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Over the past few years, body mass index, a ratio of an individual's height and weight, has successfully end up being a proxy for whether an individual is considered healthy. Numerous U.S. companies use their workers' BMIs as a factor in determining employees' healthcare expenses. And individuals with greater BMIs could soon have to pay higher medical insurance premiums, if a rule proposed in April by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is adopted.

But a new study led by UCLA psychologists has actually found that using BMI to gauge health incorrectly identifies more than 54 million Americans as "unhealthy," even though they are not. The researchers' findings are released online today in the International Journal of Obesity.

" Many individuals see obesity as a death sentence," said A. Janet Tomiyama, an assistant teacher of psychology in the UCLA College and the research study's lead author. "But the data reveal there are tens of countless individuals who are obese and overweight and are perfectly healthy."

The researchers examined the link in between BMI-- which is calculated by dividing an individual's weight in kgs by the square of the person's height in meters-- and numerous health markers, including blood pressure and glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, using information from the most current National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The research study found that near half of Americans who are considered "overweight" by virtue of their BMIs (47.4 percent, or 34.4 million individuals) are healthy, as are 19.8 million who are thought about "obese.".

Offered their health readings other than BMI, individuals in both of those groups would be unlikely to sustain higher medical expenditures, and it would be unfair to charge them more for health care premiums, Tomiyama stated.

Amongst the other findings:.

• More than 30 percent of those with BMIs in the "normal" range-- about 20.7 million individuals-- are in fact unhealthy based on their other health data.

• More than 2 million people who are considered "extremely overweight" by virtue of having a BMI of 35 or greater are really healthy. That's about 15 percent of Americans who are classified as extremely overweight.

Tomiyama, who directs UCLA's Dieting, Stress and Health lab, likewise called DiSH, found in previous research that there was no clear connection in between weight loss and health enhancements related to high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes and blood glucose levels.

She said she was shocked at the magnitude of the numbers in the most recent study.

" There are healthy individuals who could be penalized based on a defective health measure, while the unhealthy individuals of typical weight will fly under the radar and won't get charged more for their medical insurance," she said. "Employers, policy makers and insurance companies should concentrate on actual health markers.".

Jeffrey Hunger, a co-author of the paper and a doctoral candidate at UC Santa Barbara, stated the research study shows that BMI is a deeply problematic procedure of health. "This should be the final nail in the coffin for BMI," he stated.

Appetite advises that individuals focus on eating a healthy diet and exercising routinely, instead of consuming about their weight, and highly opposes stigmatizing people who are overweight.

The proposed EEOC guideline would permit companies to charge higher insurance rates to individuals whose BMI is 25 or greater. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.99 is thought about typical, however the study emphasizes that regular BMI must not be the main goal for maintaining health.

Tomiyama is preparing a brand-new research study of people with high BMIs who are really healthy. Prospective participants may call her lab for more information.

Co-authors of the International Journal of Obesity research study are Jolene Nguyen-Cuu, manager of Tomiyama's laboratory, and Christine Wells, a UCLA statistical analyst.