In a viral TikTok video, American athlete Ilona Maher just lately took a stand towards physique shaming, shedding mild on the restrictions of the Physique Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of well being.
The U.S. girls’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 price noting that BMI is not 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. Effectively, 29.3 to be precise.” 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 instances and favored by greater than 629,000 folks. It resonates so deeply due to the failings in utilizing BMI as a well being metric.
What Dietitians Stated 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 mentioned:
- Stephanie Nelson, MyFitnessPal Lead Diet Scientist & Registered Dietitian: “Ilona was spot-on! BMI doesn’t inform a narrative about an individual’s price or what they will 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 top and weight. As a result of it’s solely utilizing these two measures, it doesn’t account for muscle mass or physique fats proportion and subsequently is probably not a superb indicator of weight problems for athletes.”
- Daisy Mercer, Registered Dietitian: “I like her a lot. BMI shouldn’t be the tip all be all and it’s usually a poor illustration of somebody’s general well being. It’s extra vital to have a look at the massive image and understand we’re all constructed in a different way and have completely different exercise ranges that BMI can’t account for!”
Dietitians are inclined to know the info relating to the usefulness of BMI. Maher mentioned 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 absolutely satisfied, let’s dive a bit deeper into what BMI is absolutely all about.
What’s BMI?
BMI is only a math system that divides an individual’s weight in kilograms by the sq. of their top 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—degree.
Whereas it has since been adopted by the World Well being Group (WHO) to categorise people into classes like underweight, wholesome weight, chubby, and overweight, its usefulness has been extensively debated.
Athletes like Maher usually fall into the chubby or overweight classes of the BMI, because of their spectacular muscle mass. A key drawback with BMI is that it fails to distinguish muscle from fats.
“BMI is only a comparability of top to weight, nothing extra,” Nelson says. “It doesn’t keep in mind how a lot muscle an individual has, and by itself, it doesn’t say something about well being, life-style, or particularly price. BMI’s predominant usefulness is that it corrects for variations in top when assessing weight.”
So, it’s useful when massive populations over time to see if weights are rising or lowering on common, whereas correcting for top. However, that doesn’t imply it ought to be utilized on the person degree
What Ought to You Focus On As a substitute?
Relatively 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 elements are extra vital relating to getting a full image of your well being, in accordance with Nelson:
- Physique fats proportion (your physician can measure this at your annual check-up!)
- Waist-to-hip ratio (you possibly can measure these with a tape measure on a month-to-month foundation to gauge adjustments)
- General weight-reduction plan high quality (you possibly can higher gauge your consuming patterns by monitoring meals, like with MyFitnessPal)
- Way of life habits (you possibly can give attention to bettering sleep, rising bodily exercise, and decreasing stress)
- Physiological danger elements (like blood glucose, ldl cholesterol, and blood strain)
“In relation to stopping nutrition-related illness, many consultants are inclined to care extra about how a lot adipose tissue [or fat] is sitting across the organs for an extended time frame,” says Nelson. “That’s the visceral or belly fats some folks carry round their midsection.
“Different markers to have a look at embody proportion of physique fats and waist-to-hip ratio,” says Nelson. “However it’s additionally vital to contemplate weight-reduction plan habits as nicely. Are you getting sufficient protein, fiber, fruits, veggies, and entire grains?”
That’s another excuse why monitoring your meals might 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 if you use an app like MyFitnessPal. (Obtain the app for FREE in the present day!)
Maher concluded her viral video by talking on to her heckler and reminding us all that she is an elite athlete acting on the most important stage.
It’s a robust reminder that your BMI says nothing about what you’re able to. In relation to understanding your well being, it might probably by no means be decreased to a single quantity, whether or not it’s BMI or the quantity on the dimensions.
“BMI is just one teeny tiny piece of data and we must always pay attention to its limitations,” says Nelson.
