Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift

Nutrition Journal

Table 2 Cost of Using BMI as a Proxy for Health^a

		Abnormal cardiometabolic profile	Normal cardiometabolic profile	TOTAL
Untreated	"Normal" weight (BMI = 18.5 - 24.9)	23.5% (16.3 million people)^b	76.5% (53.0 million people)	100% (69.3 million people)
Treated	"Overweight" (BMI = 25.0 - 29.9)	48.7% (34.1 million people)	51.3% (35.9 million people)^c	100% (70.0 million people)
	"Obese" (BMI ≥ 30.0)	68.3% (42.0 million people)	31.7% (19.5 million people)^c	100% (61.5 million people)
TOTAL		46% 92.4 million people	54% 108.4 million people	100% 200.8 million people

^aBased on study by Wildman et al. [148].
^b False negative: 16.3 million of 92.4 million (17.6%) who have abnormal cardiometabolic profile are overlooked
^c False positive: 55.4 million of 131.5 million (42%) are identified as ill who are not

ISSN: 1475-2891