The BMI is being used to decide who gets access to fertility treatment. Clinics turn people away. Insurance denies coverage. And it is happening based on a number that cannot distinguish muscle from fat, was never validated against reproductive outcomes, and was built on data that excluded women entirely.

In this episode, Kerry gets personal about her own long and frustrating history with the BMI chart and unpacks the real story behind this 200-year-old tool: its origins, its documented racial and sex biases, and why the research is actively calling for change in how fertility clinics apply it. She also brings in an Ayurvedic lens on body constitution and ojas, and why the body types most often turned away by BMI cutoffs may actually be the most constitutionally resourced for fertility.

If a number on a chart has ever made you feel like you do not belong in a fertility clinic, this episode is for you.

What we cover:

• Where the BMI actually came from (and who it was built to measure)
• Why it is considered both racist and sexist by design
• How Ayurvedic body constitution challenges the one-size-fits-all model
• Ojas: what Ayurveda has always understood about fertile bodies
• What the current research says about BMI cutoffs in IVF clinics
• Practical steps if a BMI number is blocking your care

Read the full blog post + resources: https://fertilebodyyoga.com/blog/bmi-and-fertility-and-why-i-hate-the-bmi/

Resources

Devlin, Keith. “Top 10 Reasons Why the BMI Is Bogus.” NPR, July 4, 2009. https://www.npr.org/2009/07/04/106268439/top-10-reasons-why-the-bmi-is-bogus

“Opinion: Women With Obesity Are Often Restricted From IVF. That’s Discriminatory.” NPR Health Shots, January 14, 2024. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/14/1224546666/opinion-women-with-obesity-are-often-restricted-from-ivf-thats-discriminatory

Boots, Christina, et al. “Addressing Weight Bias in Reproductive Medicine: A Call to Revisit BMI Restrictions for IVF Treatment.” Fertility and Sterility, 2024. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38750875/

“Body Size, Fertility, and Reproductive Justice.” MDPI, 2022. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4184/2/2/11

Charaka Samhita (ancient Ayurvedic foundational text, approx. 400–200 BCE)

Your dosha, or personal constitution, determines how you approach & experience your fertility, as well as what yoga poses are most balancing and nurturing. Take the quiz, find out your predominant dosha, learn how it affects your fertility experiences, and get 3 poses that align with your inherent nature!

Kerry Hinds is a E-RYT, RPYT, Relax and Renew® Certified Teacher, Ayurvedic Heath Advisor, Fertility Yoga Teacher and Trainer, and Reiki Practitioner. She is the founder of Fertile Body Yoga and teaches weekly fertility yoga classes and offers other avenues of mind + body support for those trying to conceive. All is available in the FBY Virtual Studio.

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