Why I think The BMI scale is stupid: I am overweight

Sarah4fitness

For genuinely muscular people, yes, the BMI is stupid, or inaccurate, take your pick.

JoRocka

I have a "large frame". Big shoulders, big hips, big head, feet, hands, etc. I also have a decent amount of lean body mass due to literally 15 years of lifting weights off and on (consistently for the last 2 years including a bulk phase). BMI still works for me. I am 5'9" and 160lbs. At my height a health BMI runs from 128lbs to 169lbs. At 169 I would be a little "overweight". At 128 I would probably be underweight (the lowest I've been as an adult is 145 but I didn't look "sick" or anything, I was still about 20% bodyfat) but that's why there is a range.

I'm 5'8" - just hopped on the scale for the first time since December- I'm tipping 178-180. :indifferent:

I look at myself and don't feel much in the way of distaste- I'm more well rounded out than I want to be- but bulking- fat gain is ineveitable.

BMI says I'm at 27.4 and unquestionably overweight (for 5'8" 27-29 apparently is the range for overweight)

HEH.

sure. okay.

Go find an InBody machine, get your BF% tested.

If I actually gave a flying fu*k I would.

But I don't. so I won't.

jwdieter

People who are unwilling to understand the point of BMI, or get offended by category names, should definitely ignore BMI.
OP says she wants to lose 5-6% bodyfat. That would, of course, put her well into normal range BMI. But at least this was a productive thread.

Deipneus

BMI isn't stupid but some people who use it are. They don't read the instructions.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: "Although BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limitations:

It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle."

LKArgh

Being strong, muscular or healthy is not the same as being thin. When I look at the OP, I looked at a muscular woman, someone who looks healthy, but thin would not be a word I would use to describe her, it would be normal, on the "upper" side. Which actually is exactly what her BMI indicates too, normal to overweight. I cannot understand why she is "offended" by this? If "thin" was the goal, or "underweight" she would have chosen a different type of exercise, eating etc. It would not have necessarily resulted in healthier, or even healthy, or fit or muscular though. So, what is the problem?
Same with many body builders, weight lifters etc, including professionals. Some are really toned, have muscle volume, would be described as strong, fit, athletic, dense but also "big" compared to the average person. Why does this prove that BMI does not make sense, and why is this offensive?

Travelbug1955

You look GREAT! My son who is a doctor does not believe in the BMI. The BMI says that he is Obese even though he is skinny as a rail. BMI is something made up that does not apply to everyone. Body Fat Percentage is what everyone should be going by.

jwdieter

The BMI says that he is Obese even though he is skinny as a rail.

I heard BMI shoots fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his *kitten*.

qtiekiki

BMI says the most I can weigh and be in "healthy" weight is like 140lbs. :noway: I'm 5'7" tall.

That is weird, since I am 5'6" and it says I can weigh up to 156.

The info I quoted was from a chart in my doctor's office back in 2002. I remember it vividly bc at the time I was 170lbs and I thought I was in pretty decent shape and he called me obese. I was quite irrate when I left his office and have never been back to see him.

Glad you stop going to that doctor. DH was overweight on the BMI chart, but our doctor told him not to worry and that it doesn't take BF% and muscle mass into account. Boo on the insurance companies using it as the main gauge, but a doctor should know better.

Lythy89

I have to agree i dont think the BMI scale can work....My BMI is apparently 31.00 and my ideal weight 10stone.

If you look at my pics im currently weighing in at 14.2 so to reach my "ideal" weight i would have to drop another 4.2 stone! can you imagine how i would look? skin and bones i reckon.

neandermagnon

You are obviously in the minority. BMI isn't stupid, and for the general population it works. There's going to be outliers (like yourself), but overall it works.

Ignore it, go by BF% and don't make others think it isn't reasonable when the majority of the time it is.

I'm not very muscular, but started out with a 27 BMI, I knew at that point I was really overweight and knew I had to something about it. Now I'm 20.5 BMI and now aiming for 20. Most people will fall into the catagory - I know my BF, most of my friends and I do. It really depends on your body's make up.

Good for you showing off, but I doubt the validity of this topic. Sorry.

Speaking as an outlier, I nearly got an eating disorder when I was 17 due to being told that I should weigh 10kg (22lb) less than what I did at the time, based solely on a BMI chart, by an adult in a position of responsibility

I had visible upper abs at the time and very little fat anywhere on my body. At age 38 I have 107lb lean body mass. (which means I probably would have had (or should have had If I hadn't been dieting to try to lose fat that I didn't have) more than 107lb lean mass when I was 17) I'm 5'1" and the BMI range for my height is 100-132lb. My lean body mass is in that range... my weight is in the "overweight" range and my body fat percentage is in the healthy range.

So yeah, I'm one of those outliers you speak of, but the BMI chart sure as anything isn't harmless at all..... especially given the number of people out there who think that it does apply to *everyone* regardless of their actual body composition or what they look like.

lol @ showing off.... loads of people post success pics on these boards, most people find it motivational. And the OP has a very valid point to make about BMI and scale weight... there are loads of women who pick goal weights or even base their entire self esteem on a particular number of scale weight, without taking any other factors into account.

fairygirlpie9

You are obviously in the minority. BMI isn't stupid, and for the general population it works. There's going to be outliers (like yourself), but overall it works.

Ignore it, go by BF% and don't make others think it isn't reasonable when the majority of the time it is.

