American Medical Association Criticizes BMI Measurement as Biased and Outdated

The AMA is discouraging the use of BMI as a stand-alone way to determine health and risk factors.
The medical organization claims BMI fails to account for differences in race, gender, age and often underestimates obesity and health risks.
BMI has been used to wrongly exclude and stigmatize certain groups, according to the AMA.
Some medical experts disagree with scrapping BMI altogether but say it should be used along with other measures.
The move could impact insurance coverage for obesity treatment and global obesity estimates.