Beyond BMI

This review examined the origins of the concept of the BMI in the work of Quetelet in the 19th century and its subsequent adoption and use in tracking the course of the pandemic of obesity during the 20th century. In this respect, it has provided a valuable international epidemiological tool that sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2023-05, Vol.15 (10), p.2254
Main Author: Bray, George A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adipose Tissue
Adiposity
BMI
Body fat
Body Mass Index
energy expenditure
Epidemics
Epidemiology
food intake
Heterogeneity
Humans
Life insurance
Obesity
Obesity - diagnosis
Obesity - epidemiology
Origins
Overweight
phenotypes
Physiological aspects
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Summary:This review examined the origins of the concept of the BMI in the work of Quetelet in the 19th century and its subsequent adoption and use in tracking the course of the pandemic of obesity during the 20th century. In this respect, it has provided a valuable international epidemiological tool that should be retained. However, as noted in this review, the BMI is deficient in at least three ways. First, it does not measure body fat distribution, which is probably a more important guide to the risk of excess adiposity than the BMI itself. Second, it is not a very good measure of body fat, and thus its application to the diagnosis of obesity or excess adiposity in the individual patient is limited. Finally, the BMI does not provide any insights into the heterogeneity of obesity or its genetic, metabolic, physiological or psychological origins. Some of these mechanisms are traced in this review.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu15102254