I'm not very muscular, but started out with a 27 BMI, I knew at that point I was really overweight and knew I had to something about it. Now I'm 20.5 BMI and now aiming for 20. Most people will fall into the category - I know my BF, most of my friends and I do. It really depends on your body's make up.

Good for you showing off, but I doubt the validity of this topic. Sorry.

I fail to see how the OP is "showing off" just because she's in great shape and is giving an obvious example of a flawed system. I'm another example of said flaw and I'm not even in good shape. My LBM has been measured at 17lbs higher than the max I can weigh and be "healthy". The MAX I can be. Explain that.

I can top that my LBM is 111 lbs which is in the middle of my 'healthy' bmi range at 5ft. BMI is far from accurate for everyone. If your of asian descent your ideal weight is probably lower and if your of african descent your ideal weight is probably higher but again theres no one size fits all because there are too many variables.

paulperryman

I agree mine hasn't changed seemingly in 6 months at 175cm and currently 78-79kg 6 months ago i was 90ish my BMI has been around 25-26 regardless of weight, and also tells me my body fat is 23-24% stable that whole time which is clearly an overestimation, get the same issue with the tape measure way of doing it, but i've dropped several clothing sizes and still losing in that respect, maybe it;s all the excess weight i'm carrying if any is in my waist which doesn't seem to move, everything else has dropped alot.

Ive learned to just ignore it, cause it's obviously wrong plus how can they be accuracte anyway, it's not like they are a scanner, all they do is send out a minute current that measures how long it takes for the signal to come back and then uses that time to calculate probable body structure, but it's only measuring your feet nothing else unless i'm missing something, only way to really tell would be to get a professional reading.

If you feel great, look great and are healthy who cares what an artificial piece of equipment tells you, theya re great initially when you are really overweight and have obvious changes but once you get down to "average" structure they are just a guess at best.

smkean

I agree.
You look fine!

It just fails to take into condsideration so much! Bone structure, bigger breasts and so on!

beautifulwarrior18

The BMI scale has never worked for me either. Genetically I am dense lol. But seriously, I weigh about 30-40 lbs more than I look like I do.

amyfullbrook

Well you can most certainly say you are NOT overweight. You look amazing...your body looks like perfection! The BMI scale is ridiculous, according to the BMI scale I'm bordering on obese and although, yes, I am 170 lbs I'm also nearly 5ft 8in tall. I know I have to lose some weight, but I would never say I'm obese.

EvgeniZyntx

BMI scale is a statistical tool and makes general sense but it is only one element and coupled with bf% remains a reasonable estimator.

If you think it's stupid, someone is using it wrong.

BMI is often used incorrectly by doctors but it's a good communication tool to bring an external indicator to show that someone should do something or to create a reasonable goal. It does require a little thinking.

And to the poster that is thinking that BMI somehow is measured by current, you are a bit confused. Impedance is a (poor) measure for bf%. In fact, there is no good bf% tool; all bf% measures are based on a simplified compartment model that's, again, only an estimator. Take these with a big grain of salt.

EvgeniZyntx

Well you can most certainly say you are NOT overweight. You look amazing...your body looks like perfection! The BMI scale is ridiculous, according to the BMI scale I'm bordering on obese and although, yes, I am 170 lbs I'm also nearly 5ft 8in tall. I know I have to lose some weight, but I would never say I'm obese.

No. That's a BMI of 25.9 - quite far from obese. Borderline obese would be 30lbs higher.
You are borderline healthy range. Congrats.

GillianMcK

You are obviously in the minority. BMI isn't stupid, and for the general population it works. There's going to be outliers (like yourself), but overall it works.

Ignore it, go by BF% and don't make others think it isn't reasonable when the majority of the time it is.

I'm not very muscular, but started out with a 27 BMI, I knew at that point I was really overweight and knew I had to something about it. Now I'm 20.5 BMI and now aiming for 20. Most people will fall into the catagory - I know my BF, most of my friends and I do. It really depends on your body's make up.

Good for you showing off, but I doubt the validity of this topic. Sorry.

I don't think she's in the minority, the BMI scale has every body builder/rugby player etc as obese, I get a body fat analysis done every 6 weeks or so to monitor that everything is moving in the correct direction, yes it also give me my BMI but I'm more interested in comparing my body fat decreased and my lean body mass increasing.

EvgeniZyntx

You are obviously in the minority. BMI isn't stupid, and for the general population it works. There's going to be outliers (like yourself), but overall it works.

Ignore it, go by BF% and don't make others think it isn't reasonable when the majority of the time it is.

I'm not very muscular, but started out with a 27 BMI, I knew at that point I was really overweight and knew I had to something about it. Now I'm 20.5 BMI and now aiming for 20. Most people will fall into the catagory - I know my BF, most of my friends and I do. It really depends on your body's make up.

Good for you showing off, but I doubt the validity of this topic. Sorry.

I don't think she's in the minority, the BMI scale has every body builder/rugby player etc as obese, I get a body fat analysis done every 6 weeks or so to monitor that everything is moving in the correct direction, yes it also give me my BMI but I'm more interested in comparing my body fat decreased and my lean body mass increasing.

Most of the us population is not body builders. By definition BMI is a stat tool, so yes, she's in the minority.
And focusing on bf alone is better but still has issues.

eldamiano

BMI is a sweeping generalisation almost to the point of stupidity.

In other news, you are slammin'!

I wish there was a like button on here! But THIS is so true!

It is only stupid if you are stupid enough to not apply any common sense. Like the bloke who drove on to a train track because his sat nav told him he was going down a road.

For me BMI was useful.