“BMI can’t be a health indicator?”…They say ‘this’ measurement indicator is accurate, but what?

There continues to be criticism that body mass index (BMI) is inappropriate as a health indicator. The American Medical Association notes that “BMI is an imperfect method of measuring body fat in different groups in that it does not take into account differences across race, ethnicity, sex, gender, and age groups.” In fact, people with a lot of muscle can be classified as obese based on BMI measurements that depend only on height and weight.

A study has found a much better metric for calculating cardiovascular and other health risks, replacing BMI, which continues to be used in medicine because it is a relatively easy statistic to calculate.

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that a number called ‘VO2 max’, which measures the amount of oxygen absorbed and used during exercise, is a more accurate indicator of health status.

Researchers at the University of Virginia analyzed data from 20 studies involving approximately 400,000 people that compared a person’s cardiovascular health with BMI. Researchers measured health with a VO2 max test. We also looked at the participants’ risk of cardiovascular disease and overall population mortality risk.

The study found that overweight or obese but healthy people did not have a statistically significantly higher risk of death or heart disease. Unhealthy people had a two to three times higher risk of death, regardless of body weight.

“From a health perspective, the risks of being unfit are much more serious than those associated with being overweight,” said study author Dr Sidhartha Angadi. “It’s based on research,” he said. “The ideal way would be to measure exercise capacity to gauge health risks,” he added.

VO2 max is a measure of how much oxygen your body absorbs and uses during exercise. V means ‘volume’ and ‘O2’ means oxygen.

VO2 max is not easy to calculate on your own. According to the Cleveland Clinic, you should usually undergo a cardiopulmonary exercise test at your doctor’s office or an exercise medicine laboratory. You wear a mask on your face to record your oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production while running on a treadmill or riding a bicycle.

Some fitness trackers can also estimate your VO2 max based on your speed and heart rate. However, this is only an estimate and not an actual result.