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Articles on BMI

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We’d all like to have a different, or at least improved, body. But why do we want the body we want? Mike/Flickr

Your ‘ideal’ body, and why you want it

A 2011 British survey found 12% of women would give up two to ten years of their lives just to be their ideal weight. So what makes an ideal body, and why do we want one so badly?
We’ve all heard BMI has shortcomings, so what scale should we use to predict our optimum weight? from www.shutterstock.com.au

Too fat, too thin? How do you work out your ideal weight?

Public health authorities are forever telling us how much we should weigh, but there is one essential element missing: shape.
A metrobus driver performs squats at Rio de los Remedios metrobus station in Mexico. To combat growing obesity, lawmakers have introduced a new campaign encouraging physical activity. Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Fitness versus fatness: which matters more?

For many obese people, the message that physical activity is more important than managing weight is not only unhelpful but also not true.
The World Health Organisation considers people with a BMI below 18.5 to be underweight and at risk of being malnourished. Jeanette Goodrich/Flickr

Weighing the evidence for banning skinny catwalk models

The French government is backing parliamentary plans to ban unhealthily thin models from catwalks, but do the bodies of these models really affect women’s self-image?
Under-reporting of weight is a growing problem for obesity researchers. puuikibeach/Flickr

Weight fibs distorting reported obesity rates

People are increasingly reporting their weight as lower than it is, skewing data on obesity rates, according to a new Irish study. The study, published today in PLOS ONE, found the gap in obesity levels…
Obesity’s negative impact on mortality may be outweighed by other factors favourably influencing life expectancy. Isaac Brown/Stocky Bodies

Obesity’s paradoxical impact on trends in life expectancy

The rising level of obesity, along with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other related diseases, is predicted to slow down or reverse the decline in mortality seen in most Western countries in recent…
Chocolate can be good for you … in moderation. AAP

Are regular chocolate eaters really thinner?

People who eat chocolate on a regular basis tend to be thinner, even when they do not exercise more often, a new study claims. But health experts have warned that the findings of the study, published today…

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