For the past three years, I’ve been consciously focusing on improving my body composition, lifting more regularly, eating better, and steadily building muscle.
Today, I can see the difference: my frame feels stronger, my posture better, and I move with more ease. What hasn’t changed much, though, is my BMI. It’s still around 27 technically “overweight.” And that’s okay.
I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m definitely not where I used to be.
The interesting part is that as my strength and energy improved, my BMI barely moved. At first, that felt frustrating, like all the work wasn’t “showing up” in the numbers. Then I realised something simple: BMI doesn’t tell the full story. It’s just one measure, a ratio of height and weight, and it says nothing about what that weight is made of. You can have the same BMI whether your body is mostly muscle or mostly fat.
So while I’m still working to bring my BMI down gradually, I now see it differently:
Build muscle first. Burn fat intelligently. Let BMI follow.
And that brings me to the question that started this reflection:
👉 Is BMI really the right indicator of health?
Why BMI isn’t enough
BMI (body mass index) has long been the default metric for defining obesity. It divides your weight by your height squared and sorts you into neat boxes: underweight, normal, overweight, obese.
But here’s the thing: BMI was designed for large population surveys, not for individual health. It can’t tell muscle from fat, doesn’t reveal where fat is stored, and treats a 90 kg athlete the same as a 90 kg desk worker.
For many Indians, it’s even less reliable. Our bodies naturally carry less muscle and more central fat than Western populations. Which means two people with the same BMI can have completely different health risks.
What India’s 2025 obesity guidelines say
That’s why India’s 2025 obesity guidelines now look beyond BMI.
They recognise that for many of us, the number on the scale doesn’t match what’s happening inside the body. You can have a “normal” BMI and still carry unhealthy visceral fat, or build lean muscle and still be flagged as overweight.
So instead of focusing only on BMI, the new approach focuses on where fat is stored.
And the simplest way to assess that? The waist-to-height ratio (W-HtR), a far better indicator of metabolic health.
Here’s the rule of thumb: Your waist should be less than half your height.
That one line says more about your long-term health than any chart. If you’re 170 cm tall, your waist should stay under 85 cm, easy to measure, easy to track.
The “thin-fat” Indian
Noted Endocrinologist Dr Chittaranjan Yajnik once described himself as a “thin-fat Indian” lighter than his British colleague, yet with worse blood-sugar and cholesterol levels. His research revealed what we now know too well: many Indians have less muscle and more visceral fat even when they look slim. A large study of over 3,000 adults in Haryana confirmed it, people with a waist-to-height ratio above 0.52 had much higher rates of high blood sugar and triglycerides, even when their BMI looked “normal.”
So yes, you can look lean, eat moderately, and still be metabolically unhealthy.
This “thin-fat” pattern often starts early in life. Undernutrition in childhood, carb-heavy diets, low protein intake, and long sedentary hours all teach the body to store fat around the organs rather than under the skin.
Why visceral fat is more dangerous
Not all fat is created equal. About 90 % of body fat is subcutaneous, the soft, pinchable layer under the skin. The other 10 % is visceral fat, stored deep inside the abdomen, wrapped around vital organs like the liver and pancreas. That’s the fat you don’t see, but it’s the one that matters most.
Visceral fat is metabolically active. It releases inflammatory chemicals, raises blood pressure, and interferes with insulin. Harvard research shows that women with the largest waistlines have more than double the risk of heart disease, even when their BMI is the same as others. Subcutaneous fat, by contrast, is largely harmless. It’s the protective kind. Visceral fat is the silent kind. And that’s why a shrinking waistline often signals more progress than a shrinking number on the scale.
Measuring what actually matters
You don’t need a lab test to start.
1️⃣ Stand relaxed and exhale.
2️⃣ Wrap a tape measure midway between your ribs and hips (around the navel).
3️⃣ Measure your height without shoes.
4️⃣ Divide your waist by your height.
✅ Keep the number below 0.5 (or below 0.52 if you want to match Indian studies).
If you’re 170 cm tall, that’s a waist under 85 cm. If it’s higher, focus on reducing visceral fat, not just total weight.
The smarter path to long-term health
Build and preserve muscle
Strength training 2-3 times a week keeps metabolism high and prevents age-related muscle loss.
Add HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
Short bursts of intense effort followed by brief recovery periods push your heart, lungs, and muscles to adapt quickly. HIIT sessions boost fat oxidation, improve insulin sensitivity, and help burn more calories even after you stop working out, all in a fraction of the time.
Prioritise protein and whole foods
Many Indians under-consume protein and over-consume refined carbs. Centre meals on pulses, dairy, eggs, fish or lean meat, and fill the rest with vegetables and healthy fats.
Sleep and manage stress
High cortisol levels promote belly-fat storage. Seven hours of quality sleep and daily stress-reduction habits (yoga, breathwork, even evening walks) make a visible difference.
Move throughout the day
Dr Andrew Huberman often emphasises “NEAT”: non-exercise activity thermogenesis. It’s the walking, standing, and moving that burn more daily calories than a single gym session.
My takeaway
BMI gives a snapshot. Your waist, strength, and daily habits tell the story. So yes, step on the scale, but also wrap that tape. Because in the long run, how strong you are and where you store fat matter far more than the number on a chart.
(Mitesh Desai, Purezen)
Over the last three years, I have deliberately concentrated on optimizing my body composition through consistent weight training, improved nutrition, and progressive muscle development. As a result, I have observed significant improvements: my physique is noticeably stronger, my posture is enhanced, and my mobility has increased. However, my BMI remains relatively unchanged, hovering around 27, which is classified as 'overweight'. I accept this as a healthy aspect of my journey.