To evaluate a person's weight, their BMI is usually taken into account. But recently, there have been online rumors that, BRI is more scientific than BMI in determining weight. So, what is BRI? What is special about BRI compared to the classic BMI? How should we view these physical indicators correctly? A reporter from Science and Technology Daily recently interviewed Huang Xing, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department and Associate Professor of the School of Sports Science and Health at the Capital Institute of Physical Education. The body roundness index (BRI), also known as body roundness index, is a new physical indicator used to evaluate visceral fat content. Previously, there was a commonly used physical indicator - waist to hip ratio (the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference), which can help people roughly identify obesity types and distinguish between cardiogenic obesity and peripheral obesity. These two types of obesity are commonly referred to as apple shaped obesity and pear shaped obesity. Compared to pear shaped obesity, apple shaped obesity is more detrimental to health. When a person develops apple shaped obesity, it means that more fat accumulates in the abdomen, the probability of visceral fat accumulation is high, and they are more likely to suffer from some chronic diseases Huang Xing said. BRI can be considered an upgraded version of waist to hip ratio, calculated based on height and waist circumference, used to assess visceral fat content in the human body. The higher the value, the more obvious the visceral fat accumulation, and the higher the incidence rate of chronic diseases. A recent paper published on the website of the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that BRI can predict the risk of death and better reflect the degree of cardiovascular obesity. Huang Xing introduced that compared with BMI, the biggest feature of BRI is that it does not consider weight, but focuses on waist circumference, which can effectively "capture" those with excessive visceral fat, such as those who appear thin but actually accumulate visceral fat, which is the blind spot of BMI. However, we need to approach this new physical indicator scientifically Huang Xing said that there is currently limited literature on BRI, and related research is still in the accumulation stage. There is no unified standard for the normal range of BRI values. Any test results are only for reference. BMI is more well-known than BRI. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is calculated by dividing weight by the square of height. With its advantages of easy operation and accessibility, BMI has gained widespread recognition in society. The World Health Organization has also consistently used it as a criterion for determining obesity. However, BMI is measured solely based on height and weight, without taking into account the impact of differences in body fat and muscle mass on BMI, resulting in BMI results that sometimes do not fully match the actual level of obesity or thinness. Two people with the same BMI index are likely to have significant differences in their health status Huang Xing said. For example, fitness enthusiasts have a low body fat percentage and high muscle mass. Due to the fact that the weight of muscles with the same volume is greater than the weight of fat, fitness enthusiasts generally have a higher BMI, even reaching the level of overweight or obesity. At this point, we cannot simply judge them as overweight or obese based on BMI, and need to further calculate their body fat percentage, "Huang Xing said. In addition, there is a special type of 'fat person' defined by BMI as having a normal or even low weight. They look thin from a distance, and from the side, there is a noticeable large belly hanging from their slender torso, indicating that visceral fat may exceed the standard. This type of person is likely to be a "thin and high-fat population", and is a fish that is not easily screened out by BMI. Relying solely on BMI cannot comprehensively evaluate physical condition Huang Xing gave an example that in preparation for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in order to better evaluate the physical condition of athletes, many sports fitness coaches will increase body fat percentage tests while calculating their BMI, in order to better help athletes reduce fat, increase muscle mass, and improve physical fitness. Don't be anxious because the data of a certain indicator is not ideal. Any test result is just a reference and should be viewed correctly. We should not blindly pursue good data, but live a healthier life Huang Xing said. (New Society)