Body Mass Index (BMI) News and Research

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that relates body weight to height. BMI is sometimes used to measure total body fat and whether a person is a healthy weight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart disease and some cancers.

Study aims to lower diabetes risk in youth

As schools across the country reopen their doors this fall, hundreds of sixth graders in 42 middle schools will begin taking part in a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

30 Aug 2006

BMI unreliable when assessing obesity and risk of heart disease

According to doctors in the United States the standard measure of obesity, the Body Mass Index (BMI), is badly flawed and may not be such an accurate indicator as it lumps muscle and fat into one category.

21 Aug 2006

Body mass index cannot reliably predict the outcome for patients with heart disease

Doctors already know that obesity is a risk factor for developing heart disease. However, how obesity affects people with established heart disease has been unclear because previous studies have had contradictory results.

17 Aug 2006

Lose weight but the cellulite remains

New research has dispelled the myth that by losing weight women can also lose the "orange peel" effect of cellulite.

16 Aug 2006

Impact of adolescent overweight on adult mortality

Researchers found that being overweight at age 18 is associated with an increased risk of premature death in younger and middle-aged women.

6 Aug 2006

Women more likely to categorize themselves as overweight than men

Study suggests our media and cultural obsession with achieving a certain weight does little to convince couch potatoes of any size to abandon their favorite sofa cushions and get active.

3 Aug 2006

Big kids are getting too big

The epidemic of obesity in young children has been far worse in the tallest, fastest growing young children, according to new research published in The International Journal of Obesity.

From The University of Manchester 1 Aug 2006

Usefulness of BMI is suspect

For years doctors have used the body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height and weight, to characterize the clinical weight status of their patients.

24 Jul 2006

Women who are overweight at the age of 18 have a higher risk of dying young

Children and adolescents in the U.S. and around the world are becoming more overweight and according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) there may be serious consequences to that trend.

18 Jul 2006

Healthy living prevents ischemic stroke

Women who are non-smokers, exercise regularly, have a healthy diet, including moderate alcohol consumption, and otherwise live a healthy lifestyle may have a reduced risk of stroke, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

10 Jul 2006

Obese women at greater risk of disease and death

Experts say that obesity is a disease that now affects nearly one-third of the adult American population, approximately 60 million people, and the latest study on the condition suggests that health risks to women who are obese may have been underestimated.

6 Jul 2006

Obesity associated with psychiatric disorders

Obesity is associated with a 25 percent increase in the risk of developing mood and anxiety disorders and a 25 percent decrease in likeliness for substance abuse.

4 Jul 2006

86 percent higher risk of death for extremely obese women

While obesity has generally been viewed as a single significant health concern, a University of Pittsburgh study suggests that not all obese women share the same health risks.

4 Jul 2006

Health risks for women who are extremely obese underestimated

The health risks for women who are extremely obese may be underestimated as a new study indicates they have a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol than women at lower levels of obesity.

4 Jul 2006

Body measures and colon cancer risk

Men and women with a large waist circumference and a large waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have an increased risk of developing colon cancer. In contrast, only in men is a high body mass index (BMI) clearly associated with a higher colon cancer risk.

4 Jul 2006

Strong link between obesity and mood and anxiety disorders

There is a strong link between obesity and mood and anxiety disorders, especially among Caucasian Americans and those with more education and higher income.

3 Jul 2006

Why are we so fat? The list gets longer!

If you were beginning to suspect that the list of things which could make you fat seems to be growing longer on an almost daily basis - you were right!

28 Jun 2006

Obesity associated with less favorable outcome after radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Obese men with prostate cancer are at higher risk for treatment failure after primary radiation therapy, according to a new study.

27 Jun 2006

Childhood obesity measurements in schools could do more harm than good

The Government's recently announced initiative to screen the weight of four and ten year olds in schools could be psychologically harmful to children and even result in some developing eating disorders.

20 Jun 2006

PSA test alone not an ideal predictor of prostate cancer

Recent studies suggest that testing blood for prostate specific antigen (PSA) alone does not produce an ideal predictor of prostate cancer, and emerging data suggest this is especially true for obese men.

6 Jun 2006