The Paradox of Obesity with Normal Weight
Study finds BMI to be an unreliable indicator of healthy weight.
New research adds evidence to support moving away from using the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a sole assessment tool to measure cardiometabolic disease risk and overall health. One-third of all normal-weight individuals, according to the BMI, were found to be obese based upon body composition, in a study by Tel Aviv researchers. The scientists analyzed biometric data that included BMI, body composition and cardiometabolic blood markers from 3,001 male and female adult Israeli participants. BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms/pounds, divided by the square of height in meters/feet. Obesity is defined as ≥ 25% of body fat for men and ≥35% for women.
“The actual measure for obesity is the body’s fat content…” says senior study author Yftach Gepner, PhD, in the Sylvan Adams Sports Institute at Tel Aviv University in Israel, “The disparity between the two indexes has generated a phenomenon called ‘the paradox of obesity with normal weight’—higher than normal body fat percentage in normal-weight individuals.” This calls into question what is the meaning of ‘normal weight’?
Study authors concluded that body fat measurements may be a more reliable indicator of overall health and cardiovascular risk than the BMI, as reported in Frontiers in Nutrition (2023; doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1173488).
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.
