We’re proud to share that our Director and General Practitioner, Dr. Dominic Greenyer, recently featured on ITV News Central, where he joined a discussion on the relevance—and growing controversy—around the use of Body Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of obesity.
In the segment, Dr. Greenyer made a strong case for retiring BMI as a standalone indicator of health. He explained that while BMI can give a general overview of body size, it does not reflect the complexities of individual health. According to Dr. Greenyer:
“BMI alone cannot determine someone’s overall health. It must be supported by other more meaningful measurements such as waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, and metabolic markers like blood sugar and cholesterol levels.”
These additional metrics, he emphasised, offer a more complete and accurate picture of a person’s well-being.
Dr. Greenyer also raised concerns about how BMI is currently used to determine eligibility for critical treatments, including:
- Birth control
- IVF (in vitro fertilisation)
- Weight loss medications
- Bariatric surgeries
He warned that this overreliance on BMI may unfairly restrict access to essential healthcare services, particularly for individuals whose overall health may be misrepresented by the number on a BMI chart.
At our practice, we support a more holistic and evidence-based approach to health assessment—one that sees the whole person, not just a number.
