• JazzIRT/Getty Images JazzIRT/Getty Images Moving too quickly in medicine can be disastrous. • The previous century is littered with examples, from the scandal of thalidomide - a morning sickness drug thathad never been tested on pregnant animals- to the embrace of low-fat diets, based on scanty evidence. • But there’s also danger in moving too slowly, and the body mass index (BMI) is a case in point. • We have known for decades that the measure - a simple calculation based on a person’s weight and height - is too blunt a tool, unable to distinguish between fat and muscle or account for global diversity. • Its benefits are that it is fast, cheap and simple, but by using it for so long, millions have been erroneously labelled as overweight, a diagnosis with knock-on effects such as being denied fertility treatment and certain surgeries. • But there are better alternatives, and these arefinally beginning to be used.
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