The fat gene and BMI - wrong about people of color

It’s been a somewhat quiet day for me today, so I thought I’d discuss something that I found interesting. Now I’m sure everyone has heard about the fat gene that was found a decade ago. And you must have heard of the body/mass index (BMI). Both of these things are critical to the current cries of crisis about obesity in the nation.

But what if all that information was wrong? What if all the research was only relevant to a portion of the population. That changes a lot doesn’t it?

Well I wondered about that, and the fact is that the BMI and the fat gene don’t apply to African Americans as they are currently defined. That’s right, they apply to Whites – specifically a portion of them. Thus all the health nut fears, medication and news are faulty.

Fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) is the gene that was found to be linked to obesity. It is found in 45% of Whites, 52% of West Africans, and 14% in Chinese/Japanes people. Of those with this gene, 35% of European Whites have a variation that leads to gaining extra weight. Note that so far studies have not found this variant in non-Whites, inasmuch as I could determine.

Now consider this. The BMI was created based on Whites, generally from European descent, without consideration to age, gender, or race. Considering the facts above, learned in 1999, it should be clear than any absolute scale that is based solely on Whites of a single age is beyond flawed.

Just recently a study done at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Houston found that the BMI index is wrong.

“Just because you weigh a certain amount doesn't necessarily mean you are overweight. Take, for example, an athlete who is very muscular and still weighs up to 300 pounds.” Dr. Molly Bray - associate professor of pediatrics - nutrition at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at BCM and Texas Children's Hospital

For example, the BMI for African American women is off by almost 2%, making them register on the scale as overweight when they are not. And for Hispanic/Latinas (1.65%), Asians (2.65%), and Asian-Indians (5.98%) the scale is off in the other direction, making them under their actual mass. It may not sound like a big deal, but it is.

That means that out of the 80% of African American women now considered overweight, many are perfectly normal. That means potentially millions of Black women are on diets (both fads and medially directed), taking medication, and suffering emotional stress for no reason at all. That’s potentially billions of dollars being wasted based on a chart that doesn’t work.

For Hispanic/Latinas, Asians, and others this means that they are at even greater risk of heart disease and medical complications to their health, and no one is telling them.

And these corrections to the BMI apply in similar levels for men of the respective race.

This doesn’t mean that suddenly everyone can stop trying to be healthy. But it does mean that money, time, and stress are being wasted on one side while others are put at unhealthy risk. Yet I haven’t heard a word about this in the major media. You aren’t hearing this in the cable news programs when they discuss health and diets. You don’t hear a whisper from the various diet gurus, or mega-corporations with pills for every aspect of weight loss.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming Whites for the fat gene. Nor am I saying the BMI is a bad idea. But I am saying that basing medical facts on a single proxy, as we learn that the proxy is inaccurate is more than just stupid, it is harmful.

Maybe this doesn’t matter to most people. Perhaps a few women (and men for that matter) might have a bit less stress, or get better medical information that can help their lives. Maybe it will help raise the self-esteem of even one woman (or man) who is hurting herself with fad diets to match a BMI target, or fight a fat gene, her body should never match.

If this helps even one, then I feel good.