The BMI: Lack of basic epidemiology knowledge makes us all dumber

NHANES 1994 (not 2006 DEXA data) From Wikimedia Commons

This graph bothers me. The article from the New York Times bothers me more. For a long time I couldn’t figure out why. I’ve given talks on BMI, the history of the BMI and my practice of plastic surgery is permeated by the BMI. My opinion of the BMI has swung to both extremes—as a measurement that is junk, to a useful epidemiological tool, but not as a personal measurement, and now to something different entirely. I realized this because the graph bothered me; and the reason why it bothers me is because there is a fundamental construct problem with how the BMI is perceived; and when I say BMI, I mean the BMI cut-offs, because really, there is nothing wrong with dividing weights and heights. Read More...

Holy hell balls, only 2 weeks of class on obesity? (Or, why I really shouldn’t read stuff on Huffpost)

Medical school is full of stuff to learn. A lot of stuff. Every day is a new day of a massive volume of information. It’s like trying to take a sip from a fire hose.  Residency is even more. The AMA has voted to classify obesity as a disease. An interesting move, for sure, that will ignite debate and discussion for years to come.

This has triggered a bunch of blog posts from a variety of parties who ask the obvious question: how can doctors who receive less than 2 weeks of class on obesity be adequately prepared to treat it? Read More...