Alphabet soup: replacing BMI with BRI

Alphabet soup is used as a metaphor to indicate an excess of abbreviations or acronyms. The term is believed to go as far back as the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and the implementation of the New Deal. Many programs were given acronyms. The federal government of today is still ripe with acronyms for many agencies such as the FDA, FCC, FDIC, CDC, EPA, HHS, and CMS. Interestingly, the origin of alphabet soup to eat can be referenced back to 1867 when a Raleigh, North Carolina newspaper reported a soup make with pasta alphabet letters. There are many different products on the market today containing alphabet noodles including dry pasta, canned pasta, and soups. A recent change in how we measure obesity involves a new acronym! Most medical professionals use body mass index (BMI) to assess weight and obesity. The use of BMI was born in 1832 when Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet developed a formal to describe the "normal" man. His formula for weight was known as the Quetelet Index. In the 1950's, statistician and vice president for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Louis I. Dublin, established normal weight tables for clients based on the Quetelet Index. In 1972, physiologist Ancel Keys used the Quetelet Index to establish the term Body Mass Index or BMI. Keys provided research evidence of the relationship between BMI and the development of chronic health conditions. BMI is used widely today in clinical medicine, despite Keys insistence that it be used for research purposes only. Why? BMI considers a patient's weight and height but does not account for fat distribution. It does not take into consideration a person's muscle mass or different types of fat throughout the body. Decades of evidence have illustrated a better relationship between abdominal fat and chronic diseases. A new measurement known as the body roundness index or BRI takes in to account abdominal fat. Will BRI become the next measurement for evaluating health risk and being overweight? A recent study published by JAMA Open Network used a patient's BRI to measure potential mortality. Mortality is known as the odds of a patient dying from a specific disease state. The study tracked 32,995 adults over 20 years and split the BRI measurement into 5 groups. These groups were labelled Q1-Q5, with Q3 being the healthiest. Patients in the Q1 group were considered underweight and Q4 and Q5 were evaluated as overweight. Patients in the Q1, Q4, and Q5 groups were found to have an increased risk of death. So, both being underweight and overweight were risk factors for death. Those in Q5 were 50% more likely to pass away, while Q1 and Q4 were 25% more likely when compared to Q2 and Q3. The BRI formula was introduced in 2013 by mathematician Diana Thomas to include waist and hip measurements. The formula is complicated, but it can be calculated using an online web-based calculator. The BRI scores include a range of 1 to 20. An ideal BRI is between 3.4 and 6.9, and people can use this number to measure their overall health. An underweight person with a BRI less than 3.4 has too little fat, and an overweight person with a BRI greater than 6.9 has too much fat. You can use this number to change your diet or exercise routines accordingly. To maintain a healthy weight, it is recommended that adults get 30 minutes of exercise, like walking, five days a week. Diet is important and dietary requirements change based on the amount of exercise you get and whether you are gaining or losing weight. If you have any questions about weight management, reach out to your healthcare provider or contact ONU HealthWise Pharmacy to learn more about healthy choices. There is a new alphabet to measuring healthy weights! If you are interested in more information please contact ONU HealthWise Pharmacy (419-722-3784). ONU HealthWise does offer the shingles vaccine along with RSV, flu, COVID-19 and other vaccinations. The pharmacy is open at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. weekdays, while also closing for lunch from 1-2 p.m. Saturdays they are open 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Please call for more information. Aidan Hester is a Student Pharmacist and Karen Kier is a Pharmacist with ONU Healthwise Pharmacy.