Shape Up America! launches initiative to use body fat percentage
as a leading public health indicator.  WASHINGTON, D.C. - Shape
Up America!, the anti-obesity initiative started by former U.S.
surgeon general Dr. C. Everett Koop, has issued an advisory
stating that one's body fat percentage is superior as a measure
of healthy weight than the currently accepted body mass index
(BMI).  This announcement follows new research supporting body
fat percentage as an indicator of health risk. Notably,
investigators from the Obesity Research Center at St.
Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, as well as
clinical centers in the United Kingdom and Japan, correlated
body fat percentage to BMI, taking the first big step toward
linking body fat percentage directly to disease risk.  In a
press release, Shape Up America! pointed out the shortcomings of
BMI, a mathematical formula based on a person's height and
weight. Specifically, BMI can't distinguish fat from muscle.
This can lead to misclassification. For exa