Body mass index gets smack down: AMA calls out harms and “racist exclusion.”

This is mostly bad. The reality is that for most people most of the time, BMI is a fairly good measure for where you should be. That it fails for ~1% of the population is not really unexpected. In the comments of the article there are more than a few people claiming that BMI is off for them because they are just so muscular. Nearly without exception when I’ve seen anyone claim that, they were just fucking fat. It’s laughable.

Also, this will fuel the Fat Acceptance movement. This terrorist organization already has many people convinced they are fit and healthy at 400 pounds though they can barely walk more than 50 feet without getting winded.

BMI is an imperfect but useful measure. It does quick and dirty exactly what it’s supposed to do. It’s not diagnostic, though — that part is correct. It just is where you start looking.

Keep BMI. Don’t let the FA clowns win.