The 'Body Roundness Index' Is Touted As The New BMI — And It's Got A Big Problem
HuffPost writer Ashley Broadwater puts a spotlight on why the "Body Roundness Index" is as problematic as BMI and though it's touted as being different, it's just "more of the same." Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar is quoted throughout the piece, noting that BRI has "the potential to be as harmful [as BMI and] can also lead to discriminatory interventions among diverse populations."
ICYMI, determining someone’s health by checking their body mass index is … well, not it.
For decades, BMI was used as a major indicator of one’s health. But recently, the American Medical Association decided to adopt a new policy on BMI because it doesn’t account for differences across race, gender, age and other demographics. Further, BMI doesn’t differentiate between fat and muscle mass — it just suggests that a person weighing over a certain amount is unhealthy.
Researchers have recently looked at not only weight and height, as BMI does, but also waist circumference and hip circumference. Those numbers are then used to estimate the risk of disease and mortality. This measure is called the “body roundness index,” or BRI.
