BMI is Dead, Here's What to Use Instead

When you go into your doctor's office for a physical, the first thing they will do is have you step on the scale to check your weight and height. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a metric used to determine if you are at a healthy weight. It is simply your weight relative to your height.

BMI is estimated to have been created by mathematician Adolphe Quetelet somewhere between 1830 and 1850! Not that everything old is necessarily bad, but we can do a lot better. Especially when you consider how prevalent fitness is in our current society.

When you look at just weight and height, it only gives a rudimentary look at someone's physique. A lean, muscular person could be deemed obese if they are short. A tall, thin person could be considered healthy even if they are skinny fat and could benefit from gaining muscle.

Luckily there are more accurate measures of health from a physique perspective. While the medical industry is slow to adopt these sorts of things, you can still utilize these tools for yourself.

Waist Circumference

If you have a body measuring tape, waist circumference is an easy metric to track. A good rule of thumb is to start at your bellybutton and measure around your body.

A general number men can target for waist circumference is 37 inches and under. There are also calculators and charts online that look at waist-to-height ratio if you want to take it a step further.

Holding fat in your waist area is potentially harmful due to visceral fat. Visceral fat is not the fat you can physically pinch with your fingers; it is stored deeper in and around your organs. This type of fat is associated with a number of health issues.

Body Fat Measuring Tools

There are tons of body fat measurement tools, ranging widely in price and sophistication. DEXA is a prominent body fat measuring device, one that you will usually only see in high end gyms and wellness clinics.

InBody machines are a bit more prevalent. Some models will not only give you your body fat percentage, but where you hold body fat the most.

You will also see bathroom scales that give body fat metrics as well. All of these tools use something called bioelectrical impedance, which sends a signal through your body and measures the resistance as it travels. Fat will slow down the signal, which is how it determines body fat levels.

These tools work to varying degrees of accuracy. The most important thing is to pick a tool and stick with it if you are measuring progress. If you go from a DEXA, to a bathroom scale, to your friend's different scale, to an InBody, your numbers are going to be all over the place.

Conclusion

BMI has run its near 200-year course, and it's time for a change. The good news is you don't need a fancy clinic or an expensive machine to get a clearer picture of where you stand. A ten dollar measuring tape and a consistent bathroom scale will tell you more than a BMI calculator ever could. Track your waist circumference. Find a body fat tool you like and stick with it. Pay attention to the trends over time, not just the individual numbers.

Your doctor may still read your BMI off a chart at your next physical. You can just nod politely and then go home and use the tools that actually give you useful information. Progress is progress, and now you know how to measure it.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 12:13 PM.