Like I said,
BMI is an indicator when you get into the grey areas of over/normal/overweight. It isn't the be-all and end-all.
But here are some facts to consider:
The average weight of an American woman has risen by 20 lbs since 1977.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifes...78048620070807
The average weight of an American man has risen from 166 lbs in 1960 to 191 lbs in 2002.
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/health...tallbutfat.htm
Americans are getting, well, fatter, cause it sure as HECK isn't due to an increase in gym memberships and fitness regimes. And the scary part is that articles such as the NPR one is clearly along the lines of NORMALIZING this trend. If everyone is LARGER, then that becomes the NORM. And the scary leap is that if it is the NORM, how can it be UNHEALTHY? And how DARE you call me fat, when I am NORMAL.
And then aLOT of time goes into the reasons WHY Americans are bigger today -- they have more MUSCLE (yeah, right -- like the majority of Americans are taller and FITTER instead of fatter).They are 1 inch TALLER than in 1960 (like that accounts for 20 lbs). The MEASURING GUIDE IS FLAWED. If we change the parameters of the measuring stick, then suddenly, we aren't fat anymore. We are all "normal". And there isn't any weight problem at all!
SO IRRITATING, as there is a move to normalize the not normal! And articles such as this let people rationalize away their weight issue -- it isn't ME, it's the fault of the BMI system. Don't they SEE that I have alot of muscle under this beer belly? Don't they REALIZE that I park my minivan further away from the shopping mall entrance than my friends and I WALK all the way there? Don't they REALIZE that although I am a pear-shape and my bottom measures 52 inches, my waist is only 34 inches, so how can I be THAT overweight?
The BMI system is perfectly valid
to show trends, and alert practitioners to
potential medical issues on an initial screening. And if it WASN'T seen as valid, it wouldn't be a determining factor when deciding if a patient was eligible for bariatric surgery.
Like ALL tools used in analysis, it isn't perfect. But neither is any other system. Personally, IMHO, it is a pretty good
indicator of whether or not a person is packing some extra pounds (the mid-ranges of the BMI charts coincide pretty well with the Met Life Actuary tables).
Its usefulness comes in identifying trends, and as a quick screening method used at a hospital and doctor's office that opens other, more time-consuming avenues for assessing weight and weight issues. It DOESN'T indicate if one is healthy at that particular moment in time. But neither does ANY method.
JMHO
Kira