Over the past few years, body mass index, a ratio of a person's height and weight, has successfully become a proxy for whether an individual is thought about healthy. Numerous U.S. companies utilize their staff members' BMIs as a factor in identifying workers' healthcare expenses. And people with greater BMIs might soon have to pay higher health insurance premiums, if a rule proposed in April by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is embraced.
However a brand-new study led by UCLA psychologists has actually discovered that utilizing BMI to gauge health incorrectly labels more than 54 million Americans as "unhealthy," although they are not. The scientists' findings are released online today in the International Journal of Obesity.
" Many individuals see obesity as a death sentence," said A. Janet Tomiyama, an assistant teacher of psychology in the UCLA College and the study's lead author. "But the information show there are 10s of countless individuals who are overweight and obese and are completely healthy."
The researchers examined the link in between BMI-- which is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kgs by the square of the individual's height in meters-- and several health markers, including blood pressure and glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, using data from the most current National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The study discovered that close to half of Americans who are thought about "overweight" by virtue of their BMIs (47.4 percent, or 34.4 million individuals) are healthy, as are 19.8 million who are considered "overweight.".
Provided their health readings besides BMI, individuals in both of those groups would be not likely to incur higher medical costs, and it would be unfair to charge them more for health care premiums, Tomiyama stated.
Amongst the other findings:.
- More than 30 percent of those with BMIs in the "typical" variety-- about 20.7 million individuals-- are actually unhealthy based upon their other health information.
- More than 2 million people who are considered "extremely overweight" by virtue of having a BMI of 35 or greater are really healthy. That's about 15 percent of Americans who are categorized as extremely overweight.
Tomiyama, who directs UCLA's Dieting, Stress and Health lab, likewise called DiSH, discovered in previous research that there was no clear connection in between weight reduction and health enhancements connected to cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
She said she was amazed at the magnitude of the numbers in the current research study.
" There are healthy individuals who could be penalized based upon a faulty health measure, while the unhealthy individuals of typical weight will fly under the radar and won't get charged more for their health insurance," she said. "Employers, policy makers and insurance companies must focus on actual health markers.".
Jeffrey Hunger, a co-author of the paper and a doctoral prospect at UC Santa Barbara, stated the research study reveals that BMI is a deeply flawed measure of health. "This must be the last nail in the coffin for BMI," he stated.
Appetite advises that people focus on consuming a healthy diet and working out frequently, instead of obsessing about their weight, and highly opposes stigmatizing people who are overweight.
The proposed EEOC guideline would permit companies to charge higher insurance coverage rates to people whose BMI is 25 or greater. A BMI in between 18.5 and 24.99 is thought about normal, however the research study stresses that normal BMI should not be the primary goal for maintaining health.
Tomiyama is planning a brand-new research study of individuals with high BMIs who are extremely healthy. Prospective participants may contact her laboratory to learn more.
Co-authors of the International Journal of Obesity study are Jolene Nguyen-Cuu, supervisor of Tomiyama's laboratory, and Christine Wells, a UCLA statistical expert.