The Body Mass Index BMI is a tool used by doctors and healthcare professionals to determine if someone is at a healthy weight or not. While weight is not the only indicator that someone may be struggling with an eating disorder, it can be a helpful tool for some people when it comes to measuring their health.
The BMI is used to tell doctors approximately how much muscle, fat, and bone someone has [1]. Once someone knows their height and weight, BMI is determined by a mathematical equation. BMI does not determine the amount of body fat, bone, or muscle someone has [1].
The BMI was created about years ago by a man named Adolph Quetelet who was trying to determine what an ideal man was like. Quetelet was not a doctor or even a scientist. He was a mathematician. The idea is that if someone has an unhealthy amount of body fat, then they are likely to have a high BMI.
If they have a high BMI, then they are believed to be more at risk for certain medical problems. Insurance companies use this information to determine how much they should charge someone for medical insurance. If the risk is high, the cost of insurance goes up.
At best, the BMI is a guess and not a reliable measurement. There is a wide range of bodily differences that are based on gender, race, ethnicity, or age [1]. While there are separate BMI charts for adults and kids, all adults are grouped together.
The BMI does not account for the natural differences that occur. A low BMI can mean that someone does not have enough fat, muscle, or bone. This can cause several health problems. A lot of attention is given to the health risks that are believed to be associated with being overweight.
However, being underweight is also a serious matter that needs to be talked about. In order for someone to be diagnosed with anorexia, someone has to meet multiple criteria. Depending on BMI, someone is determined to have mild, moderate, severe, or extreme anorexia.
The following chart demonstrates this criteria [4]:. Sometimes someone is considered to have a healthy BMI, but their eating behaviors are disordered and typical of anorexia. This reliance on BMI in order to diagnose someone with anorexia may get in the way of someone getting the necessary treatment that they need.
This means that someone with bulimia could have a normal BMI, but could still be unhealthy because of the impact of bulimic behaviors on their body. Paying attention friskt bmi efter anorexi the way someone feels about food, their eating patterns, how they feel about their body, and how their body physically feels may be more reliable in assessing for an eating disorder than weight alone.