BMI ‘may be being applied incorrectly to ethnic minorities’

The way that UK medical professionals apply body mass index (BMI) when identifying patients at risk of certain diseases could be incorrect, according to new guidance.

Advice issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has suggested that a "one-size-fits-all" approach to BMI analysis does not take into account physiological differences between caucasians and people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups.

Newer research has suggested that the point at which the level of body fat becomes risky to health varies between ethnic groups, with ethnic minorities being more susceptible to BMI-associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Professor Mike Kelly, director of the Centre for Public Health at NICE, said: "Healthcare workers should apply lower thresholds to people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups than to those of white European descent."

According to NHS data, the healthy BMI for the majority of people is between 18.5 and 24.9, though this varies depending on an individual's body type.