Could body roundness index replace BMI?
Could a new health metric better measure body fat and diagnose obesity in adults?
For decades, body mass index, or BMI, has been a widely used medical screening tool. But experts from the American Medical Association have pointed out some of the metric’s shortcomings. Now a recent paper published in JAMA Network Open reported that the body roundness index, or BRI, shows promise as a better predictor of mortality in adults.
Two University of Cincinnati College of Medicine doctors — Malti Vij, MD, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and Inuk Zandvakili, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Digestive Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine — recently appeared on Cincinnati Edition on 91.7 WVXU News to discuss the advantages and limitations of both.
As for a criticism of BMI, Vij said, "It does not differentiate between weight due to fat mass and weight due to muscle mass... it doesn't talk about fat distribution."
Zandvakili explained how the body roundness index can offer a more complete picture of a person's health.
"The body roundness index, it takes a measure of height and also the weight circumference to try and better estimate the amount of fat in the body, and particularly the fat that is around the waist and abdomen, which we know correlates more closely with these bad health outcomes," said Zandvakili, who is a gastroenterologist and gastrointestinal hormone researcher.
Click here to listen to the full discussion on WVXU.
Featured image at top: Diet journal with pen and tape measure. Photo/provided.
Latest UC News
- Exploring the differences between men and women with traumatic brain injuriesThe University of Cincinnati's Brandon Foreman joined a panel discussion on WVXU's Cincinnati Edition discussing current knowledge and the need for further research into the differences between. men and women experiencing traumatic brain injuries.
- Sale-leaseback transaction contributes to Frisch’s closingsThe Frisch’s Big Boy chain could be forced to close more restaurants, which can in part be traced back to the sale-leaseback transaction by the company, University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center Executive Director Carl Goertemoeller told WCPO.
- Wrongful conviction: ‘I lost my mother and father while in prison’Robert McClendon, an Ohio Innocence Project exoneree, speaks with WYSO about wrongful conviction.
- New effort aims to keep unsold clothing donations out of the landfillWVXU hosts leadership from Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries and UC fashion design student Wesley Beisel to speak to how donated items contribute to sustainable living. Beisel is the student lead of the Sustainable Fashion Initiative (SSI) which originated at UC.
- Hamilton County Job & Family Services grows toy drive for kids in foster careHamilton County’s goal to give all kids in foster care at least two gifts this year is drawing unprecedented support from high-profile community organizations, including Hoxworth Blood Center and the Bengals. Donate a toy at any of the seven Hoxworth neighborhood donor centers from November 17-23, 2024.
- The long and complicated — and expensive — effort to replace lead lines in the U.S.Cincinnati's public water utility is on a years-long effort to replace its lead service lines, guided by a model designed by Christopher Auffrey, a professor of planning at DAAP. The EPA has just ramped up the deadline for replacements across the U.S. and professor and city officials discussed the undertaking on NPR's "All Things Considered."
