Traditional BMI cut-offs overestimate overweight and obesity in male athletes

Traditional BMI cut-offs overestimate overweight and obesity in male athletes

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14 May) shows that the internationally recognized body mass index (BMI) cut-off points greatly overestimate overweight and obesity in male athletes.

BMI is not a good guide to obesity in male athletes

Body mass index (BMI) cut-off points used globally to indicate overweight and obesity overestimate these conditions in male athletes, according to Italian and Lebanese research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity. BMI doesn’t distinguish between body fat and lean mass, which includes muscle, the authors say, so muscular athletes with low body fat can be wrongly classified as overweight or obese. The team looked at BMI in …