Body mass index can give misleading results: here’s the alternative
L’body mass index (or Body Mass Index, BMI) it has been the most widespread method for measuring a person’s health status for some time. It’s an easy measurement to obtain and therefore popular, but recent studies are calling its accuracy into question. The BMI can in fact give misleading results: for this reason, it has become increasingly important the percentage of body fat. But which is better as an indicator of a person’s health?
BMI AND BODY FAT PERCENTAGE, THE DEFINITIONS
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Let’s start with one definition of the two measurements. Body mass index is a relationship between a person’s weight and their height squared. The result is a coefficient which allows you to insert the person into the categories of normal weight, underweight, overweight or obesity. The percentage of body fat, however, indicates the total amount of fat present in the body, thus analyzing more precisely how much the weight variation is due to fat mass.
bmi vs body fat percentage
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The big drawback to BMI is its inability to distinguish changes in weight due to muscle mass. An athlete may be overweight for their height even though their muscle mass far exceeds their fat mass. This can lead to misleading results: for this reason, body fat percentage is more accurate in indicating health status of a person, managing to isolate the impact of fat mass. However, the two values can be used together to paint a more accurate picture of the situation.
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