Why BMI is Misleading: The Truth About Weight, Obesity, and Fitness

he Body Mass Index (BMI) is widely used in healthcare to assess health and fitness by measuring weight-to-height ratio. However, its global reliance has faced criticism for contributing to weight stigma and oversimplifying health assessments. Critics argue that the status of health and fitness is more complex than numbers on the BMI scale, and cannot be fully understood using only weight and height. This study reviews recent research on the credibility of BMI, evaluating its benefits and limitations and proposes best practices to optimize its use without perpetuating stigma.