BMI Is BS: Why You Shouldn't Let It Affect Your Body Image

BMI, or body mass index, is calculated by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of one's height in meters to determine if they are underweight, overweight, or obese.

BMI was created in the 1830s and was considered revolutionary at the time, but it was designed for the white male body, leaving out women and people of color from the research.

Women and men have and need different amounts of fat in their bodies while still being equally healthy, and measuring them with the same formula simply isn't as effective.

Our bodies are too complex to be measured by one mathematical equation. For example, BMI doesn't account for hormone fluctuation or significant body changes during menopause.

Since the BMI is so reductive, it does not provide accurate information and can make us feel worse about ourselves or give us a false sense of our health.

Better body fat measurement systems include calculating a person's waist-to-hip ratio or a skin-fold measurement, but these are still just tools to assess a complex, changing body.