The Gist

Why Do We Use BMI to Measure Health?

Body mass index is imperfect. Is there a better way? We asked Maria Konnikova.

An impedancemeter measures body composition and its proportions of lean body mass, fat body mass, and bodily water.

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Listen to Episode 592 of Slate’s The Gist:

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On The Gist, dig into body mass index with our resident bulls–t debunker Maria Konnikova. Does a healthy BMI actually mean anything? The question came up after Donald Trump’s recent appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, in which it was revealed his weight and height—if his numbers are to be believed, his BMI is 30.3, which qualifies as obese. But does BMI actually tell us anything meaningful about health? Or is it an arcane measurement that needs to be phased out?

Also, more on Tuesday’s testy vice presidential debate.

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Email: thegist@slate.com
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