BMI not Good Predictor of Obesity or Heart Disease Deaths

Ivanhoe Newswire
Monday, August 21, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Body mass index does not reliably measure obesity, nor does it accurately predict the likelihood a heart disease patient will die, argue researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

They set out to determine how obesity affects people with heart disease, as previous studies have had contradictory results. Study investigators found overweight people had better survival and fewer heart problems than those with a normal BMI. They say this may be because the overweight people actually had more muscle than those of normal weight. The researchers conclude because BMI does not discriminate between body fat and lean muscle, it may not be a good measure of death in these patients.

They say, "Rather than proving obesity is harmless, our data suggest that alternative methods might be needed to better characterize individuals who truly have excess body fat, compared with those in whom BMI is raised because of preserved muscle mass."

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SOURCE: The Lancet, 2006;368:666-678