Ashana Bigard
Executive Director, Amplify Justice / Liberation Collective · Fifth-generation New Orleans native · Author · Advocate · Trainer
Section 01
The tools measuring Black women's health were never built for us. Here is the truth — and what to measure instead.
Movement, strength, and vitality — the real measures of health that no biased formula can capture
BMI was created in the 1800s by a Belgian statistician using data collected almost entirely from white male bodies. It was never designed for women. It was never designed for Black women. It does not account for where your body stores fat, your muscle mass, your bone density, your age, or your ethnicity.
In 2023, even the American Medical Association officially acknowledged that BMI is an imperfect and racially biased measure — one that does not account for body shape, gender, age, race, or ethnicity. That acknowledgment came 200 years too late for the Black women who have been told they were unhealthy by a tool that was never built for them.
A Black woman can be told she is overweight or obese while being completely metabolically healthy — because the tool being used to measure her was built on a foundation that never included her body. That is not her failure. That is the tool's failure.
"The standard was never the standard for us."
Black women naturally carry more weight in their hips and thighs. This is not a health problem. The research is clear — fat stored in the hips and thighs does not carry the same health risks as fat stored around the middle. Here is what actually matters.
Measures fat stored around the middle, which carries the highest health risk. This number matters more than your weight.
Black women naturally carry more weight in hips and thighs. This distribution is not dangerous — it is normal and often protective.
Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Under 0.85 is considered healthy for women. This tells you far more than BMI.
Fat stored in the thighs is associated with lower cardiovascular risk. A Black woman with larger thighs is not less healthy — she may actually be more protected.
You do not need a doctor to understand your own body. Use a soft measuring tape — the kind used for sewing. Measure in inches or centimeters, whichever you prefer. Always measure on bare skin, not over clothing.
Measure at the narrowest point of your torso, usually just above your belly button. Stand relaxed and breathe normally — do not suck in.
Measure at the widest point of your hips and buttocks. Stand with your feet together and keep the tape parallel to the floor.
Measure around the fullest part of your upper thigh. Stand with your weight evenly distributed on both feet.
Divide your waist number by your hip number. Example: waist 32 inches ÷ hips 42 inches = 0.76. Under 0.85 is considered healthy for women.
Blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol levels, energy, sleep, and how you feel in your body. These indicators tell you far more about your health than any number on a scale.
"Hip and thigh fat in Black women is not the same health risk as belly fat.
The research is clear. The tools being used on us are not."
You have the right to ask these questions in any appointment. Write them down. Bring this page. Hand it to your provider if you need to.
Print this one-page summary and bring it to your next appointment. It includes the AMA guidance on BMI limitations and a request for full metabolic health assessment.
⬇ Download Printable HandoutThis handout is free. Share it with anyone who needs it.
Executive Director, Amplify Justice / Liberation Collective · Fifth-generation New Orleans native · Author · Advocate · Trainer