BMI vs SMBI

SCoil123
SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone here looked at smart bmi as opposed to the traditional bmi calculator? I came across it and found it interesting. I'm also wondering if this could be a better indicator of healthy weight since it considers age and gender when calculating. I'd love to hear the communities thoughts. If you arent familiar here is a link

http://www.smartbmicalculator.com/why-sbmic.html

Replies

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    I suggest it often to people whose goals seem a bit "iffy" as it provides some good context.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I'm familiar with it ... and I'm not impressed.
    I'm aiming to lose a little Christmas weight, so I enter my current stats and my goal ... and this what I get.
    Weight management?
    This is no issue for you, luckily.
    It is an issue for me. There is no luck involved in me being my current weight. It takes planning and work and constant vigilance.
    You are already in your optimal weight range. Losing weight would add no benefit to your health.
    And I will be in my optimal weight range when I lose a few kg too. It is possible losing that weight will be no benefit to my health, but I'm not doing this for my health.
    I chose the calorie reduction option, so then it tells me this ...
    Your current reduction diet
    Your weight is below average: Do you really need this diet?
    My weight might be below that of the average American but it is in the middle of my normal BMI range and I want it to be near the bottom of that range. So yes, I need this diet.
    Then it goes on to tell me why my diet choice is bad and that I need to exercise. Um. I do exercise ... only this thing didn't ask about that. In fact, that's why I'm losing the weight.
    It actually doesn't seem to like any of the diet choices it lists.
    So I selected that I've never been on a diet, and it say this:
    You have never been on a specific diet
    You really haven't? Well done. The best diet is "no diet", as long as the body is getting a well-balanced, mainly plant-based mix of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins and enough, but not too much energy.
    I'm not sure what the point of this so-called Smart BMI is, and meanwhile, the good ol' BMI scale works for me. :)

    It is clear that you consider the "advice" useless. Would a normal BMI table have provided you with more useful advice for you? I somehow don't think so.

    As far as useful advice goes ... a normal BMI table provides me with what I need to know. It tells me where my weight should be.


    This just provides me with a bunch of extra stuff that doesn't apply to me and which I really don't need to know. A whole bunch of speculations about me that just aren't true.

  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    Personally I like having age and gender taken into account. I wouldn't expect my healthy weight to be the same as a 16 year old my height or a man my height...we are different with different health concerns.

    I compare it to body fat percentages...the healthy ranges for men and women are different as they should be.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    @Machka9 perhaps you missed the entire disclaimer section?
    Important to know

    This feedback can only be based on the inevitably limited extent of the data that you have entered here. This data has been evaluated by comparing it with the results of the most comprehensive study published so far on the BMI and its associated health risks.

    The results and comments above can only give you an estimate that applies to all women at 38 years of age with a body mass index of 25, as a statistical group. They are non-personal. They should never replace medical advice.

    What you should know about the results of the Smart BMI Calculator

    What the calculator knows about you
    Your height, weight, age and sex, probably your target weight and some of your dieting habits.

    What the calculator does not know
    Whether you are a real person or have just entered some data out of curiosity. Your physical and mental health condition. Your genetic constitution. Your amounts of body fat, muscle and other fat-free mass. Your intake of calories, sugar, fat, salt, processed meat, fruit, vegetables, vitamins, minerals, supplements and other relevant nutrition data. Your consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. The history of your diseases. Whether you have been in hospital or examined by a doctor recently, or at some earlier time in your life. Your physical activities and your level of fitness.

    Whether you have used other BMI calculators before and how you rate your weight, i.e. as normal, too high or too low. How much you like or dislike your body.

    BMI, sex, age and health risk

    All that is mentioned in this site as regards health risk is derived from only three known sources of information, i.e. body mass index, sex and age. There will be much more information that is unknown and probably of more significance, but this cannot be taken into account. Therefore, "health risk", as it is used here, is only a piece in a puzzle, i.e. the health risk that can be attributed statistically to the body mass index. Try to find out the extent to which this particular health risk may be relevant in your specific case. Ask your doctor if necessary.

    How to make use of suggestions
    On the results page, you may find suggestions about weight management, nutrition and physical activity. They are addressed in general to a group of persons with your sex, age and body mass index. Whether these suggestions are useful for you depends on numerous factors. For instance, if you are very muscular with low body fat, a high BMI does not necessarily mean that you should lose weight. In contrast, you may be obese despite having a normal BMI if you are not very muscular and have a high body fat mass. In such a case, weight management should be an issue for you, no matter what the results page may tell you.

