What’s Your Body Roundness Index Score? The New Tool That Can Help Predict Your Health Risk

Doctors have a new tool in their arsenal to assess body composition. And a study in JAMA Network Open shows it to be more accurate than Body Mass Index (BMI) for predicting health risk. BMI has been the standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, even though it fails to consider the role of visceral fat, an established risk factor for mortality. BMI is so inadequate, in fact, that in 2023, the American Medical Association revised its policy to officially urge health care providers to use measures that consider body composition and shape. Enter a new metric called the body roundness index (BRI), originally proposed in the journal Obesity in 2013.

Body Roundness Index (BRI) vs. Body Mass Index (BMI)

While BMI considers only height and weight, BRI adds waist and hip circumference for a more precise picture of body composition .

“BRI considers the fat held around the abdomen, which is linked to greater risk of health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes , kidney disease and cancer,” explains Andre Teixeira, MD , board-certified bariatric surgeon and Medical Director at Orlando Health Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Institute. Body roundness index scores range from 1 to 20 (more on how to calculate your score later).

The problem with a high body roundness index score

The new research is a large retrospective study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected from nearly 33,000 US adults. It found that higher BRI was associated with greater risk of death from any cause. The study also showed BRI trending upward over a 20-year period (1989 to 2018), providing further evidence of the obesity epidemic . The trend was most pronounced among women and people who identify as Mexican American. And it became more pronounced with age, rising among the 45 to 65 age group and even more among those over 65.

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But it wasn’t only people above the normal range of body roundness index who had increased all-cause mortality risk. It was also those below the normal range, in what researchers called a “U-shaped” curve. People with a BRI of 6.9 or greater had a 49% increased mortality risk. Those with a BRI of 3.4 or less had a 35% increased risk. And finally, those falling in the middle of the curve had the lowest risk.

How to calculate your BMI and BRI

BMI is still a useful predictor of weight-related health conditions, according to Dr. Teixeira. “It's a good idea to know your BMI as a starting point,” he says. “But it's also important to recognize its limitations, including that BMI varies — because average body fatness varies — among people of different ages and whether they are active or sedentary.”

Board-certified physician Elliot Vayner, MD , sees the pitfalls of BMI at his weight loss clinic, Newest Beginnings, in Jersey City, NJ. “The most common concern with BMI is that a muscular person with minimal fat can have the same BMI as an obese person with less muscle,” he says.

BMI is calculated by dividing your weight by the square of your height. Or you can just plug your weight and height into the CDC's online BMI calculator .

To calculate your BRI, plug your weight, height and waist and hip circumference into an online BRI calculator .

Body roundness index limitations

BRI has its limits, too, according to Dr. Teixeira. “It still doesn’t determine a person’s muscle mass. And because it’s manually measured with a tape measure, it’s prone to human error, just like BMI,” he says. It also ignores factors such as bone density and racial and sex differences, which can contribute to overall disease risk.

More research is needed on the benefits of BRI, but, according to Dr. Vayner, it’s still an improvement. “BRI most certainly represents an advancement and a more accurate alternative to BMI, focusing more on body shape and fat distribution rather than size alone,” he says. “As such, BRI provides a better way to predict health risks linked to body fat.”

Discover easy, effective ways to lose weight (which can lower your BRI):

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This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan .