Huff Post: The ‘Body Roundness Index’ Is Touted As The New BMI — And It’s Got A Big Problem

By Ashley Broadwater
Sep 20, 2024

According to doctors and dietitians, BRI may essentially be the same inaccurate measure in different clothing.

ICYMI, determining someone’s health by checking their body mass index is … well, not it.

For decades, BMI was used as a major indicator of one’s health. But recently, the American Medical Association decided to adopt a new policy on BMI because it doesn’t account for differences across race, gender, age and other demographics. Further, BMI doesn’t differentiate between fat and muscle mass — it just suggests that a person weighing over a certain amount is unhealthy.

Researchers have recently looked at not only weight and height, as BMI does, but also waist circumference and hip circumference. Those numbers are then used to estimate the risk of disease and mortality. This measure is called the “body roundness index,” or BRI.

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Looking at certain lab markers may be more helpful— or at least more than external markers. “These measurements do not take internal health assessments like cholesterol, inflammatory markers or blood sugars into consideration,” said Maya Feller, a certified dietitian nutritionist in New York. “Solely relying on external markers leaves significant room for misclassification and error, not to mention the additional stigma directed toward larger bodies.”

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