Another option, which may be the closest alternative, is the waist-to-hip ratio, which compares the circumference of your waist to that of your hips. This might be a better gauge because it takes into account not only how much fat you have, but where it is located, Dr. Lazar says. This is an important distinction because you actually have multiple types of body fat . We know that visceral fat, the kind that lurks deep in your abdomen and can widen your waist, is more dangerous, whereas the fat on your hips is subcutaneous or "white" fat, which doesn't seem to be as harmful. In a few studies, Dr. Lazar says, waist-to-hip ratio seems to be better at estimating your actual metabolic health than BMI alone.But Dr. Tomiyama maintains that we don’t need another shortcut to measuring our health. “I think really we already have a better marker — all these markers that we already measure,” she says. “These are much more direct conduits to health.”Blood pressure is an obvious example: “It might be hard to get a blood test for insulin resistance, but blood pressure — that’s so easy,” she says. “It takes 15 seconds, is that really so much more onerous?" Doctors taking other markers into account during the decision-making process — before simply jumping straight to the advice to lose weight — could ultimately improve people's care.Dr. Lazar agrees that incorporating “other inexpensive things that we can add to the mix” is a good approach. “But let’s acknowledge that there might be something a lot better out there,” he says, “and the only way to find that is basic research.” Unfortunately, that also takes time and money.In the end, we may never really be rid of the BMI. So our best approach is to accept it for what it is — a quick and dirty approximation of an incredibly complex and individual thing — and to remember that it is, at best, only the beginning of the story of your health.It's your body. It's your summer. Enjoy them both. Check out more #TakeBackTheBeach here