BMI & Its Replacement

[keangkong]

BMI is being de-emphasized in medicine. See Rubino, et al. (2025). Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 13(3), 221-262 [attached]; Fourman, et al. (2025). Implications of a New Obesity Definition Among the All of Us Cohort. JAMA Network Open 8(10), e2537619. Now the focus is on more on using other measures to determine whether people are overweight or obese. My recommendation is to use Waist to Height Ratio, which is one of the "anthropometric" measures recommended by Rubino in the Lancet. See Ashwell (Sep. 19, 2025). Waist-to-Height Ratio is the Best, Simple Indicator Health Risk - My Personal Journey. Nutrition Today [attached]. For how to use the Waist to Height Ratio, try this British site. It will tell you how to measure your waist. You can then enter your height and weight measurement into it in order to see how you score. Going to the site taught me that I was measuring my waist wrong.

 

[Benito Camela]

I use the navy calculator, it's quite common online and takes those into account. For women It uses hips too.

 

[randompersonrandom]

I'm mildly obsessed with WHR, but BMI has always been fine with me. It doesn't really matter what series of measurement they use, I'm clearly carrying too much fat when any measurement says I am, and I'm clearly carrying a normal amount of fat when any measurement says.

 

[psycho_driver]

BMI doesn't work for people like me with big frames. I'm currently 31.1 BMI with 24.1 BF %.

 

[Doug5421]

Navy Seal calc & mirror have always been my go-to

 

[50ShadesGreyMarket]

BMI is being de-emphasized in medicine. See Rubino, et al. (2025). Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 13(3), 221-262 [attached]; Fourman, et al. (2025). Implications of a New Obesity Definition Among the All of Us Cohort. JAMA Network Open 8(10), e2537619. Now the focus is on more on using other measures to determine whether people are overweight or obese. My recommendation is to use Waist to Height Ratio, which is one of the "anthropometric" measures recommended by Rubino in the Lancet. See Ashwell (Sep. 19, 2025). Waist-to-Height Ratio is the Best, Simple Indicator Health Risk - My Personal Journey. Nutrition Today [attached]. For how to use the Waist to Height Ratio, try this British site. It will tell you how to measure your waist. You can then enter your height and weight measurement into it in order to see how you score. Going to the site taught me that I was measuring my waist wrong.

The way I always understood BMI is the stress on your organs, namely the cardiovascular system and heart. I think I learned this in college so it may be outdated info.

BMI can be a good guide, but absolutely doesn’t apply to anybody outside the middle 1/3 of the bell curve. I’m 5’11” and have seen similar body fat percentages on women who are built differently but look nearly the same. For example, my mother was 6’1” and looked good between 130-135 lbs, she had a thin frame, very narrow and wore a ring size 5 loose. I’m currently around 140-145 but built like a Viking with broad shoulders and child-bearing hips. I can carry 160 lbs and look good because my frame can hold it. My mother on the other hand started to get a double chin at 150 lbs. BMI fails us both.

The height to waist circumference and hip to waist ratio makes more sense for most folks as the visceral fat studies are more closely tied to long-term health.

 

[Zydeceltico]

My recommendation is to use Waist to Height Ratio,......

WHR is a great measurement for visceral fat deposits also which is a serious indicator for cardiovascular issues as well as other internal organ issues. I forget what it is for women but men want a WHR of <.90. The butt needs to be bigger than the waist.
🙂