Dr. Jason Casey, assistant professor of kinesiology, sought to debunk old myths through his contributions to research on Body Mass Index (BMI) equations.

Practitioners generally use BMI equations to assess an athlete's body composition. However, new findings suggest that these equations may not always be reliable, specifically among female athletes.

"The main takeaway from this particular study is that these specific BMI-based equations for estimating body fat percentage are not appropriate tools to use in the female collegiate gymnast population," he said. "They overestimate body fat percentage and provide a large range of individual differences relative to air displacement plethysmography."

The research, which Casey conducted with faculty from United States Sports Academy and the University of Alabama, was published by The Sport Journal in Nov. 2019. He plans to implement his findings into his laboratory-based and assessment classes so students can stay up to date with current research.

"We know that some populations of athletes have an increased susceptibility to body image issues, particularly sports in which physical aesthetics are a prominent aspect of the culture," he said. "We never want to do anything that could exacerbate these issues, and inaccurate body composition estimations could potentially foster that."