BMI: Increasing Insurance Premiums for the Fit.

September 7, 2010

BMI is one of the main criteria by which the Australian Medical System determines your health. How short you are, and how heavy you are – or more accurately, how heavy you are relative to your height. BMI. Body Mass Index.

BMI = Mass (kg) / height (m) squared.

Now here’s the qualm with the system. The equation makes no consideration for what the bodyweight actually comprises. There is no distinction made between muscle, fat, bone.

This means that a 180cm 100kg elite athlete with a low body fat percentage must pay the same excess on their health insurance premiums as a morbidly obese 180cm 100kg individual.

Once again – education is the issue. How can we better determine our body composition for the insurers?

 

Dan Williams

Dan Williams

Founder/Director

Dan Williams is the Director of Range of Motion and leads a team of Exercise Physiologists, Sports Scientists, Physiotherapists and Coaches. He has a Bachelor of Science (Exercise and Health Science) and a Postgraduate Bachelor of Exercise Rehabilitation Science from The University of Western Australia, with minors in Biomechanics and Sport Psychology.

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