{"id":55963,"date":"2023-04-18T19:04:18","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pharma-trend.com\/en\/bmi-is-out-bfi-is-in-why-bodyspec-created-a-better-way-to-measure-your-health\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T19:04:18","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:04:18","slug":"bmi-is-out-bfi-is-in-why-bodyspec-created-a-better-way-to-measure-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pharma-trend.com\/en\/bmi-is-out-bfi-is-in-why-bodyspec-created-a-better-way-to-measure-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"BMI is out. BFI is in. Why BodySpec created a better way to measure your health."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nIt\u2019s no secret that BMI is a flawed metric for measuring our health. It\u2019s why BodySpec developed a new metric they\u2019ve coined \u201cBFI\u201d that incorporates more than just weight and height, using hundreds of thousands of data points from their body composition scans.<\/i><\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BMI is widely accepted as a flawed metric for our health, yet we continue to use it in our healthcare system and media dialogue. With obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases at all-time highs and driving 7\/10 deaths in the US, we need to do better.<\/p>\n

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\nBFI: A Better Measure of Health<\/b><\/p>\n

\nBodySpec<\/a>, the leading mobile health scanning company using DEXA technology, developed a new way to measure where we stand with our health to ultimately prevent poor outcomes as we live out our lives. Using over 200,000 real scans from our database, we show that BMI and healthy body composition are not well correlated.<\/p>\n

\nBFI, where the \u201cF\u201d refers to Fat Mass, goes beyond simple weight and height inputs. Incorporating body fat as a variable, BFI is a better representation of our real health and the risk of developing chronic disease down the line. Our new Body Fat Index Calculator<\/a> lets you calculate your own BFI.<\/p>\n

\nIt\u2019s no secret that as we age, our body composition changes. Whether it\u2019s driven by spending more time at our desks, hormonal fluctuations, childbirth, or diet changes – our lifestyles, life stage, and age, all impact our lean and fatty tissue ratios. Similarly, the diversity in our genome makes our human race beautiful. We all have different statures, and our bodies are built vastly differently. Weight alone as a measure simply does not account for these variables or diversity.<\/p>\n

\nUnderstanding Body Fat<\/b><\/p>\n

\nWhat you\u2019ll see below is data from over 200,000 real body composition scans from BodySpec\u2019s database. Looking at BMI for males as they age, for example, you would see little to be alarmed about.<\/p>\n

\nIn contrast, when applying BodySpec\u2019s BFI metric to the same data set, you\u2019ll see there are clearly concerning trends with increasing body fat<\/i> levels in men as they age. This is particularly unsettling when you break down fat tissues into subcutaneous vs visceral fat – visceral fat being the dangerous fat that surrounds our organs, often referred to as \u201cbelly fat\u201d.<\/p>\n

\nThis type of fat is more harmful than subcutaneous fat, which is the fat that accumulates just under the skin. Visceral fat<\/a> is associated with a higher risk of several health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. So, while a high BFI can indicate an increased risk of health problems, a high amount of visceral fat is considered even more dangerous.<\/p>\n

\nGLP-1s are Leading to Muscle Loss<\/b><\/p>\n

\nThe hottest weight loss drugs – Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro – have been praised for their ability to help people drop weight quickly. However, many don\u2019t realize that a significant proportion of the pounds being shed are lean muscle mass. In 2021\u2019s STEP 1 trial<\/a> \u2013 which demonstrated the efficacy of semaglutide as a treatment for adult obesity \u2013 a subset of 140 patients underwent gold-standard DEXA scans to track body composition. Among these patients, 39% of weight lost was lean mass, not fat. In another study of 178 patients from the SUSTAIN 8 trial on semaglutide, the average proportion of lean mass loss was nearly identical at 40%. When taking a drug like this, monitoring body composition with a DEXA scan<\/a> is critical to ensure one is not being set up for failure by reducing muscle mass, which slows metabolism and reduces the ability to exercise, among other risks.<\/p>\n

\nWhy BMI is out and BFI is in:<\/b><\/p>\n