Have you gone to the doctor for a non-weight related concern only to leave being told “Your body mass index, B.M.I., is too high. You have obesity” ? You leave the visit feeling blind sighted and slightly embarrassed thinking to yourself, “ Obesity?! I know I’ve gained weight but do I really have obesity?” You’re also a little confused wondering, “And what’s B.M.I.? Can I trust it to diagnosis obesity?” you wonder.
Well, you’re not alone. On my weight journey, this has happened to me as a patient when I went in to see my doctor for a cold but had gained 30lbs. I left with antibiotics and a diagnosis of obesity based of my B.M.I. of 30 kg/m2. And honestly, though I’m ashamed to admit it, earlier in my career as a physician I’ve made a hasty diagnosis of obesity for others just based on the B.M.I. alone. However, after becoming board certified in Obesity Medicine and reading countless personal research on the B.M.I. and the most accurate ways to assess individual healthy weight. I grew increasingly more concerned about the causal use of B.M.I. to assess individual weight. I started to ask questions like: · “How does the B.M.I. apply to individuals who look nothing like the people who define the ‘normal’ standards on the B.M.I. ?” · “What are better measures of individual healthy weight other than B.M.I.?” · “How do we combine the useful information from the B.M.I. and individual body weight assessment to determine Your Healthy Weight™ ?”
In the #WeeklyEmbrace we’ll answer these questions and discuss how to really determine Your Healthy Weight™
The #WeeklyEmbrace is hosted by Dr. Sylvia Gonsahn-Bollie (aka Dr. Bollie), a board certified Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine physician who helps women stop obsessing over the scale, feel great and get to your happy healthy weight with self-love & a personalized, scientific sustainable weight loss strategy through Embrace You Weight & Wellness, her practice and coaching program. Join our Facebook Group Embrace You to Lasting Wellness & Weight Loss.
This week is CDC Healthy Weight Week
Other Obesity resources Obesity Medicine Association The Obesity Society Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)