A recent study has found that American women are almost mistaken about their body weight as overweight women tend to believe that they are healthy and not overweight. The co-author of the study, Dr. Eric Braverman, was reported as saying, “Particularly in women, as they age, their muscles become inserted with fat, even though they stay thin and beautiful in a dress”.

Researchers of study have further raised concerns over the use of BMI tool for measuring obesity. It has been recommended that doctors should use other tools like blood tests to measure obesity.

Although researchers have raised concern over the efficacy of the BMI, they further noted that BMI can actually help in guiding doctors in conducting conversation with their patients regarding obesity and other weight related issues.

Besides, BMI is less expensive as compared to other obesity tests like leptin tests and scans which costs more than $100. Obesity is a growing problem which is affecting the health of millions all over the world. Previous studies have linked it to life threatening diseases. It is hoped that the findings of the recent research would help doctor in measuring the obesity or fat of the patients. The researchers have emphasized that BMI as a tool should be used in estimating obesity risk rather than measuring it.