AMA Clarifying BMI’s Role in Medical Assessment
The American Medical Association recognizes historical racial issues with BMI use.
The American Medical Association adopted a policy to clarify the role of BMI as an assessment tool in medicine at the Annual Meeting held in Chicago from June 9 to 14, 2023. The AMA policy recognizes “issues with using BMI as a measurement due to its historical harm, use for racist exclusion, and because BMI is based primarily on data collected from previous generations of non-Hispanic white populations.”
The AMA also recognizes that “relative body shape and composition differences across race/ethnic groups, sexes, genders, and age-span is essential to consider when applying BMI as a measure of adiposity and that BMI should not be used as a sole criterion to deny appropriate insurance reimbursement.”
The AMA continues to suggest that BMI may be used together with other valid risk measures.
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