    If the suggestions disagree with those of your doctor, do not change your behaviour without consulting him first.
    If you are a doctor, you can enter data of your patient to assess BMI-related health risks and balance them against other data of this patient.

    No liability
    These suggestions are followed at your own risk. The owner of the Smart BMI Calculator shall not be held liable in any way.

    smartbmicalculator.com/disclaimer.html
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    tomteboda wrote: »
    @Machka9 perhaps you missed the entire disclaimer section?

    I saw it ... I thought it was funny. :lol:

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    edited January 2017
    The BMI calculators I use ask for gender.

    https://heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/know-your-risks/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator

    https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bmi-calculator



    Both this new "smart" BMI and the BMI use a number scale and I end up in precisely the same spot on both scales. The rest of the stuff is just random advice.

    SBMI Assessment Risk level
    0/70 – 9/70 extreme anorexia very high (red)
    10/70 – 19/70 anorexia to underweight high (orange)
    20/70 – 29/70 moderate to slight underweight moderate (yellow)
    30/70 – 39/70 normal weight low (green)
    40/70 – 49/70 slight to moderate overweight moderate (yellow)
    50/70 – 59/70 overweight to obesity high (orange)
    60/70 – 70/70 extreme obesity very high (red)


    Category BMI range - kg/m2
    Severe Thinness < 16
    Moderate Thinness 16 - 17
    Mild Thinness 17 - 18.5
    Normal 18.5 - 25
    Overweight 25 - 30
    Obese Class I 30 - 35
    Obese Class II 35 - 40
    Obese Class III > 40
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    Semantics ... Wikipedia uses these words:

    Very severely underweight
    Severely underweight
    Underweight
    Normal (healthy weight)
    Overweight
    Obese Class I (Moderately obese)
    Obese Class II (Severely obese)
    Obese Class III (Very severely obese)


    And just how does "smart" BMI adjust for age?

    When I do the math, my BMI is the same for both ... and I'm an "older people" now.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    edited January 2017
    @Machka9 the numbers are equivalent, but the target range moves as you age. You can see this on the "smart BMI" graph.

    Also, words are important.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    I tried it and the commentary at the bottom is absurd. Apparently;

    1) My bodyfat is high
    2) I am at risk of gaining more weight
    3)I need to eat healthy and increase my fitness
    4)Being slim and using nicotine is bad for me

    Yeah ... and for me, at my age, apparently I have permission to gain weight now. :lol:

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,606 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    The BMI calculators I use ask for gender.
    https://heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/know-your-risks/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator
    https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/bmi-calculator

    Both this new "smart" BMI and the BMI use a number scale and I end up in precisely the same spot on both scales. The rest of the stuff is just random advice.

    The point of SBMI is that it will sometimes disagree with BMI as to the relative healthiness of a particular value. And, based on what I've read, I believe that it has valid reasons for disagreeing.

    So, for example, SBMI may agree with BMI that a 138lb 5ft 4" 48yo female, BMI 23.7, so normal weight yet above the mid-point of the bmi continuum, is at 35/70, right in the middle of the green zone.

    But take the same female at 118lbs and a BMI of 19.9 (still normal weight), and SBMI has dropped to 31/70 at the bottom of the green zone, and is encouraging the build up of muscle instead of further loss of weight.

    To me this, and similar, advice seems to be reasonable in terms of maximising general health and more nuanced than a blanket statement of being "in the normal weight range".

    If nothing else we're dealing with a continuum and showing it as such on a graph is useful.

    BMI charts show graphs and things too.
  • kristikitter
    kristikitter Posts: 602 Member
    Weight stability

    At this weight level, you are at risk of gaining more weight.

    I have got the giggles... I think everyone's always at risk of gaining more weight!!
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I wasn't really focused or concerned with the commentary on the calculator page, just the numbers. Thanks for the comments though.

    I guess my takeaway is this...just like anything else it is a tool with benefits and flaws. I've already learned never too place too much weight on any one data point and to look at a combination of things when setting goals.

    Really fun reading everyone's thoughts
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Interesting. Seemed a bit more reasonable than the regular BMI.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,627 Member
    In my results, the page advised "When on this diet, it is important to reduce meals to the optimum extent, but not beyond. Too great a reduction could induce the body to consume less energy and store more of it in fat deposits. Beware of the yo-yo effect. If you want to stop dieting, do it step by step."

