Is BMI alone a good Indicator of Disease Risks across Ethnic Groups?? Other Recommendations for Black Women
Understanding BMI: Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of an individual's weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of the individual's height in meters (or feet). "Body Mass Index (BMI) is now the most widely used measure of adiposity" globally (Heymsfield, 2016). Research has shown that chronic disease risks such as the risks for developing diabetes, heart disease and other weight related health risks increase with increasing BMI. However, findings suggest even from the earliest studies that, at a given BMI, health risks are not evenly distributed across ethnic groups (Shai et al, 2006). In addition, as an index, BMI is not without its predictive challenges. For instance, individuals who are very muscular with a low percentage of body fat may also have a body mass index (BMI) tha...