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Would it be reasonable to say that BMI is a bad measure at an individual level, especially at values close to ideal range but at the same time it is a useful me
by mvdwoord 2y ago
Would it be reasonable to say that BMI is a bad measure at an individual level, especially at values close to ideal range but at the same time it is a useful measure at population scale? As stated on the NHS Scotland website:
"BMI is used to categorise people’s weight. BMI charts are mainly used for working out the health of populations rather than individuals.
Within a population there will always be people who are at the extremes (have a high BMI or low BMI).
A high or low BMI may be an indicator of poor diet, varying activity levels, or high stress. Just because someone has a ‘normal BMI’ does not mean that they are healthy.
BMI doesn’t take account of body composition, for example, muscle, fat, bone density. Sex and other factors which can impact your weight can also lead to an inaccurate reading. As such a BMI calculation is not a suitable measure for some people including children and young people under 18, pregnant women and athletes."
- zdragnar 2y agoIt's only useful at scale if people at scale are unhealthy. If the norm was to be like OP, then BMI would not be useful at scale. Given that you need to know the outcome to determine if the measure is valid, it rather defeats the purpose of using the measure at all.
- Gud 2y agoNot really, it’s one variable amongst many. If the general population also has poor diet, we can assume the BMI is not because everyone has an exemplary physique