American Medical Association asks doctors to de-emphasize body mass index

ABC 7 Los Angeles ^ | 6/14/23 | N/A

[DallasBiff]

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The American Medical Association is clarifying the role of a person's body mass index, also known as BMI.

The group is urging doctors to de-emphasize its use when assessing health and obesity of patients and acknowledge that the measurement has been used for "racist exclusion" and has caused "historical harm."

The main concerns the AMA said it's found with the BMI system is that it does not account for body composition, muscle mass, racial differences and genetics.

The recommendation comes after an AMA report recognized issues of racist exclusion because BMI is based primarily on data collected from previous generations of non-Hispanic, white populations

[DallasBiff]

Oh, my BMI(body mass index), is now racist.

[metmom]

I guess we all need to get with the program.

EVERYTHING is now racist.

[DPMD]

All those factors were fine, muscle mass, etc., until someone said the magic word.

Call it the Lizzo Legacy.

[MortMan]

To b ehonest, the waist-height ratio is not accurate for anyone who has a lot of muscle tissue.

[blackdog]

Well timed for the Chris Christie run. 👏

[Colt1851Navy]

I’m glad 300 pounds can be a normal weight, even 306.

[NWFree]

They’re calling black people FAT

That’s what it says

[grobdriver]

A fat black woman is still a fat, black woman.

Unless she pretends to be a man - and even then she is still a fat, black woman.

[Sarah Barracuda]

Being a fat ass is now “Normal” according to BMI

[Political Junkie Too]

Insurers won't authorize hip replacement surgery if the BMI is over 40 due to statistically increased risks during surgery.

Some doctors won't do hip replacements if the BMI is over 35.

-PJ

[fruser1]

What do think about smoking Kools?

[z3n]

waist-height ratio is still better than BMI. Mass is volume * density. If you have a lot of muscle 'mass' but a relatively low percentage of body fat, your BMI is going to appear overweight for your height, but you are less likely to be carrying it around the waist.

[Paladin2]

AMA encourages Medical Doctors to go against Medical Science.

Whatt fine buncha wokists.

[poinq]

BMI is stupid. Its a simplest and highly inaccurate method of determining whether someone is obese. It totally disregards someones muscle mass and bone structure. Look at it this way. Take a 100 meter sprinter. And then take a 10K runner. The BMI of the sprinter is much greater than the 10K runner. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is not obese. She has very little fat on her body. But her BMI is much higher than Agnes Jebet Tirop a Kenyan 10K record holder. BMI is fake science. We have ways of measuring fat. BMI is not a good one.

[Starstruck]

Since Black life expectancy is 5 to 7 years less than Whites you would think they would want to go in the opposite direction. But I’m not a Doctor.

[MayflowerMadam]

Like we trust anything the AMA ever will have to say again. Ever.

[Bonemaker]

I don’t need no stinkin’ AMA..I deemphasized BMI myself!😎

[eyeamok]

Chris Christie finally has something to cheer about.

[John Milner]

During COVID I stopped working out and exercised/walked much less.

I went to my next physical and was feeling quite fat and unhealthy. Only to find out I’d actually LOST 7 pounds over the year.

So I love your illustration of the volume of fat versus the volume of muscle. It really rings true.

[vmpolesov]

I applaud this. An incompetent doc wanted to put my 5 year-old through a blood draw simply because of low BMI. I switched doctors and the new doctor gave the all clear based on physical examination and overall growth trend.