Is body mass index (BMI) accurate?

Body mass index is just a quick way to access someone health.  By all means its not the best way to determine it.  To give you an example how it can not be great for healthier people.  If you have a person who is 180 pounds, 5'9 and 30% bodyfat.  Now you have a person who is 180 pounds, 5'9 and 12% bodyfat.  Here is the problem both people will be catorgized as overweight.  Remember it only goes by height and weight.  So this can be misleading. 

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is accurate but it only paints part of the picture of health and wellness. 

Body Mass Index (BMI) correlates an individual’s weight to their height. It helps to determine if someone is carrying too much fat on their body in relation to their height. there is much more to health or wellness than how much fat we carry around. A BMI score higher than 30 places individuals at risk for a host of health conditions and diseases but there is more to look at than just risk of disease. 

When looking at my clients wellness profile I pay attention to specific goals that they have in mind along with the following areas; bodyweight, body composition, flexibility, cardiorespiratory health, clothing size, quality of sleep, energy levels and possibly more depending on their goals. BMI is important, just remember to look at the big picture.

Body mass index is an easy assessment that can be performed in order to estimate disease risk.  However, this should not be used in place of annual physical exams and other health tests.

The accuracy of the BMI has been viewed very differently by professionals all around the world. However, it is a very good way to keep track of your overall health. it is a very simple and useful guidline that will give you a great idea on where you fall in the healthy category. It is also good to know your body fat percentage, your BMI will not tell you the difference between body fat and lean mass so get to know the both of them.

Body mass index is a simple and consistent method used to determine health risks and mortality rates associated with excessive body weight. Since BMI does not differentiate fat from lean body mass, a healthy athlete with a large amount of lean muscle mass can easily fall into the overweight, or even obese category, based on their BMI. Use BMI as a guide and make sure you continue to see your physician on a regular basis for annual physical check-ups.

There is a strong correlation between BMI and the amount of fat that someone carries on their frame. The strength of that reliability can vary by a few factors such as age and gender. For example: at the same BMI women tend to have more body fat than men, and at the same BMI older people tend to have more body fat than younger individuals. Given these variations, BMI is overall a strong predictor of body fatness and valid for the general population. Remember that BMI is only one measure used to predict the likelihood of developing weight related disease and that other health and lifestyle factors should be examined to assess your overall health.