A plus-size fitness instructor says you can be overweight and healthy and says the BMI index is her "biggest bugbear".
Rhiannon Dudzik, 34 - who is a size 20 - became a qualified fitness instructor in July 2021 after learning how to lose weight "sustainably".
She thinks there should be more than someone's BMI to be considered when it comes to diagnosing people as obese.
Rhiannon's comments come after a group of 50 international experts condemned the BMI index (on January 15) as not being "nuanced" enough - leading to an overestimation of obese people in the UK.
Now academics are calling for two new "diagnostic categories" of obesity to differentiate whether it should be classed as an illness or just a "state of excess adiposity".
Rhiannon, a part-time fitness instructor, from Bath, said: "There's a lot it [BMI] doesn't measure or take into account - and it's one of my biggest bugbears.
"It's important to look at a range of metrics, rather than looking at things at face value.
"Doctors have dismissed my pain as the result of my weight, and people always tell me to go to the gym, lose some weight, or put down the fork before they even ask what I do.
"But despite the negativity, I aim to inspire people to start loving their bodies no matter their size.
"And I will continue to rise above."
At her heaviest, Rhiannon was edging on a size 24 and a size 16 at her smallest.
In 2018, she began a serious weight loss regime after being asked to be a bridesmaid for her friend's wedding.
Rhiannon said: "I lost around three stone through a calorie deficit and pushing myself too hard exercising.
"It was not a sustainable way to lose weight and I soon put the weight back on.
"I then started looking at ways I could sustainably lose weight through the gym."
In July 2021, Rhiannon became a qualified fitness instructor.
Rhiannon teaches three cardio-based sessions a week, as well as having a personal training session and attending the gym outside of that.
She has now expanded into online content creation - making videos advising people on how to maximise workouts.
Rhiannon said: "It became apparent very quickly that I was leading from example in the class.
"I was at the front, being plus size, struggling with everyone else - and it made people feel comfortable.
"I got a lot of messages from people who were less mobile, larger or older, that it was inspiring for them to see someone more normal do it.
"That is what has kept me going for so long.
"When I have a class, I make people understand that it is more about having fun and moving your body."
Since starting her career in fitness, Rhiannon has prioritised being "strong and healthy" rather than losing weight.
"I am on a fitness journey rather than a weight loss one, " she said.
"If I lose weight in the process then that's great, but I felt at my heaviest, I was the healthiest and strongest I’ve ever been.
"I could lift things, move things, and do a lot more.
"The BMI index only takes your height and weight but there's so much more to it than that.
"It doesn't measure how far you can run or how much you can lift."
On January 15, 2024, a report was released that says the definition of 'obese' is medically flawed and that people are being 'over diagnosed' with obesity.
Rhiannon claims that whenever she went to the doctor after feeling unwell or in pain, she would frequently be told it was due to her BMI.
"Even when I was three stone lighter than my heaviest, I would still get the 'it's because you're overweight, " she said.
"That's why it's important to look at a range of metrics when talking about people's weight.
"You can take a perfectly healthy person and under the surface, they can have underlying health issues too - even eating disorders and you can't see it.
"But like me, at face value, you’d say I'm fat and overweight - I don't have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
"It's like the common saying of not judging a book by it's cover."
Rhiannon is on social media at @rhiannons_way.