Intended for healthcare professionals

  1. Research
  2. Central overweight and...
  3. Re: Why BMI?

Rapid response to:

Papers

Central overweight and obesity in British youth aged 11–16 years: cross sectional surveys of waist circumference

BMJ 2003; 326 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.326.7390.624 (Published 22 March 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;326:624

Rapid Response:

Re: Why BMI?

I've always assumed BMI was more an estimate of workload on the heart
rather than obesity.

I don't know of any work in this area but I'd guess a 20 stone
bodybuilder would have an increased risk of a heart attack, despite having
a waist of 32".

Competing interests:  
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

24 March 2003
J C Hamer
Analyst
Voa PCT, HP19 8ET