Move Over BMI, Doctors Are Embracing A New Equation To Monitor Health Risks

Chances are you’ve heard a healthcare provider mention your body mass index at some point, often as part of a discussion about your overall health assessment. While BMI, which assigns a point value based on height and weight, can offer some very broad insight into a patient’s health risks, the equation has faced significant criticism due to the fact that it fails to factor in a number of other key figures.

Now there’s a new standard being adopted by some healthcare professionals and insurance providers … but is it actually better than BMI?

Entering the “healthy zone”

Known as the body roundness index, proponents of this new equation say it paints a more complete portrait of a person’s overall health than BMI results.

Here’s a quick overview of the BRI:

• It uses a rather complex formula, but online tools make it simple
• Height and waist circumference are the two pivotal pieces of information
• The resulting number reveals whether you are in the “healthy zone”

But not everyone is convinced it should be considered the new gold standard.

Looking for better options

The American Medical Association issued a statement advising that the BMI fails to consider a range of data including age, gender, and race, which could provide a more accurate assessment. Dietician Maya Feller agrees, but doesn’t think the BRI is a perfect solution.

“The challenge with the BRI is that it really favors more slender bodies, and it says that, OK, rounder bodies are not as ‘healthy,’” she said.

Feller prefers a method that examines what’s going on inside a patient’s body rather than simply analyzing external metrics.

“What’s happening with your lipids?” she asked. “What’s happening with your blood pressure, your blood sugars? Those are the things that I want to see.”

Chris Agee September 21st, 2024

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