In a viral TikTok video, American athlete Ilona Maher just lately took a stand in opposition to physique shaming, shedding mild on the constraints of the Physique Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of well being.
The U.S. ladies’s rugby participant delivered a robust response to a social media commenter who made a disparaging comment referencing Maher’s BMI. The controversy started when the commenter guessed that Maher’s BMI was “30%.” (It’s value noting that BMI shouldn’t be measured in percentages.)
It reignited the dialog about whether or not BMI numbers do extra hurt than good.
In her video, Maher acknowledged, “I do have a BMI of 30. Properly, 29.3 to be actual.” She additionally defined that roughly 170 kilos of her 200-pound physique weight is lean mass.
The video has already been seen 4.3 million occasions and favored by greater than 629,000 individuals. It resonates so deeply due to the failings in utilizing BMI as a well being metric.
What Dietitians Mentioned About Ilona Maher’s BMI Video
We requested just a few dietitians for his or her reactions to the video—right here’s what they stated:
Stephanie Nelson, MyFitnessPal Lead Diet Scientist & Registered Dietitian: “Ilona was spot-on! BMI doesn’t inform a narrative about an individual’s value or what they’ll do, a lot much less inform a narrative about how wholesome their physique is.”
Brookell White, Registered Dietitian: “Yep, you heard her proper! BMI is calculated utilizing somebody’s peak and weight. As a result of it’s solely utilizing these two measures, it doesn’t account for muscle mass or physique fats share and subsequently might not be an excellent indicator of weight problems for athletes.”
Daisy Mercer, Registered Dietitian: “I really like her a lot. BMI shouldn’t be the tip all be all and it’s typically a poor illustration of somebody’s total well being. It’s extra necessary to have a look at the massive image and understand we’re all constructed otherwise and have totally different exercise ranges that BMI can’t account for!”
Dietitians are likely to know the details on the subject of the usefulness of BMI. Maher stated within the video that she mentioned BMI together with her personal dietitian, together with particulars about what the quantity means and its usefulness.
However in case you aren’t totally satisfied, let’s dive somewhat deeper into what BMI is absolutely all about.
What’s BMI?
BMI is only a math components that divides an individual’s weight in kilograms by the sq. of their peak in meters. It was initially developed within the nineteenth century by a statistician to have a look at weight knowledge on a inhabitants—not particular person—stage.
Whereas it has since been adopted by the World Well being Group (WHO) to categorise people into classes like underweight, wholesome weight, obese, and overweight, its usefulness has been broadly debated.
Athletes like Maher typically fall into the obese or overweight classes of the BMI, because of their spectacular muscle mass. A key downside with BMI is that it fails to distinguish muscle from fats.
“BMI is only a comparability of peak to weight, nothing extra,” Nelson says. “It doesn’t consider how a lot muscle an individual has, and by itself, it doesn’t say something about well being, life-style, or particularly value. BMI’s foremost usefulness is that it corrects for variations in peak when assessing weight.”
So, it’s useful when taking a look at massive populations over time to see if weights are growing or reducing on common, whereas correcting for peak. However, that doesn’t imply it needs to be utilized on the person stage
What Ought to You Focus On As an alternative?
Slightly than relying solely on BMI, take note of different indicators of well being and health. For athletes, efficiency metrics particular to their sport and place are essential.
For most individuals, the next components are extra necessary on the subject of getting a full image of your well being, in response to Nelson:
Physique fats share (your physician can measure this at your annual check-up!)
Waist-to-hip ratio (you may measure these with a tape measure on a month-to-month foundation to gauge adjustments)
General weight loss program high quality (you may higher gauge your consuming patterns by monitoring meals, like with MyFitnessPal)
Way of life habits (you may deal with bettering sleep, growing bodily exercise, and decreasing stress)
Physiological threat components (like blood glucose, ldl cholesterol, and blood strain)
“On the subject of stopping nutrition-related illness, many consultants are likely to care extra about how a lot adipose tissue [or fat] is sitting across the organs for a protracted time period,” says Nelson. “That’s the visceral or belly fats some individuals carry round their midsection.
“Different markers to have a look at embrace share of physique fats and waist-to-hip ratio,” says Nelson. “However it’s additionally necessary to think about weight loss program habits as effectively. Are you getting sufficient protein, fiber, fruits, veggies, and complete grains?”
That’s another excuse why monitoring your meals could be very useful. You’ll see the way you stack up when it comes to protein and fiber and have entry to some helpful insights whenever you use an app like MyFitnessPal. (Obtain the app for FREE at this time!)
Maher concluded her viral video by talking on to her heckler and reminding us all that she is an elite athlete acting on the largest stage.
It’s a robust reminder that your BMI says nothing about what you’re able to. On the subject of understanding your well being, it might by no means be lowered to a single quantity, whether or not it’s BMI or the quantity on the dimensions.
“BMI is just one teeny tiny piece of knowledge and we should always pay attention to its limitations,” says Nelson.
