I've long thought that the only real benefit to BMI is psychological - it gives doctors a way to tell their obese patients that they need to lose weight in a wa

I've long thought that the only real benefit to BMI is psychological - it gives doctors a way to tell their obese patients that they need to lose weight in a way that is less likely to hurt their feelings. Let's face it, if someone is fat, you don't need BMI to tell you that. The important point is that many Americans are fat, have a terrible diet, and need to lose weight - not that the fatness formula is slightly off and gives a few too many false positives.