Question

A. why might BMI not be a valid assessment of health status?
B do you believe it is helpful for individuals to know their Bmi? why or why not?
C Reflect on how you felt completing the BMI assessment activity and what you take forward from this activity.

Answer 1

A. BMI might not be valid for assessment of health status because of the limitations :

1.BMI doesn't take into account fat and it doesn't indicate where fat is distributed on the body. Belly fat (fat around the abdominal organs) increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death, whereas peripheral fat (fat beneath the skin elsewhere in the body) may be more innocuous, studies suggest.

2.BMI also fails to account for differences in race, gender and age.

3.BMI does not distinguish between excess fat, muscle, or bone mass, nor does it provide any indication of the distribution of fat among individuals.

4.BMI tends to overestimate the health risk for adults with a high muscle mass, such as some athletes, and underestimate the risk for adults with a low muscle mass, as can occur with sedentary lifestyles.

B. Is it helpful for an individual to know their BMI - yes, it is helpful to know their BMI

In general, the higher your BMI, the higher the risk of developing a range of conditions linked with excess weight such as :

1. diabetes

2.arthritis

3.liver disease

4.several types of cancer (such as those of the breast, colon, and prostate)

5.high blood pressure (hypertension)

6.high cholesterol

7.sleep apnea.

So by BMI helps individual to understand their health condition and then to take proper measures to Over come it.

C. How I felt after completing BMI assessment activity :

I felt that BMI is not a proper way to assess the health condition because age, sex and muscle mass can influence the relationship between BMI and body fat. But, BMI does not distinguish between excess fat, muscle or bone mass, nor does it provide any indication of the distribution of fat among individuals.

For example :athletes have more muscle mass but they are healthy. But the BMI shows high value which means over weight. Thus the BMI is misleading the health condition of individual.

What I take forward from this activity is we should follow the methods alternative to BMI such as relative fat mass index (RFM).