CALCULATING BODY FAT PERCENTAGE BASED ON HEIGHT AND WEIGHT

The BMI visualizer does not discriminate between lean mass and fat mass, which means that a person might have a high BMI and a low-fat group or the other way around.

39,41–46

From a metabolic standpoint, "obesity" should refer to an excessive buildup of body fat (triacylglycerols). However, the accuracy of the BMI as a measure of body fat mass has been frequently questioned due to its limitations. For example, leg length, ethnicity, and gender all have roles. 45,49–55 Although women's fat mass is higher than men's, population-based research shows that their BMI is lower than men's, even though women's fat mass is higher than men's (between 20 and 45 percent).

Men's percentage of body fat mass has been known for a long time16, but a study using a densitometric approach demonstrated the weak association between the two.

56 The 95 percent confidence intervals for percent body fat ranged from 10% to 32% for males with a BMI of 27 in that research. For males, the NIH suggests obesity criteria of less than 25% body fat, and for women, a threshold of less than 35% body fat. 57)

In the NHANES III database, where bioelectrical impedance was utilized to assess the fat component of body composition, the association between % body fat mass and BMI was evident.

51 Among those with a BMI of 25 kg/m2, the proportion of body fat ranged from 14% to 35% for males and 26% to 43% for women. A BMI of 25, which falls within the normal range, was related to body fat mass that ranged from low normal to obese, according to the NIH-suggested threshold of % body fat. BMI linked better with lean body mass in males than fat mass in the entire NHANES sample. 51 More recent NHANES data, particularly in males, show that BMI is not correlated well with body fat percentage. 58

Furthermore, in recent research on people with and without diabetes, it was shown that those without diabetes had an average BMI of 26.8. The average BMI was 29.1 among people with diabetes, greater than what may be predicted. Diabetes patients had a higher BMI, but their lean body mass percentage remained the same; hence, the increased BMI in individuals with diabetes was not solely a result of an increased fat mass. 59

Weight gain and height gain

BMI has risen in the general population during the past few decades. As a result, public health officials are dreading the worst. In the United States, males between the ages of 20 and 74 have seen their weight rise by 24 lbs between 1960 and 2002, while their height has risen by around 1 in. There has been an annual weight gain of 0.57 lb, which might be attributable to an increase in lean mass or a mix of the two, as was previously stated in this article. The weight and height of women have both risen in lockstep. 40

In a previous study, life-insured males between the ages of 40 and 60 were 0.5 to 1.5 inches taller and 2 to 9 pounds heavier for the same height in 1959 than those evaluated 50 to 60 years earlier. Furthermore, in a previous study, those with higher weight-to-height ratios died at a lower rate. This was linked to an elevated mortality toll caused by the prevalence of wasting illnesses like TB in the population. 13 Adult heights in the United Kingdom have similarly shown a long-term rising tendency. 60 Children in 2005 were not just heavier but also taller than 1990 standards, yet their BMIs were practically the same, according to a UK twin research. 3

Western European men's and women's weight and height have risen steadily for the most part throughout the past century. Northern European men averaged around 5 feet, 3 inches tall in the 17th century. It presently stands at six ft.61 in. According to these findings, the BMI ranges should be raised regularly to account for changes in the population. Mortality rates have also improved, which suggests that a change is needed.