Body mass index, or BMI, has long been criticized as a flawed method for measuring obesity — and now a group of experts is sharing new recommendations.
BMI is a formula that uses a person's height and weight ratio to assess whether they're underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese, although it is not a direct measure of body fat.
In the report, published Tuesday in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, more than 50 experts proposed a new way for medical professionals to define and diagnose obesity that puts less emphasis on BMI.
While the new recommendations still uses BMI as a "first pass" screening tool, it drills down into whether a person has pre-clinical obesity or clinic obesity with other means of measure, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on "CBS Mornings" Wednesday.
