BMI is used by the NHS to assess whether people are a healthy weight and is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.
For white people, a BMI of 25 or higher is classed as overweight, but for people from black or Asian backgrounds, this figure is 23.
That means people of the same height and weight can be classed as “healthy” if they are white, but they can be considered “overweight” if they are black or Asian.
According to the NHS, external, this is because “people from an Asian, Black African, African-Caribbean or Middle Eastern ethnic background have a higher chance of developing health problems at a lower BMI”.
Dietician Nusrat Kausar, based in Bradford, says her home city provides its own challenges when it comes to staying healthy.
“In Bradford, there are a lot of takeaways,” she says, with a rueful smile.
“We have a lot of food shops, streets and streets of desserts, fried food.
“So, a lot of the environment doesn’t make it easy to eat healthily.”
