Body Mass Index in Diagnosing Obesity in Athletes Vs. General Population

Abstract

Body mass index (BMI) is used as a substitute for percent fat (% fat) in classifying obesity among athletes and general population. However, there is no specific criterion for percent fat, and some of studies have examined the accuracy of Body mass index as a measure of % fat. By default, BMI is used to label athletes and young adults as obese. Consequently, it is very hard to understand the accuracy of BMI in athletes and general population, which includes children and teens. In United States the obesity rates are heavily based on calculations of BMI. Body Mass Index is the general formula that has been used since years to get the obesity rates in the country. Thus it is very important to determine the accuracy of the BMI. A high BMI for athletes and children does not mean that they are obese. In many studies it has been stated that BMI does not predict the body fat content accurately and it is not directly relevant to the issue of diagnosis of obesity. When diagnosing or defining obesity, we do not need to estimate body fat content precisely, rather we simply need to set up with confident that any athletes defined as obese has a high body fat content relative to their peer.