If you’ve ever calculated your body mass index (BMI), you might have questioned what this number truly says about your weight or overall health. While some people argue that it can help determine the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, BMI doesn’t take into account essential factors such as muscle mass and where you hold your extra fat. Consequently, people with a lot of muscle can end up with a high BMI, while people carrying extra weight in their stomach could have the same BMI as those with extra weight in their hips—despite facing a significantly greater disease risk.
BMI may not show the whole picture, but recent research suggests that it can still indicate one crucial factor: the future of your brain health. Researchers at the University of Arizona discovered a connection between high BMI and poor cognitive functioning in older adults, analyzing over 21,000 adults above the age of 50 across a 12-year study. Adults with high BMI experienced worse brain health than participants with lower BMI.
The main culprit was inflammation, which people with high BMI had considerably more of. Inflammation turns the body into a breeding ground for various diseases, including dementia. The study found that participants with the highest BMI at its outset had more significant changes to their C-reactive protein (CRP) levels over the subsequent four years. CRP levels measure the amount of inflammation throughout your body.
The changes in CRP levels led to a measurable decline in brain health six years after the study began. In other words, researchers discovered that high BMI sparks a chain reaction in which an increase in BMI leads to heightened inflammation levels and a subsequent decline in cognitive function. Although BMI isn’t the ultimate indicator of good health, it can still offer some insight into your body’s overall status.
In addition to your BMI, you should also consider the following factors when assessing your health:
- Age
- Sex
- Ethnicity
- Family history
- Diet
- Physical activity levels
- Muscle composition
- Fat distribution (belly fat vs. lower body fat)
For a more comprehensive picture of your health, consider visiting a health clinic with a DEXA scanner, which scans your body to determine the amounts of muscle, bone, and fat it contains. This method is the most accurate measurement of body composition available. However, keep in mind that the DEXA scanner is unerringly precise—it can even find the fat hidden in your muscles, which means you could have a higher fat composition reading than if you were calculating your BMI the old-fashioned way with a pen and paper.
In conclusion, while a BMI measurement may not be the perfect representation of your well-being, it serves as a helpful starting point for understanding your brain health and overall wellness. By considering your BMI alongside additional factors, you can better monitor your personal health journey and make more informed decisions to prevent and manage potential health risks.
