In an effort to lower health care costs for its employees, earlier this year Whole Foods announced a new policy to offer deeper discounts on food to employees depending on their Body Mass Indez (BMI) and other various health indicators. The policy goes into effect on April 1, but the debate about it is only getting hotter.

The “Team Member Healthy Discount Incentive” is a voluntary program that evaluates the health of employees based on:

• BMI
• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol, and
• Nicotine use

Based on these specific criteria, employees can qualify for an additional 2-10% discount on top of the 20% discount all employees already receive.

Sounds good? Some say yes, insisting that it's a great way to encourage the well-being of employees. Others disagree, arguing that this is a very narrow definition of health that is discriminatory and alienates overweight employees.

There is no doubt that there's an obesity epidemic in the U.S. The CDC reports:

• Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled among adults. About 60 million adults, or 30% of the adult population, are now obese.
• Similarly since 1980, overweight rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents – increasing the number of years they are exposed to the health risks of obesity.

Evidence suggests that high cholesterol, high BMI, and cigarette smoking are detrimental to a person’s well being. But one can also argue that there are many happy, healthy, active, overweight people that are conscious of their eating habits but do not fall into the prevailing idea of an “acceptable range for BMI.”

As the debate about obesity increases, the use of BMI as a barometer of health is increasingly being questioned.

The BMI Debate

Essentially, BMI is a simple mathematical formula, based on height and weight, that is used to measure “fatness.” According to the National Institutes of Health definition, a healthy weight is a BMI of 18.5-24.9; overweight is 25-29.9; and obese is 30 or higher.

BMI is a simple, inexpensive method of screening for weight but it is not a diagnostic tool although it’s often used as that as one. In order to fully evaluate someone’s health, body fat percentage, diet history, exercise patterns, and family history must be considered.

In addition, BMI does not take into account age, gender, or muscle mass, nor does it differentiate between lean body mass and fat mass. As a result, some experts think waist circumference should also be included in overall health measurements, especially considering that people with apple shapes are at higher risk for health problems associated with being overweight, like diabetes and heart disease.

Despite their disagreement, most experts concur that weight is only one fact in our risk for disease. When it comes to evaluating overall health, weight, percentage of body fat, waist circumference, BMI, and physical activity patterns are all important.

What can you do?

Spread the news about the four steps to a healthy lifestyle:

• Being physically active.
• Making healthy food choices.
• Avoiding overeating.
• Scheduling an annual physical examinations.