BMI Calculations Not Giving The Big Picture Says Mayo Clinic

were severe limitations with the Body Mass Index calculations

Dr Francisco Lopez-Jimenez who is a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in America has recently been talking at a National Obesity Forum conference in London. He claims that the problem of obesity in the United Kingdom could be “significantly worse” than previously believed.

He claims that his research shows that 1 in 5 individuals with a Body Mass Index in the normal range actually has excess body fat which puts these people in a risk category for metabolic problems that could cause diabetes and heart disease. He also pointed out that current figures show that 2/3 of adults in the United Kingdom have a BMI of 25+ making them clinically overweight but in fact he says that this figure should be more like 75 percent. Dr Lopez-Jimenez explained that the problem with a Body Mass Index calculation is that it can’t distinguish between body fat and lean body weight.

For their research the Mayo Clinic examined over 2,000 men and women who had normal BMI’s of between 18.5 and 24. They said that out of these people twenty percent of them possessed too much body fat which could cause health problems in the future. The Mayo Clinic researchers concluded that there were severe limitations with the Body Mass Index calculations and that in the future medical professionals should use something called Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in order to properly assess the health risks from fat to their patients. The device works by sending out electric currents through the body from which a body fat percentage can be accurately worked out.

Literature from the National Obesity Forum conference claims that obesity is the “scourge of modern civilisation” and is causing huge health problems and huge costs for taxpayers not only for the required extra medical help but also because of lost productivity.

Ukmedix News will be reporting on more stories from the National Obesity Forum conference this week.