Does anyone else follow BMI?

Options
2»

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Options
    BMI is a population based measurement based on statistics. It does not take into consideration how one looks or thinks they look. It does not take into consideration that some individuals may be healthy by other standards and still not fall into the healthy BMI range. It based only on data regarding BMI and disease association.

    It is uncommon, however, for women to be the healthy range of other measures (such as BF%) and not fall into the healthy range of BMI.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    I know BMI is not perfectly accurate, that's fine, but I have certain other issues with it.

    I'm a female, and I am currently on the lower end of Obese on the BMI scale. To get to the healthy weight for my height I need to lose about 15kg (33lb) No biggy, I was looking at losing about that much anyway. The issue I have is this - that will put me at the top end of the "healthy" weight range. To get into the middle of it I need to lose 25kg (55lbs).

    BUT, I don't think I have that much fat to lose, and I think I will look ridiculously skinny if I do. I have no fat on my shoulders, ribs or hips, so the weight I will be losing will be around my stomach and legs. Does anyone else think this would make me look too skinny, or am I just making excuses not to lose weight?

    You have to take into account your frame, muscle mass, etc. Not everyone is going to be at the low end of BMI which is why it's a stupid measure. It's a decent guideline, particularly if you're overweight and looking to get to a healthy weight...but I see so many people here trying to get to the lower end of BMI and it can be just as unhealthy.

    To get to the lower end of BMI for my stats, I'd have to lose about 15 Lbs of muscle in the process...how stupid would that be? I'm actually just slightly above the high end ceiling for my stats but I'm at a perfectly healthy BF%. BF% is a much better guide. I could still drop a couple points in BF as I'm on the high end of healthy...but dropping a couple points would mean dropping about 5-10 Lbs and that would put me comfortably at 15% BF...and I'd still weight 170 Lbs. The low end of BMI for me is 140 Lbs....does it seem even remotely realistic that i could get there without doing substantial damage to myself?
  • kill3rtofu
    kill3rtofu Posts: 169 Member
    Options
    i like to reference it to gauge peoples' body weight on a "scale", but i think their categories are for sedentary folk.
  • Vonwarr
    Vonwarr Posts: 390 Member
    Options
    BMI is not a great way to set a goal. It doesn't work for a lot of people. According to BMI I'm "obese". (~32 BMI).

    Here's a site which gives a much better way to calculate your ideal weight based off of body fat %. This is a much more accurate indicator of health than BMI: http://www.builtlean.com/2010/05/04/ideal-body-weight-formula-how-to-calculate-your-ideal-weight/

Categories