Healthcare professionals recommend that women gain a certain amount of weight during pregnancy based on their prepregnancy BMI range ( 13, 14). Weight gain recommendations during pregnancy based on BMI The researchers pointed out that BMI may not indicate obesity in many postmenopausal women who do have obesity ( 12). This is due to age-related changes in hormone levels, slowing of physical activity, and changes in torso length due to osteoporosis ( 3).Įven though an older woman may have the same BMI as a younger woman, the older woman will likely have less muscle mass and more body fat, which increase her risk of disease.Ī 2016 study that included 1,329 postmenopausal women found that the BMI cutoff of 30 was not an accurate indicator of obesity in this population. Older women tend to have lower muscle mass and more fat located in their midsection than younger women. This is because BMI doesn’t differentiate between muscle mass and fat mass, and it is why people shouldn’t use BMI as a measurement of body composition. This includes people such as bodybuilders and professional athletes ( 7, 9, 10, 11). The BMI system often misclassifies women with significant amounts of muscle mass as having overweight or obesity, even though their body fat levels are low. However, several different BMI cutoffs for Asian populations have been suggested.
This has led to changes in BMI cutoffs for Asian populations.Īsian and South Asian women are in the overweight category when their BMI is 23–27.5 and are considered to have obesity when their BMI is over 27.5 ( 1). Research shows that Asian and South Asian populations have more body fat relative to their body weight than white populations and that health conditions like type 2 diabetes occur at lower BMI levels in Asian populations than in white populations ( 6). Studies have shown that healthcare professionals are more likely to misclassify Black women as having obesity because of their higher percentage of muscle mass ( 6). Plus, BMI is not associated with blood fat levels in Black women as it is in white women ( 4). This is because BMI is a weaker indicator of body fat levels in Black women and because, on average, Black women have different fat distribution than white women. This means that even if two women have the same BMI, they can have very different regional body fat distribution and muscle mass ( 3).įurthermore, researchers acknowledge that the link between BMI and mortality risk is much weaker among Black women than among white women ( 4, 5). However, a person’s ethnicity does not determine their weight, body fat distribution, proportion of muscle mass, waist circumference, or other body metrics. These differences between women of various ethnicities are based on data averaged over many people. One review found that Mexican American women may have 3–5% more body fat and a larger waist circumference than white or Black women with similar BMIs ( 3).
On average, Mexican American women have more body mass in their abdomen. Additionally, Black women tend to have a higher amount of muscle mass than white or Mexican American women ( 3). However, women differ in body shape and body composition.įor example, research shows that Mexican American women tend to have a different body fat distribution than white or Black women. White, Black, and Hispanic women are considered to be at a “healthy weight” when their BMI lies between 18.5 and 24.9.įor example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a woman 65 inches (1.65 meters) tall would fall within a normal BMI range if she weighed 111–150 pounds (50–68 kg) ( 2). However, as this article will discuss later, different BMI cutoffs have been developed for Asian and South Asian populations. White, Black, and Hispanic womenīMI does not inherently distinguish between people of different genetic backgrounds. Doctors may recommend different cutoff points depending on a person’s ethnicity, muscularity, and other factors.
While a chart can be helpful, BMI is not a one-size-fits-all concept.
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