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person is obese. Many experts feel that BMI is a reliable
way to determine if a
person’s weight is unhealthy. However, others feel that BMI is too
general to be
really useful. The numbers come from comparisons of large groups of people. It
is not related to an individual’s body composition. BMI says nothing about a
person’s actual percentage of body fat. There are many
different ways that BMI
can be affected by body shape and size. Muscular people may show a high BMI,
even though they are perfectly healthy. Some people have higher bone
density than others, which increases their weight.
In some cases, those
who have very low body fat and are also not muscular can have a BMI
that is too high. BMI is also unreliable for children and the elderly.
Even supporters of BMI think that it should
not be used for people
under eighteen or over seventy years old.
Despite these
criticisms, there are strong positive aspects of
BMI. The main one is that it is very simple. The measurement can
be performed easily. It does not
take special knowledge or
equipment. Though BMI is a general measurement, it still gives
useful information. At least, it can suggest that there might be a
problem. Furthermore, some studies
have shown that people with
higher BMI numbers have a higher risk of health problems. It takes only
a minute to get a BMI number, but the
results can
be very important to a
person’s life.
Reading Time
_______ minutes _______ seconds
563 words
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general --- vague;
not definite or specific
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criticism --- a critical comment
45
result --- the final outcome
