Plethysmography checks BMI error

Researchers of the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition of the University Hospital of Navarra they reveal that there is an error in the formula that measures the body mass known as BMI, so one third of thin people suffer from obesity.

With the objective that people really know their physical condition, the specialists designed a new equation that is more accurate than the BMI to calculate the percentage of body fat, which is what states whether the individuals are healthy or suffer from overweight or obesity.

The old method "underestimates the prevalence of both overweight and obesity that are defined as excess body fat and not weight," say specialists.

In the study, published in the journal Obesity and Diabetes Care, analyzed more than six thousand individuals, who recorded an error in the diagnosis of obesity that consists of dividing the weight in kilograms between the height in meters squared.

The results reveal that 29% of the people who are in the normal range of this formula mark a percentage of body fat of an obese person; while 80% of overweight people actually have obesity.

The doctor Javier Gómez Ambrosi He details that people considered thin (who were actually overweight) registered a high percentage of fat, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides and inflammation.

 

Plethysmography checks BMI error

In a statement released by the university of Navarra it is specified that air displacement plethysmography is the method used to check the margin of error of the BMI in the calculation of body fat percentage.

This assessment to measure body composition is done through a team called BOP-POD , which is based on the measurement of body volume through the displacement of air produced by a body inside a special chamber, which maintains a constant pressure, temperature and humidity.


New measurement of body fat

In order to have a correct diagnosis of body fat and compensate for BMI errors, the scientists developed a new measurement formula found in this link of the CUN-BAE.

The new formula provides data on weight, height, age and sex, which is why it provides an estimate of the fat composition of each individual and classifies them according to previously established ranges.

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Video Medicine: Body Composition measurement with the Bod Pod GS (Gold Standard) (March 2024).