Is BMI really a joke?

jvkh127

BMI is not always accurate because a 6' man that weighs say 260 or more could be a man that is very muscular or more fat on his body. BMI has no way of knowing whether your body weight consists of fat or muscle and the same for a woman also. So no it is not completely accurate.

schnarfo

I thought the handheld machines were as inaccurate as the bathroom scales with bf% on them? Lol I dont think id trust the staff at my gym they seem kinda clueless! There is a sign for one of the personal trainers to do a health check though including blood pressure and bf% so I guess Ill contact one of them and see about getting it tested.

fteale

I thought the handheld machines were as inaccurate as the bathroom scales with bf% on them? Lol I dont think id trust the staff at my gym they seem kinda clueless! x

Even they are going to give you a rough idea. Better than nothing.

supershiny

Since you asked for an example of someone under the BMI scale, I have one friend who weighs 75 lbs and is 5'. She has a really small frame compared to me (I have wide hips and chest, hourglassish). She is a tiny beanpole with a waist of 17". However, she has a healthy BF %, gets her period regularly, and is constantly eating to keep her weight level. Her mom is the exact same, so I think she is pretty fine as is. You look like you have a pretty small hips/waist so I am guessing the BMI won't be accurate for you too

schnarfo

Since you asked for an example of someone under the BMI scale, I have one friend who weighs 75 lbs and is 5'. She has a really small frame compared to me (I have wide hips and chest, hourglassish). She is a tiny beanpole with a waist of 17". However, she has a healthy BF %, gets her period regularly, and is constantly eating to keep her weight level. Her mom is the exact same, so I think she is pretty fine as is. You look like you have a pretty small hips/waist so I am guessing the BMI won't be accurate for you too

My waist is 24 and hips 31 and yup my periods are regular so I must have enough body fat lol

jvkh127

So I have been given lots of advice about what happens when your about a healthy BMI but may still be very healthy but with a high muscle mass. However not many people have commented on what happens when your UNDER the healthy BMI scale! Is that fact that it just isnt reliable for being over the healthy range a reason to discount it when your under it?

I think it may be more accurate if you are under only because it seems you would have very little body fat if you are under and from the looks of it you have muscle tone. So if it is saying your under my guess would be it is accurate but that doesn't necessarily mean you are unhealthy. Like alot of the earlier posts, the besst way is to get the skin fold done or there are machines that accurately test for body fat. My college just put one in their gym. Call around to local gyms see if anyone has it. Not sure what the name of it is those maybe someone else on here might???

supershiny

My waist is 24 and hips 31 and yup my periods are regular so I must have enough body fat lol

Yeah, 24 is small! haha you are fine. As long as you aren't hungry/have a huge calorie deficit and are getting your period, you are a-okay! congrats on the great bod yo! Also, interesting factoid, my doctor has told me about the optimal waist/hip ratio and yours is super close! It is .7 and yours is 24/31=.77

Garae

BMI is a guideline.
It's common for athletic people with more muscle mass than fat mass to be "obese" according to the BMI, when really it isn't the case.

yanicka

I think as long as you have your periods, do not lose you hairs by the hand full, or faint all the time you would be ok. I would also see go see your doctor and have blood work done to be sure everything is in order.

AnaNotBanana

I think that the BMI is flawed. First, BMI was designed by a mathematician not a doctor. Second, like other have said it doesn't take into account body type, body fat, etc. If you have Netflix look for Penn & Teller's Bullsh!t. They have an episode about why the BMI is flawed. Also here is a link to a blog written by one of my friends about BMI....very eye opening....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/CoryIda/view/why-your-bmi-doesn-t-really-tell-the-whole-story-105302

