Obesity is not always connected with a high BMI Rating
July 21st, 2006
Just because a person weighs a lot, may not mean that they are obese. Scientists from The Jackson Laboratory are questioning the accuracy of the body mass index (BMI) rating which is determined by a ratio of a persons height compared to their weight. Any person that has a BMI over 30 is classified as obese and is at higher risk for health problems.
The scientists looked at genetics of mice to see how genetics influence the amount of body fat a mouse can inherit. What they discovered is the adiposity (amount of body fat) does not always correlate to having a large body.
We found that the genetic network affecting adiposity is separate from that affecting overall body size," said Dr. Gary Churchill of Jackson Laboratory, "providing strong evidence that a high weight is not necessarily directly associated with a high percentage of fat."
Other methods to assess body fat more accurately may be with calipers or alternative body fat analyzer. Or you could look in the mirror, if you can pinch an inch, they you need to lose a little bit of weight. You can use the BMI as more of an estimate, but if you are muscular, you might have a lower BMI rating.
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