If you’re trying to lose weight, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the body mass index (BMI), and if you believe some social media influencers, you might mistake it for the holy grail of weight loss.
Does BMI really hold the key to understanding your health, or is it simply a number?
We're glad you asked because BMI gets a lot of undue “weight.” Dr. Darrien Gaston at Metropolitan Gastroenterology Consultants in Chicago, Illinois, offers straight answers to your BMI questions and explains how he uses it as part of his nonsurgical weight loss services.
There’s nothing magical about the body mass index; it’s simply a calculation using your height and weight. It’s been around for quite some time and classifies you as underweight, average weight, overweight, or obese.
Figuring out your BMI is easy: Divide your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters, or just plug your numbers into a BMI calculator online. It gives a quick snapshot of your body weight relative to your height. Here’s how to read your BMI results:
While it dates back over 200 years, BMI has become a staple in assessing health risks associated with weight. It was initially developed as a screening tool to predict how weight affects health, but these days, many use it as a standard measure to gauge their overall health status.
Dr. Gaston cautions patients to place little faith in this tool. Although BMI is a helpful starting point, it doesn’t paint a complete picture of your health.
If you fall into the overweight or obese categories, you have increased risks of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
A higher BMI often correlates to higher body fat levels, which can lead to a cascade of health issues. So, Dr. Gaston considers a high BMI number a red flag that prompts him to investigate further.
You should, too. If your BMI is high, consider it a call to action and a chance to change bad habits. You can turn your health around by improving your diet and getting more physical activity.
While BMI is a handy tool, it’s far from perfect. For example, it can’t differentiate between muscle and fat. This means that muscular people, bodybuilders, and many athletes might be classified as overweight or obese based on their BMI despite having low body fat.
BMI also doesn’t account for the distribution of body fat. Where your body stores fat matters. For instance, visceral fat accumulates around the abdomen and has greater health risks than subcutaneous fat, which lies just under the skin.
Another limitation is that BMI doesn’t consider your age, gender, or ethnicity, which can influence body composition and health risks. For example, older adults might have a healthy BMI but still experience age-related muscle loss, while certain ethnic groups might face health risks at lower BMI thresholds.
Losing weight is a universal human challenge. Shedding pounds takes diligent and consistent effort, starting with eating fewer calories and moving your body more to burn them.
Unfortunately, that’s not always all it takes. Every person has a unique body composition and metabolism, and finding the key that unlocks fat loss in your body takes professional guidance.
Dr. Gaston and our Metropolitan Gastroenterology Consultants team offer tailored weight loss methods that align with your health goals and lifestyle preferences. We craft a plan incorporating balanced nutrition, regular exercise, and stress management techniques.
We've got those if and when you need next-level strategies.
The AspireAssist device is an innovative, reversible, and minimally invasive approach to weight loss. It allows you to eliminate a portion of your stomach contents after meals, effectively reducing calorie absorption. Dr. Gaston performs this procedure here in our office; it only takes about 15 minutes, you go home in a couple of hours, and it doesn’t require a hospital stay.
ORBERA, on the other hand, is a gastric balloon procedure that controls your appetite by taking up space in your stomach. This balloon system, which Dr. Gaston places endoscopically, encourages weight loss by making you feel fuller after smaller meals. Like AspireAssist, Orbera is nonpermanent, and Dr. Gaston can remove it once you achieve your weight loss goals.
Call Metropolitan Gastroenterology Consultants to schedule an appointment to discover what your BMI means for your health.
