While body mass index (BMI) as a body composition assessment tool has long had its critics, recent research has highlighted a new potential drawback in that it could prevent people of certain ethnicities from having their risk for Type 2 diabetes assessed earlier. A psychologist and weight management specialist at Cleveland Clinic stresses the importance of physicians and patients being aware of different cut-off points based on their ethnicity.

Leslie Heinberg, PhD, MA, explains that recently, researchers in the UK [1] discovered that the cutoff BMI number associated with a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes varies between different patient populations. For example, a BMI of 30 or above was linked to a higher risk for white people. For Black people, the cutoff number was 28 or above. For South Asian people it was 23.9 or above and for the Middle Eastern population, the BMI cutoff was 26 or above.

The problem? Some healthcare providers might only be making recommendations for diabetes-related lifestyle changes or treatment options based on the risk level for white people. This means that other populations might not get the medical interventions they need in time.