Should we ditch BMI and use the ‘body roundness index’ instead?

Body mass index has long been used to get a quick and easy snapshot of a person’s body fat levels. Although there are far better ways of getting an accurate measure of a person’s body fat levels – such as using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry or magnetic resonance imaging – these are very resource-intensive. But a recent study suggests that instead of BMI, we should be using something called body roundness index to get a more accurate picture of a person’s body fat levels and predict health risk. Numerous studies have shown that BRI may be better than BMI at predicting the health risks associated with different levels of body fat. For example, people with high muscle mass might still face inaccuracies in their health risk assessments if their body fat distribution does not conform to “typical” patterns around the abdomen.