Is BMI rubbish? episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 15, 2026 · 5 MIN

Is BMI rubbish?

from The Non-Psychiatrist’s Guide to Lifestyle Psychiatry · host Dr Mike Trott

BMI is everywhere in healthcare — but how useful is it for judging health at the individual level, especially in people with severe mental illness?In this episode we explore why BMI performs reasonably well for population surveillance but often fails to capture individual cardio-metabolic risk, especially for people with severe mental illness. Links to papers: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2513596-your-bmi-cant-tell-you-much-about-your-health-heres-what-can/https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(24)00316-4/fulltext

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Is BMI rubbish?

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This episode was published on February 15, 2026.

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BMI is everywhere in healthcare — but how useful is it for judging health at the individual level, especially in people with severe mental illness?In this episode we explore why BMI performs reasonably well for population surveillance but often...

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