Marcus_Blaze

" Those who say it isn't are generally people with a distorted image of what humans are supposed to look like" What about someone that has a ton of muscle that adds to their weight? That is the ONLY reason I don't totally agree with the BMI. My arms and legs are freaking solid. Don't get me wrong, I've been busting my butt for 7 months, I've lost 44 pounds and I have another 50 or so to go to be where I want. But the issue with weight and BMI is that is does not accurately take into consideration how much muscle that person has, which obviously weighs more then fat. SO I wouldn't say it is generally the people with a distorted image of what humans are supposed to look like that don't think the BMI is totally a fair scale. NOT saying that all human males are supposed to look like Arnold in his prime, but I'm sure body builders have a high BMI b/c it's pretty much using your sex, height and weight. I kinda think BMI is a joke, and I do not have a distorted image of what humans should look like. I am all about getting fit, all about burning calories and fat. I realize our bodies are complex machines that are designed to do work, not only that but it's like our bodies require a good workout to function at our peak. But some mathematical formula that does not factor in a person's amount of muscle mass they have on them, to me, isn't that very accurate.

csontos

Coming from a public health standpoint, they are useful for population studies, but they are not useful on an individual basis.

AZKristi

BMI is an estimation so it doesn't work perfectly for everyone. Some people, such as body builders, will have very high BMI but they obviously don't need to lose weight. Outside of bodybuilders, if your BMI suggests you are overweight or obese, you most likely are. BMI is less accurate on the low end of the scale. Some studies estimate that up to 30% of women with BMI in the "healthy" range are actually skinny fat and are at risk of the same health problems as people who are overweight.

Unknown

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SaintGiff

The problem with BMI is that it assumes every person wants / should have the same body type. The fact that this is inherently false creates a situation where there are so many outliers who are actually healthier and more fit than those with "healthy" BMIs that the metric itself becomes meaningless. It's sort of like creating a metric that ranks people based on their preference for types of pie, and then building a whole culture around shaming anyone who prefers blueberry over apple.

JassiBear

I think BMI is pretty accurate as a measure of healthy weight. Those who say it isn't are generally people with a distorted image of what humans are supposed to look like. A healthy BMI covers a wide range, it's not as if you get one ideal weight. I can be between 112 and 150lbs and be a healthy weight. I certainly wouldn't want to be out either end of that range!

It is more dangerous to be underweight than slightly overweight, so I think aiming to get up to healthy is a good plan.

I would agree with this post....to the extent that because the healthy bmi range for most people is a vast range....the difference between 112 pounds and 150 pounds is huge....so while not all people are necessarily built to weight that 112 or feel like their genetics/bone structure, whatever isn't conducive to weighing at the low end of the healthy bmi they can still weigh at the higher end of the healthy bmi range. Bmi is accurate....the only thing that would seem to distort the accuracy for me is if someone had major muscle mass....

DebbieLyn63

Edited because I didn't realize that this WAS A THREE YEAR OLD THREAD!!

Way to resurrect the Zombie thread. sheez!

But at least we know that newbie Marcus_Blaze knows how to use the search feature!

FrenchMob

I think BMI is pretty accurate as a measure of healthy weight. Those who say it isn't are generally people with a distorted image of what humans are supposed to look like. A healthy BMI covers a wide range, it's not as if you get one ideal weight. I can be between 112 and 150lbs and be a healthy weight. I certainly wouldn't want to be out either end of that range!

It is more dangerous to be underweight than slightly overweight, so I think aiming to get up to healthy is a good plan.

Nice generalization, just like BMI. When I was 15% BF (measured via Bod Pod), I was 190 lbs at 5'10" makes me overweight. 15% on a man is considered athletic. My BMI range is a ridiculous 130 to 173. If I were to go down to 173 while maintaining the same LBM, I'd have 7% BF which is ripped/mascular bodybuilding range, which is not "normal". Not only do I have decent muscle mass, my bone density has a T-Score of 2.0 which is very dense. A score of -1.0 to +1.0 is considered normal.

So BMI will work for a good portion of the population, but certainly not all, and certainly not because "people with a distorted image of what humans are supposed to look like". Get a grip.

ClementineGeorg

BMI is accurate for the `average` person, aka a generalization. Like calorie intake for a certain height, it's just a number made up on an statistical average at some point. It's accurate on average, but sometimes fails for a certain individual, because we are unique in the end.

In the end, people do have larger/smaller bones (think about hip bone in women, or how men have different back frame sizes), people do have different fat and muscle percentages, and so on.
You just have to take that also into account.