該是向BMI道別的時候？

Move over, body mass index. Make room for roundness — to be precise, the body roundness index.

挪開吧，身體質量指數。讓位給圓度，更精確地說，身體圓度指數。

The body mass index, or BMI, is a ratio of height to weight that has long been used as a medical screening tool. It is one of the most widely used health metrics but also one of the most reviled, because it is used to label people overweight, obese or extremely obese.

身體質量指數，或簡稱BMI，是一項身高與體重的比率，長期以來被用作疾病篩檢工具。BMI是使用最廣泛的健康指標之一，但因把人貼上超重、肥胖或極度肥胖的標籤，也是最為人詬病的指標之一。

The classifications have been questioned by athletes including American Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher, whose BMI of 30 technically puts her on the cusp of obesity. “But alas,” she said on Instagram, addressing online trolls who tried to shame her about her weight, “I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not.”

這樣的分類也遭到美國奧運橄欖球選手伊洛娜．馬赫在內的運動員質疑，她的BMI為30，嚴格來說是達到肥胖門檻。伊洛娜在IG上回應羞辱她體重的酸民網友：「哎呀，我要參加奧運，但是你不行。」

Advocates for overweight individuals and people of color note that the formula was developed nearly 200 years ago and based exclusively on data from men, most of them white, and that it was never intended for medical screening.

過重者與有色人種的倡議人主張，該公式制定於近200年前，且數據僅來自男性，其中大部分為白人，而且從來沒有打算用於疾病篩檢。

Even physicians have weighed in on the shortcomings of BMI. The American Medical Association warned last year that BMI is an imperfect metric that doesn’t account for racial, ethnic, age, sex and gender diversity. It can’t differentiate between individuals who carry a lot of muscle and those with fat in all the wrong places.

甚至醫師也開始討論BMI的缺點。美國醫學會去年警告，BMI是不完美的指標，其並未考慮種族、族群、年齡、性別與性別多元化，也無法辨別個體是擁有大量肌肉，還是脂肪都囤積在錯誤的地方。

“Based on BMI, Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was a bodybuilder would have been categorized as obese and needing to lose weight,” said Dr. Wajahat Mehal, director of the Metabolic Health and Weight Loss Program at Yale University. “But as soon as you measured his waist, you’d see, ‘Oh, it’s 32 inches.’”

耶魯大學代謝健康與減重計畫主任梅哈爾醫師表示，「根據BMI，阿諾史瓦辛格還是健美選手時，會被歸類為肥胖且需要減重，但只要測量他腰圍就會發現，哦，32英寸」。

So, welcome a new metric: the body roundness index. BRI is just what it sounds like — a measure of how round or circlelike you are, using a formula that takes into account height and waist, but not weight.

因此，歡迎新指標：身體圓度指數（BRI）。BRI顧名思義使用考慮身高與腰圍的公式，來測量你身形圓度或多圓，而不考慮體重。

It’s a formula that may provide a better estimate of central obesity and abdominal fat, which are closely linked to an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, unlike fat stored on the buttocks and thighs.

該公式能更妥善評估中央型肥胖與腹部脂肪，這與第二型糖尿病、高血壓和心臟病風險增加高度相關，跟囤積在臀部與大腿的脂肪不一樣。

A paper published in JAMA Network Open in June was the latest study to report that BRI is a promising predictor of mortality. BRI scores generally run from 1 to 15; most people rank between 1 and 10.

根據六月發表在美國醫學會期刊網路開放版的一篇最新研究指出，BRI有望應用於預測死亡率。BRI評分1至15，大多數人介於1至10之間。

美關稅新規 可能顛覆零售業典範轉移

Major U.S. retailers including Amazon and Walmart have been quietly exploring shifting toward a business model that would ship more goods directly to consumers from Chinese factories and require fewer U.S. workers in retail stores and logistics centers.

包括亞馬遜、沃爾瑪等主要美國零售商，一直默默探索轉向一種新商業模式，由中國大陸工廠直接向消費者運送更多商品，減少零售店與物流中心的美國勞工數。

The plans have been driven by the rocketing popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms including Shein and Temu, which have won over consumers with their low prices. These platforms ship inexpensive products directly to consumers’ doorsteps, allowing them to bypass U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, along with the hefty costs associated with brick-and-mortar stores, warehousing and distribution networks.

這項計畫是因中國電子商務平台的快速普及而推動，Shein、Temu等平台以低價獲得消費者青睞。這些平台將廉價商品直接送到消費者家門口，讓他們得以繞過美國對大陸產品課徵的關稅，以及實體店面、倉儲、配銷網的高額成本。

Rising competition from Shein, Temu and other Chinese companies is pushing many major U.S. retailers to consider shifting to a similar model to qualify for an obscure, century-old U.S. trade law, according to several people familiar with the plans. The law, known as de minimis, allows importers to bypass U.S. taxes and tariffs on goods as long as shipments do not exceed $800 in value.

熟知計畫的多名人士透露，面臨Shein、Temu及其他陸企激烈競爭，迫使許多美國大型零售商考慮轉向類似模式，以符合一項鮮為人知卻有百年歷史的美國貿易法，又稱為「小額豁免」，允許價值不超過800美元的進口商品免繳稅金與關稅。

But that trend toward changing business models may have been disrupted Friday, when the Biden administration abruptly moved to close off de minimis eligibility for many Chinese imports, including most clothing items. In an announcement Friday morning, the Biden administration said it would clamp down on the number of packages that come into the country duty-free using de minimis shipping, particularly from China.

但這項商業模式轉型趨勢周五可能被打亂，當天拜登政府突然採取行動，封鎖許多大陸進口商品小額豁免資格，包括大部分服飾品項。在周五上午的聲明中，拜登政府表示將限制利用小額豁免免稅進入美國的包裹數量，尤其是來自大陸的包裹。

The Biden administration’s changes will not go into effect immediately. The proposal will be subject to comment by industry before being finalized in the coming months, and some imports from China would still qualify for a de minimis exemption.

拜登政府這項改變並不會立即生效，提案在未來幾個月定案前，將由產業界討論，且部分來自大陸的進口產品仍符合小額豁免資格。

But Friday’s action may head off a change that has been looming in global retail. Amazon has been preparing a new discount service that would ship products directly to consumers, allowing those goods to bypass tariffs, according to people familiar with the plans. Even companies that preferred to keep their business models as-is — such as Walmart — have been forced to consider using more de minimis to compete.

但周五的行動恐怕會阻止全球零售迫在眉睫的改變。知情人士表示，亞馬遜正在準備一項新的折扣服務，讓商品規避關稅直接運到消費者手中。即使是像沃爾瑪這類傾向維持原本商業模式的企業，也被迫考慮利用更多小額豁免來競爭。

Walmart declined to comment. An Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company was “always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to delight our customers with more selection, lower prices and greater convenience.”

沃爾瑪拒絕回應。亞馬遜發言人則在電子郵件聲明，該公司「一直在研究與銷售夥伴合作的新方式，透過更多元選擇、更低廉價格與更便利的方式來滿足我們的客戶」。