The intended use is to get a quick overview of populations and it works great there. For individuals the Waist to Height ratio and Waist to Hip ratios are better quick scan controls.
It’s also good as an estimate if you hugely widen what’s taken as normal. 80 is just too damn high and 12 for an adult is just too damn low.
I mean, sure, but unless the physician is blind is bmi really needed at that point? :)
Modern EMRs flag various data for review. A BMI over or under a specific range triggers a dietician consult to review the patients diet orders. Dietician doesn’t even review most patient charts without a consult, so out of the 5 things I forget to do everyday, the EMR can look at the height and weight I put in and put in the consult automatically. It’s one less thing and lemme tell ya, there are a LOT of things. So if I’m admitting a little old lady who was on the floor of her house after 2 days with a broken hip, in the middle of reconciling her medications and getting all of her feces off her, the EMR will call the dietician for me, who will look at her and be like “oh she REALLY needs some protein shakes yeah.”
From what I have read, it is body-fat measure that we ought be using, & the plastic-calipers cost something like $5-10, online.
I’d read that in some scientific news thing, a few years ago, sorry don’t remember which one.
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I just remember as a teen at 16 and my PCP had it in the waiting room. And he swore by it. At 16 I was 6 foot and weighed about 150. And he said I had to much body fat. That I need to go on a diet. My mom the nurse was about to tear him a new asshole before i interrupted and asked Does a fifth of whiskey and a pack of Lucky Strikes a day count? You could hear a pin drop after I said that.
The body fat calliper method is extremely dependent on the person doing the measurement, so it’s more useful for measuring progress. The Navy Method is slightly less variable, and is a pretty good balance between cost, accuracy, and reliability if you’re looking for something. Not as good as DEXA, far better than body impedance, and more accurate than callipers.
Body fat definitely is a better method, up to a point - once someone is definitely into the “obese” or “underweight” on the BMI, there’s a good chance of the person is unhealthy in some way. Bodybuilders achieve worryingly low body fat % with “obese” BMI score, but they can still have plenty of other markers that say they’re unhealthy, and underweight is underweight. But my BMI is ~25 (“overweight”) and ~15% body fat; I’m ok.
A lot of people who are 50% body fat and have a BMI of 35 love to hear that the BMI is flawed.
