Skip to contentSwipe for next articleIndependent Bulletin homepageDownload our appAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.Join todayAlready a member? Log inParis IbellWednesday 11 November 2026 16:34 GMTBMI scale could be labelling millions of Britons incorrectly, a study has shown (Alamy/PA)A study led by King’s College London reveals that relying solely on Body Mass Index (BMI) frequently misclassifies health risks associated with excess body fat.In the UK, an estimated 2.4 million people have dangerous hidden obesity missed by BMI, while 1.3 million classed as obese have no excess body fat.Incorporating waist measurements alongside standard BMI assessments significantly improves diagnostic accuracy for obesity-related health risks.Researchers proposed a new framework distinguishing between clinical obesity, which impairs organ function, and pre-clinical obesity, where organs function normally.Professor Francesco Rubino warned that using uniform BMI thresholds prevents personalised care and can result in incorrect medical treatment decisions.In fullMore than 1 million Brits 'wrongly classified as obese under flawed BMI'More bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in