“We expect this policy change to echo what obesity specialists have been shouting from the rooftops for as long as I can remember, which is that BMI should not be used as a standalone measure to understand health,” Darien Sutton, MD, an emergency medicine physician and medical contributor for ABC News, said on Good Morning America. “There are many other factors in life that equate to health, and unfortunately body mass index has been utilized as an easy standard to say, ‘Oh, weight is the cause of chronic disease.'”
The AMA voted to adopt the policy during its annual meeting in Chicago on June 13, according to news first reported by STAT reported. The new policy will encourage physicians to consider other measures alongside BMI, including body composition, waist circumference and genetic factors.
Mounting evidence that shows BMI is not an accurate predictor of disease risk across racial and ethnic groups was a key factor in the policy change. For instance, research has shown Hispanic, Asian and Black individuals have a higher risk for Type 2 diabetes at lower BMIs than white people, STAT reported.
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