[Evaluation and underwriting overweight using the body mass index]

The BMI system meets in an ideal way all requirements in the underwriting of over- or underweight. It is easy to handle, widely applicable and accurate. Its validity has been proved by several studies. Furthermore, it is the leading system for the evaluation of weight in all epidemiological studies. By using the BMI System, the advantages of clinical studies dealing with the prognosis of overweight can be easily introduced to the field of insurance medicine. In wide ranges, the mortality rates given by the BMI system match those of existing guidelines. On the other hand, the more favourable rating for women and older aged people leads to substantial advantages. The extramortality rates introduced by this article can be readily incorporated into automatical rating systems. Thereby, a risk assessment on the preselection level is made possible. By taking cardiovascular risk factors into proportional consideration while assessing the extramortality of overweight, it is possible to increase the accuracy and speed of the underwriting process.