By Sandee LaMotte
When it comes to measuring weight, BMI is the acronym everyone loves to hate. Health professionals have long used body mass index as a quick screening tool to fast-track certain patients into a “code red” management plan — people whose weight puts them in danger of future health problems.
The issue is that BMI measures health risk by calculating height and weight. However, muscle and bone weigh more than fat, so BMI measurements can overestimate the danger for people with a muscular build or a larger frame. Conversely, BMI can underestimate health concerns in older adults and anyone who has lost muscle, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Now, authors of a new study say a different approach to weight measurement may be a more accurate way to predict future health issues. Bioelectrical impedance analysis, or BIA, uses undetectable electric currents to measure not only the percentage of body fat but also lean muscle mass and water weight.
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