Obesity rethinking: What we believed so far may have been wrong!

THE body weight index (BMI) A widely used method for examining the condition of our body, which can be used to categorize a person as a normal body weight, overweight or obese. However, for the ECO 2025 Congress, 11-14 May 2025. is being held in Malaga, a research has been proclaimed that suggests that BMI itself is unable to fully show important differences between body composition – writes the scitechdaily.com.

According to the results of the research, obese peoplewho have the same BMI can show significant differences in fat and muscle distribution depending on their age. Especially for older adults, it is observed that fat is accumulated in the strain, while muscle mass decreases in the arms and legs than younger individuals.

Researchers suggest that obese people can change fat and muscle distribution as age is age, even if BMI does not change. This suggests that BMI itself is not a reliable tool for evaluating the changes in body composition.

Age -related changes

The obesity A serious health problem characterized by excessive accumulation of body fat and can also result in muscle loss. Although BMI is widely used to evaluate obesity, we know little about how fat and muscle mass change as age progresses. This research intends to make up for this deficiency by analyzing the deviations of total and regional body composition in different age groups.

A total of 2,844 adults participated in the research with representatives of both genders, whose BMI was 25 kg/m² or higher. The pattern was classified into three age groups:

• Young adults (20-39 years)
• Middle -aged adults (40-59 years)
• Older adults (60-79 years)

The results were then compared between groups fitted according to BMI and body weight.

Gender and age differences

The research has shown that the percentage of body fat in men showed an increasing tendency as age progressed, while the total muscle mass decreased. However, in women, these aggregate values ​​(body fat and muscle mass) remained roughly unchanged between age groups.

The truly remarkable result was that middle -aged and older participants had more tribal body fat percentage ( +1.23% – +4.21%) but less muscle mass compared to young adults (-0.81 kg –2.63 kg) -despite the fact that the Bmi-They were similar. This suggests that, as the age progresses, body fat is more concentrated in the abdomen and strain, while muscle mass decreases in the arms and legs.

Rethink of obesity measurement methods

« These results clearly point out that we cannot rely solely on BMI, as it does not properly reflect changes in body composition at different ages. Especially in middle-aged and older adults we see that there is higher abdominal fat deposits and lower muscle mass than the younger group. Body composition can be rearranged without BMI change. Professor Ghoch said.

Researchers stressed that this rearrangement could have serious health consequences, such as:

• Chronic, low degree of inflammation
• Insulin resistance
• Increased risk of cardiovascular disease

Nevertheless, BMI does not show any significant change.

« In light of this, the use of BMI becomes useless and misleading. There is a need for new measuring tools that can accurately detect changes in fat and muscle mass in this population. At the same time, it is important to note that the results of our research need to be confirmed by long-term studies » The professor added. « Instead of BMI, we need to use simpler, easier methods that can detect these changes. These include, for example, waist-to-height ratio and muscle mass and force testing, such as handgrip body. »

Blikk file

Bmi