SIRC Media Watch Archive
Comment and Opinion – May 2003
Under pressure Regular followers of SIRC's Media Watch page will no doubt remember a recent piece Too fat to die that discussed the US military's rather selective adaptation of the BMI guidelines. By simply adjusting BMI values at which an individual was considered to be 'over-weight', troops with a BMI of 25-27 were reclassified as fit enough to fight. An article in the BMJ, US guidelines say blood pressure of 120/80 mm Hg is not "normal", outlines yet another example of how the goal posts are being shifted. Full story
