Well, it’s been at least twenty minutes since we pinned something new to the “That’s Racist” bulletin board, so we might as well tack this story on. The American Medical Association, apparently having grown bored with telling the country that chopping off the genitals of children is “healthcare,” has found a new target to go after. It turns out that the body mass index (BMI) which has been in use since 1972 needs to go. So why do we need to abandon it now? As you’ve no doubt already guessed, the BMI is racist. Oh, and it’s also sexist, and probably a couple of other “ists” that they didn’t have time to mention. (Daily Mail)

A leading US medical organization is urging doctors to ditch body mass index (BMI) as the primary measurement for a healthy bodyweight, citing its ‘racist’ roots.

The American Medical Association, the largest organization of doctors in the US, said the metric has been used for ‘racist exclusion’ and fails to consider differences in body composition that vary based on race and sex.

Body mass index (BMI), devised by a white man considering white bodies, is measured by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms or pounds by the square of height in meters or feet, and it has been deeply ingrained in the medical system as a way to measure population health more broadly.

As usual, I’ll start off by disclosing that I’m not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV. But even speaking strictly as a layman, this simply doesn’t make any sense. Pardon my ignorance, but since when are people of different racial backgrounds more or less likely to pack on the pounds? And how does “racist exclusion” fit into this analysis?

I read through the full report and the AMA does at least attempt to offer some samples, though no links to supporting data are provided. They cite a claim that Black women “tend to store fat around their hips and legs.” (That sounds pretty racist, doesn’t it?) But white women store fat “around their midriff.” Seriously?

The AMA offers three explanations to back their conclusions:

• The eugenics behind the history of BMI
• The use of BMI for racist exclusion
• BMI cutoffs are based on the imagined ideal Caucasian and do not consider a person’s gender or ethnicity

No explanation is offered as to what in the Sam Hill “eugenics” has to do with BMI. Eugenics has traditionally been applied in reference to race or disabilities. I don’t recall any breeding or sterilization programs directly associated with body mass. I’m sure we could cite examples of “racist exclusion” in areas such as hiring or housing. But if you’re only excluding fat Black people but are fine with skinny ones, are you really a racist? Maybe you’re just treating heavy people unfairly.

I suppose that maybe we could reconsider BMI “ideals” based on gender. (To be honest, I was surprised to learn there weren’t different target goals for men and women.) After all, most (though not all) women tend to have breasts while men have flatter upper torsos unless they become seriously obese. So a woman’s center of gravity might tend to be a bit higher. But, again, I’m not sure how that relates directly to BMI or overall health.

I’m pretty much throwing up my hands on this one. I realize we now live in a society where “everything is racist” and the AMA has been making some seriously sketchy decisions lately. But this seems seriously crazy. Read the report for yourself and let us know what you think about it.