How Body Mass Index Compromises Care of Patients With Disabilities

The history of body mass index (BMI) is intertwined with the development of anthropometric statistics used to classify and measure human variation, an intellectual foundation of eugenics. While useful in analyzing population trends in relative body weight, BMI possesses multiple shortcomings when used as an individualized health screening tool. These limitations compromise the just care of people with disabilities, especially patients with achondroplasia and Down syndrome, for whose care BMI use contributes to clinical ostracization.