Why advocate use of BMI?

by Gary
(Perth, WA, Australia)

BMI - explained :

"Marius

I cannot understand why medical professionals such as yourself continue to advocate use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) system as an indicator of being overweight. I understand that it is a flawed concept and has little application in real life. It's not a useful tool but medical professionals keep peddling it as if it is something that is useful and valid."

Answer: Hi Gary and thanks for your question.

I am fully aware of the inaccuracy of BMI (as with using heart rate for training, when such as lactate acid meter is more accurate) but the main goal is to give the best of the simplest advice on these things in the 100 day plan, that are secondary in either way.

And even though BMI does vary quite a bit due to the factors that we both know - mostly muscle mass and body frame, my point in the 100 day plan is to give a rough idea of at what level most runners should consider the diet aspect to avoid injury/when weight becomes an issue in running. This simplicity of using BMI is also why the WHO still uses it as an indicator, due to its convenience and easy application, despite its obvious faults.

all the best,
Marius