BMI (body mass index) has long been thought of as an indicator of how healthy someone is. The truth is a little more complicated, doctors say.

Body mass index (BMI) has long been a common tool for estimating a person’s relative weight status based on a simple height to weight ratio. It’s easy to calculate, widely accessible and often used to ...

A new report recommends doctors stop using Body Mass Index to diagnose obesity because it isn't nuanced enough. Doctors should consider a patient's overall health instead of their weight, it said. A ...

For years, medical experts have defined obesity primarily based on body mass index, which measures stored fat by calculating height and weight, to determine a person’s health risks. Major public ...

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 ...

If the term body mass index (BMI) sends a shudder of anxiety down your spine, you're not alone. The test — meant to measure a person's body fat based on their height-to-weight ratio — has been used as ...

This article was reviewed by Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, FOMA. We’ll start at the very beginning: Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of someone’s weight compared to their height whereas body fat ...