In a viral TikTok video, American athlete Ilona Maher not too long ago took a stand in opposition to physique shaming, shedding mild on the restrictions of the Physique Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of well being.
The U.S. girls’s rugby participant delivered a strong response to a social media commenter who made a disparaging comment referencing Maher’s BMI. The controversy started when the commenter guessed that Maher’s BMI was “30%.” (It’s value noting that BMI is not measured in percentages.)
It reignited the dialog about whether or not BMI numbers do extra hurt than good.
In her video, Maher said, “I do have a BMI of 30. Properly, 29.3 to be actual.” She additionally defined that roughly 170 kilos of her 200-pound physique weight is lean mass.
The video has already been seen 4.3 million occasions and appreciated by greater than 629,000 individuals. It resonates so deeply due to the failings in utilizing BMI as a well being metric.
What Dietitians Mentioned About Ilona Maher’s BMI Video
We requested a number of dietitians for his or her reactions to the video—right here’s what they stated:
- Stephanie Nelson, MyFitnessPal Lead Vitamin Scientist & Registered Dietitian: “Ilona was spot-on! BMI doesn’t inform a narrative about an individual’s value or what they will do, a lot much less inform a narrative about how wholesome their physique is.”
- Brookell White, Registered Dietitian: “Yep, you heard her proper! BMI is calculated utilizing somebody’s peak and weight. As a result of it’s solely utilizing these two measures, it doesn’t account for muscle mass or physique fats share and subsequently will not be a very good indicator of weight problems for athletes.”
- Daisy Mercer, Registered Dietitian: “I really like her a lot. BMI will not be the top all be all and it’s usually a poor illustration of somebody’s general well being. It’s extra essential to take a look at the large image and understand we’re all constructed in another way and have completely different exercise ranges that BMI can’t account for!”
Dietitians are likely to know the information in relation to the usefulness of BMI. Maher stated within the video that she mentioned BMI along with her personal dietitian, together with particulars about what the quantity means and its usefulness.
However in case you aren’t totally satisfied, let’s dive slightly deeper into what BMI is admittedly all about.
What’s BMI?
BMI is only a math components that divides an individual’s weight in kilograms by the sq. of their peak in meters. It was initially developed within the nineteenth century by a statistician to take a look at weight knowledge on a inhabitants—not particular person—stage.
Whereas it has since been adopted by the World Well being Group (WHO) to categorise people into classes like underweight, wholesome weight, chubby, and overweight, its usefulness has been extensively debated.
Athletes like Maher usually fall into the chubby or overweight classes of the BMI, because of their spectacular muscle mass. A key drawback with BMI is that it fails to distinguish muscle from fats.
“BMI is only a comparability of peak to weight, nothing extra,” Nelson says. “It doesn’t keep in mind how a lot muscle an individual has, and by itself, it doesn’t say something about well being, life-style, or particularly value. BMI’s principal usefulness is that it corrects for variations in peak when assessing weight.”
So, it’s useful when taking a look at giant populations over time to see if weights are rising or lowering on common, whereas correcting for peak. However, that doesn’t imply it must be utilized on the person stage
What Ought to You Focus On As a substitute?
Quite than relying solely on BMI, take note of different indicators of well being and health. For athletes, efficiency metrics particular to their sport and place are essential.
For most individuals, the next elements are extra essential in relation to getting a full image of your well being, in line with Nelson:
- Physique fats share (your physician can measure this at your annual check-up!)
- Waist-to-hip ratio (you may measure these with a tape measure on a month-to-month foundation to gauge modifications)
- General food regimen high quality (you may higher gauge your consuming patterns by monitoring meals, like with MyFitnessPal)
- Life-style habits (you may deal with bettering sleep, rising bodily exercise, and lowering stress)
- Physiological danger elements (like blood glucose, ldl cholesterol, and blood strain)
“On the subject of stopping nutrition-related illness, many consultants are likely to care extra about how a lot adipose tissue [or fat] is sitting across the organs for an extended time frame,” says Nelson. “That’s the visceral or stomach fats some individuals carry round their midsection.
“Different markers to take a look at embody share of physique fats and waist-to-hip ratio,” says Nelson. “However it’s additionally essential to contemplate food regimen habits as nicely. Are you getting sufficient protein, fiber, fruits, veggies, and entire grains?”
That’s one more reason why monitoring your meals could be very useful. You’ll see the way you stack up when it comes to protein and fiber and have entry to some helpful insights whenever you use an app like MyFitnessPal. (Obtain the app for FREE in the present day!)
Maher concluded her viral video by talking on to her heckler and reminding us all that she is an elite athlete acting on the most important stage.
It’s a strong reminder that your BMI says nothing about what you’re able to. On the subject of understanding your well being, it may possibly by no means be decreased to a single quantity, whether or not it’s BMI or the quantity on the size.
“BMI is just one teeny tiny piece of data and we must always pay attention to its limitations,” says Nelson.