    Store more of it in fat deposits? Is this page stating that starvation mode is real? very odd.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    It's certainly interesting. While I, personally, didn't have any issue with the feedback, I can see where it might mislead others. In my case, it said I was overweight (which I am), but said that that might be due to higher muscle mass than average for my age/height/weight (which is probably true,although I could probably do with less body fat, too). I could easily see where someone might just dismiss being overweight because (s)he thought (s)he had more muscle mass than (s)he really does.
  • coleg04
    coleg04 Posts: 126 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    Interesting. Seemed a bit more reasonable than the regular BMI.

    Agreed
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,883 Member
    they calculate the exact same for me 25.8, except BMI said im over weight, and SBMI says im my ideal weight and it will not benefit me at all to lose weight, hmmmm
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    I got the same number as the standard BMI calculator, and didn't find any of the additional information to be helpful.
    I entered my goal weight as 35 lbs below my current weight (gw still considered in the "overweight" category) and was rather surprised by the recommendation-
    "The best you can do is eat healthy food and increase your fitness. This will boost your health, whatever the case. If you reach your weight target, all the better.
    Your target weight of 150 pounds
    Your weight target is fine but rather ambitious. Instead of reaching it all at once, you could try first to lose 18 pounds down to 167 pounds as an intermediate target."
    I didn't think losing 35 lbs and putting myself in the over weight category was all that ambitious. I can see where they're coming from, perhaps trying to help those with larger weight loss goals from getting overwhelmed. Kind of came off as discouraging to me though. I think there are much better sources out there for those who have no idea where to start.
  • mzdocb325
    mzdocb325 Posts: 4 Member
    The SBMI was based on a study from Lancet, the leading medical journal in the UK. They studied over 10,000 ppl. They looked at height and weight as well as sex. The huge difference from BMI IS THEY THEN CORRELATED THE SBMI TO THE STATE OF HEALTH OF THE INDIVIDUALS. In other words, at what weight did it adversely affect someone's health with respect to hypertension, cardiac disease, stroke, diabetes and any other morbidity (disease). One thing is that as you age, most ppl put on some weight ( who weighs at 50 what they weighed at 18?) BUT IT HAS NO ADVERSE EFFECT ON YOUR HEALTH!! Most of you are probably young, so the BMI and SBMI won't be that different. But as you age the range of a healthy weght widens. The BMI does not take into account what is actually a healthy weight. It does not consider fat vs muscle. An athlete that weighs more due to more muscle and less fat will have a higher/ less healthy BMI. The BMI was invented in the 1830's, NOT a typo, 1830's! So there is some room for improvement, wouldn't ya think? So others also look at waist to hip ratio, % body fat etc. The SBMI is a good study that attempts to ask the question of what is a healthy weight.
  • shandy82165
    shandy82165 Posts: 184 Member
    not_a_runner wrote: »
    I got the same number as the standard BMI calculator, and didn't find any of the additional information to be helpful.
    I entered my goal weight as 35 lbs below my current weight (gw still considered in the "overweight" category) and was rather surprised by the recommendation-
    "The best you can do is eat healthy food and increase your fitness. This will boost your health, whatever the case. If you reach your weight target, all the better.
    Your target weight of 150 pounds
    Your weight target is fine but rather ambitious. Instead of reaching it all at once, you could try first to lose 18 pounds down to 167 pounds as an intermediate target."
    I didn't think losing 35 lbs and putting myself in the over weight category was all that ambitious. I can see where they're coming from, perhaps trying to help those with larger weight loss goals from getting overwhelmed. Kind of came off as discouraging to me though. I think there are much better sources out there for those who have no idea where to start.

    This is the what I got too. In fact, my weight and goal was exactly the same as yours. It didn't ask any questions to differentiate between short term and long term goals, so it's a little misleading.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,242 Member
    It's a tool which I very much and quite often use and like a couple of other sites tries to deal with some of the limitations of simple BMI.

    No single figure in isolation gives all the answers. This doesn't mean that you should disregard the information provided by long used metrics without fully understanding why they do not apply to you.

    Hint: many but not all of the people who think that BMI doesn't apply to them think so in error.

    In any case the sbmi website just points out the fact that in the range of low overweight there appear to be less adverse health effects than previously thought.

    The blurbs the site provides are what they have come up with and should be taken with as much offer grain of salt as anything else you read on the internet
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