The BMI is trash.

The Body Mass Index was originally designed as a tool to look at entire populations. It was never, ever to be used for individual health measures.

Let me repeat that. It was not designed to be used on an individual basis. It was meant to look at an entire population and trends within it.

It was created in Belgium by a mathematician almost 200 years ago. A white man who tested this metric on other white men.

So we already know that the tool is flawed in that it was designed to be used on one very small section of our global population.

Thin, white, affluent men.

I’m sure you’re shocked to learn this, right? 🙄

What's also not shocking, but also not talked about enough, are the BMI's racist and eugenic roots. Read more about that here.

So while large weight fluctuations can be a symptom of something else going on, we also know that our own personal BMI is not a reliable source of information about our health.

And just because it can be a symptom of something else, that doesn't mean all weight gain (or loss) is pathological. Sometimes, we just gain weight.

If you want to do a deep dive into the BMI, I highly recommend this podcast episode as it really explores the history and why it’s so flawed as a tool to measure individual health.