Some scientists believe calculating Body Mass Index (BMI) is not a valid way to determine if a person is healthy.
Scientists argued in a recent editorial that BMI can distinguish between overweight and underweight people, but fails to accurately measure fat content and health, LiveScience reported.
"Most studies depend on BMI, and we know it's not a very accurate measure," Dr. Rexford Ahima, a medical professor at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, and co-author of the editorial, told LiveScience.
BMI has been used to calculate physical health for 180 years, the Telegraph reported.
"The BMI should not be treated as a single, reliable predictor -- we need to move away from the BMI and look for alternative predictive tools," Ahima told the Telegraph.
The researchers argued calculating BMI doesn't take into account the distribution of fat, which is a strong indication of general health and risk of disease, LiveScience reported.
"The BMI doesn't tell you anything about how fat is distributed in the body, or about the fat-muscle ratio, and doesn't take into account racial differences or differences between male and female," Ahima said.
Belly fat is more dangerous than on other parts of the body. Extra pound in the abdominal region can lead to "diabetes, heart disease and death. "
Ahima believes the BMI method is widely used because "it is simple."
"There is an urgent need for accurate, practical and affordable tools to measure fat and skeletal muscle, and biomarkers that can better predict the risks of diseases and mortality," Ahima said, according to a University of Pennsylvania press release. "Advances to improve the measurement of obesity and related factors will help determine the optimal weight for an individual, taking into account factors such as age, sex, genetics, fitness, pre-existing diseases, as well novel blood markers and metabolic parameters altered by obesity."
