The “Myth Busters” Series
This week we are diving into why the commonly used BMI scale is outdated and harmful by busting the myth that “the BMI is an effective measuring tool for health.” We cover the history of the Body Mass Index (BMI), which was created 200 years ago by studying a small group of white European men and then creating a tool that measured fit ness in order to categorize the population and prove that white males were a superior species during the height of race science.
In this episode, we go deeper into the history of the BMI creation, it’s racist roots, and explain how it became mainstream in our society today. We interview social and health psychologist Dr Jeffrey Hunger on how the BMI scale and weight stigma negatively impact people. We offer tools for families to use in their home to decrease weight stigma and ways to advocate for yourself and your children at the doctor’s office if BMI and weight is a focus of the medical care. The bottom line is that BMI was never intended as a measure of individual body fat, build, or health (or be inclusive to different genders and races).
Connect with Jeff: www.jeffreyhunger.com
Social: @DrHunger
For full episode information and links discussed in the episode, please go to www.momgenesthepodcast.com. To connect with the Mom Genes community, check out our Instagram @momgenesthepodcast or Facebook group: Mom Genes The Podcast. Please email us your questions or thoughts for future episodes at momgenesthepodcast@gmail.com
If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to take a screenshot and share it out on Instagram and tag @momgenesthepodcast. We will be sure to share your comments and re-posts in our Instagram stories! In order to not miss a single episode, SUBSCRIBE and please give us a RATING and REVIEW on iTunes!
The information presented in this podcast does not replace individual therapy or nutrition recommendations.