Despite BMI having long been touted as a potential gauge of health risks, a new study has found that a person’s body fat percentage and waist circumference are superior risk assessment measures.
BMI estimates an individual’s body fat based on height and weight. It is an indirect measure that contains a glaring shortfall. Notably, BMI does not account for the amount of muscle versus fat on a person’s body.
Two individuals can weigh the same and be the same height, yet have vastly different body compositions. In this scenario, BMI would imply the same health risks; when a person has a higher muscle proportion, all else being equal, they would typically be considered healthier.
The latest study found that men with 27% or more body fat and women with 44% or more were 78% more likely to die within 15 years from any cause. They were also 3.6 times more likely to succumb to heart disease.
BMI, however, was not found to be associated with any statistically significant increased risk of death from any cause.
“Our study is basically a Coke versus Pepsi comparison of a direct and indirect measure of body fat for future mortality risk,” said lead researcher Arch Mainous III, a professor of health services, management and policy at the University of Florida, in a news release, per U.S. News.
“A direct measure of body fat percentage that can be done in the office was significantly better.”
Other studies have similarly raised concerns about BMI.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported that researchers from Lund University in Malmö, Sweden, concluded a man’s waist size was more informative about his risk for developing cancer than body mass index measurements.
The latest study also found that waist size is more insightful than BMI. Men with waist sizes of more than 40 inches and women with more than 35 were 59% more likely to die from any cause, and four times more likely to succumb to heart disease.