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Life Kit

BMI is flawed. Try a body composition test

Life Kit

NPR

Health & Fitness, Self-improvement, Kids & Family, Education, Business

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2024

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For decades, health experts have relied on body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height, to classify people as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. But sometimes, you need more than two numbers to understand your health. For example, BMI can't tell you how much of your weight is fat versus muscle. That's why a growing number of researchers and physicians prefer other metrics instead. NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey breaks down the history and shortcomings of BMI, and shares other methods to get a fuller picture of your body.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Numbers that explain the economy. We love them at the indicator from planet money and on Fridays we discuss indicators in the news like job number spending the cost of food sometimes all three.

0:10.8

So my indicator is about why you might need to bring home more bacon to

0:14.7

afford your eggs. I'll be here all week. Wrap up your week and listen to the

0:19.2

indicator podcast from NPR. You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

0:26.0

Hey what's up everyone Andrew Limbung here in for Mariel Segara. 27.4 that is my current body mass index or BMI. This is the number that for decades

0:37.0

health experts have used to classify people as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.

0:43.2

Like right now you can hop on to the NIH website and find out your BMI.

0:48.1

Or maybe don't?

0:49.8

Because a growing number of researchers and physicians think it's time for a new metric because that number

0:56.3

doesn't actually tell you all that much.

1:01.1

But if not BMI, then what? What numbers can we use to help us track our health

1:05.0

to make sure we're achieving whatever health goals we might have in mind.

1:09.0

In this episode of Life Kit I talk with NPR Health Correspondent Allison Aubrey about the history and

1:14.4

shortcomings of BMI, and also this relatively new way of getting a fuller picture about

1:19.5

your own body. you're going to. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Wise, the app that makes

1:41.3

managing your money in different currencies easy.

1:44.0

With WISE, you can send and spend money internationally

1:48.0

at the mid-market exchange rate,

1:50.0

no guesswork and no hidden fees.

1:52.0

Learn more about how W Wise could work for you at wise.com.

1:57.1

This message comes from the Boston Globe presenting the Say More podcast,

2:01.0

where this summer Shirley Le Young is talking to experts like Krista Tippett, Emily Nagowski, and Cal Newport, about how

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