It is calculated with the formula BMI = [peso (espresso in kg)] / [altezza (espressa in metri) elevata al quadrato] and defines, with a single number, the following categories: BMI less than 18.5: underweight BMI between 18.5 and 25: normal weight BMI between 25 and 30: overweight BMI greater than 30: obesity.
certainly a very practical index (it is measured in an instant) and which costs the patient nothing but which, by itself, does not represent a reliable measure as regards the possible impact of extra kilos on his health. The main reason why BMI is unreliable, as discussed at a recent American Medical Association (AMA) Annual Meeting, is that it gives no indication of where extra pounds are located on the body.
Pear or apple shape
Why is the distribution of fat in our body important? Because there is a huge difference, in terms of health and risk of chronic diseases, between having excess fat tissue in the hips and thighs (the so-called pear shape) or in the abdomen (the so-called apple shape ). Scientific data tells us that the only type of fat correlated with a greater risk of chronic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes 2, tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, etc.) is visceral fat, i.e. the fat that grows in excess between the viscera of the body. ‘abdomen.
Consider multiple parameters
For this reason, the American Medical Association recommends integrating the BMI measurement with other parameters, much more useful for assessing a person’s actual state of health: – waist circumference – body composition, measured e.g. through bioimpedancemetry (BIA) – the presence of altered values in laboratory or instrumental tests indicators of metabolic syndrome: high blood sugar, high insulin resistance, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high uric acid, high blood pressure ultrasound signs of fatty liver (fatty liver). In conclusion, I recommend that you consider BMI only as a rough indicator of the presence of body fat in your body. Your dietician, but also your family doctor, will be able to indicate the tests necessary to better understand your state of health in relation to your body weight.
July 18, 2023 (change July 18, 2023 | 19:13)
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