BMI was developed in the 19th century as a population-level statistical tool. It was not designed, and is not suited, for individual clinical assessment. In adults over 35, BMI systematically misclassifies a significant proportion of individuals: those with low muscle mass and high body fat register as healthy by BMI while having the metabolic risk profile of an obese individual. Those with high muscle mass register as overweight or obese despite having excellent metabolic health.
What Bioelectrical Impedance Body Composition Assessment Provides
- Total body fat percentage and classification relative to age-adjusted norms
- Skeletal muscle mass and muscle mass percentage, the key predictor of metabolic rate and glucose disposal
- Visceral fat rating from 1 to 59: the independent cardiovascular risk factor that BMI cannot detect
- Metabolic age: the age at which the average person has the same resting metabolic rate, generated from the composite body composition picture
- Hydration status: cellular hydration affects all biochemical processes and is frequently suboptimal in adults over 50
- Segmental muscle and fat analysis: identifying asymmetries in muscle mass between limbs that indicate long-standing injury or movement avoidance
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