ArticleSocial theory & health : STH2018
In BMI We Trust: Reframing the Body Mass Index as a Measure of Health.
Article in Social theory & health : STH, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interindividual Variability in Mental Fatigue-Related Impairments in Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review and Multiple Meta-regression.Sports medicine - open · 2023Pooled it
- Assessing Mediation and Moderation of an Efficacious Physical Activity Intervention for African American Men Living with HIV: The Influence of Self-Efficacy in Behavior Change.AIDS and behavior · 2026Trial
- Effects ofNutrients · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of a 12-Month Online Weight Reduction Program in Cohorts with Different Baseline BMI-A Prospective Cohort Study.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Can Intersectoral Interventions Reduce Substance Use in Adolescence? Evidence From a Multicentre Randomized Controlled Study.International journal of public health · 2022Trial
- Evolution of real-world frontline treatment patterns in multiple myeloma.Blood advances · 2026Article
- Representational Veracity in Data Science Health Research: Targets, Proxies, Labels, and Descriptors.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Eating Disorder Risk Among Italian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Screening Study Using BMI, EAT-26, and EDE-Q 6.0.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Exploring the relationship between BMI and cognitive function in older adults: The mediating role of recreational physical activity.Medicine · 2026Article
- Predicting Pressure Injury Prevention Education by Acute Care Nurses Within 24 h of Hospital Admission: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Observational
- Article
- Losing sleep? The effects of exposure to shootings near one's residence on self-reported sleep quantity in Chicago, 2020-2021.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitude and practice toward obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome among women of childbearing age with overweight or obesity.Archives of gynecology and obstetrics · 2026Article
- Adherence to the Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota and reduced risk of nephrolithiasis: a case-control study of Chinese adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- A clinically actionable nomogram integrating HbA1c, renal function, and blood pressure for early prediction of diabetic macular edema in working-age patients with type 2 diabetes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Predicting short-term composite outcome risk in heart failure patients using a machine learning model incorporating UHR: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- WHtR-BFP dual-dimensional synergy: innovative construction of a nine-grid model for precision obesity management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Obesity-induced metabolic reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment: mechanisms, spatial niches, and immunotherapy response.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The nature of the relationship between obesity and mental health: an IMI2 SOPHIA qualitative study.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Association between a body shape index (ABSI) and periodontal disease: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Recent work in medical sociology has provided critical insights into distinguishing between obesity as a condition with severe individual- and population-level health consequences, and obesity as a socially undesirable, stigmatizing construct opposing thinness as the healthy ideal. Less often considered is the role of Body Mass Index (BMI) as the standard by which obesity and healthy weight are measured and defined. Addressing this issue, I begin by distinguishing between BMI as an empirical, objective measure of health, and BMI as an arbitrary, subjective label for categorizing the population. I further consider how BMI is empowered as a measurable quantity through the lens of medicalization and evidence-based medicine, and introduce the "performativity" of BMI as a superior framework for confronting the measure's conceptual limitations. Emphasizing key parallels between BMI and self-rated health as measures with high predictive validity, yet unspecified mechanisms of action, I propose an epistemological shift away from classifying BMI as a biomarker and toward a more flexible view of the measure as a holistic appraisal of health. In closing, I argue that researchers may continue to leverage BMI's ease of collection and interpretation, provided they are attuned to its definitional ambiguity across diverse research methods and contexts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.