New research to be presented in this year’s European Congress of Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, May 11-14) shows that internationally recognized Body Mass Cutting Points (BMI) greatly overestimate overweight and obesity. The study, from Italy, also proposes new cuts for overweight and obesity in this group.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a basic method for measuring people’s weight, determining whether they have normal weight, overweight or obesity. It is easily calculated by dividing the weight of a person into kilograms from the square of its height into meters. A BMI 25 kg/m2 or above is in an overweight and BMI of 30 kg/m2 or above indicates obesity to white men and women of all ages, according to the world’s healthcare system.
However, some studies have found that this classification system may not be good to identify overweight and obesity in athletes and its use in this team has long been criticized.
The BMI does not distinguish between body fat and lean mass, which includes muscles. As a result, a muscular athlete with low body fat can be incorrectly classified as living with overweight or obesity. However, many sports organizations are still based on the traditional BMI classification system. ”
Professor Marwan El Ghoch, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neuronal Sciences, Modena University and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
In a new study, Professor El Ghoch and researchers from the University of Verona in Italy and the University of Beirut in Lebanon began to determine how accurate the BMI cuts of 25 and 30 kg/m2 It is in identifying overweight and obesity in male athletes and, if it is found to be inaccurate, to establish better cuts.
The transverse section study included 622 men (average age 25.7 years, BMI ≥ 20 kg/m2) who had been referred to the Department of Neuroscience, Biomedical and Sciences, the University of Verona, Italy and participated in sports, such as football, rugby, basketball, volleyball, cross-fit, and others.
Participants were categorized using the current BMI system and with their body fat percentage (BF%).
Using the current BMI system, more than one quarter of the atoms were categorized as living with overweight or obesity. About 451 (72.5%) people were normal (BMI 18.5-24.99 kg/m²), 148 (23.8%) were overweight (25 kg/m²-29.9 kg/m²) and 23 (3.7%) with obesity (30 kg/m² or more).
The overall percentage of body fat (BF%) was measured using double X-ray absorption scanners-which is known to be an extremely accurate tool for measuring body synthesis-according to age and sex cuts. A BF% 21% or above was classified as overweight and a BF% 26% or above was classified as obesity.
Using this system, less than 4% of individuals were categorized as living with overweight or obesity. About 598 (96.1%) had normal weight, 19 (3.1%) were overweight and 5%(0.8%) were obesity.
Professor El Ghoch, who led the study, says: “This proves that today’s BMI cutting points are clearly incorrect for determining the weight status of athletes, as many of the athletes were incorrectly classified as living with overweight or obesity, where they were in fact.
The researchers continued to use statistical modeling to identify more precise BMI cutting points for young male athletes. New cuts, which take into account the lowest bf of athletes, are 28.2 kg/m2 for overweight and 33.7 kg/m2 for obesity.
The co-author of the study, Professor Chiara Milanese of the University of Verona, explains: “Although DXA scans accurately measure body composition, are not always available in sports environments.
“An immediate assessment of the synthesis of the body remains the golden model, but, in its absence, we encourage sports organizations and committees to adopt the new BMI classification system.”
The authors add that there are a lot of further research. These include identifying new cuts for women athletes and, possibly, special cuts for different sports, especially these were not included in the current study.
