How does the BMI chart work?
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myiceisonfire
Posts: 782 Member
I was 37.6 when I started MFP, now I'm 32.1.
I lost 5.5 "something".... What's the "something"
Does that mean I lost 5.5% of my body fat?
edit: typo
I lost 5.5 "something".... What's the "something"
Does that mean I lost 5.5% of my body fat?
edit: typo
0
Replies
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BMI points. That's all they are.0
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BMI points. That's all they are.
That doesn't really answer my question0 -
bmi is based on height and weight, so it basically means you lost weight.
for example, a person that's 5'7" who weighs 150 pounds will have a lower bmi than someone who's 5'3" and weighs 150 pounds.
hopefully that helps a bit.0 -
Nevermind.... =/ I guess I just don't know how to ask the question0
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BMI points. That's all they are.
That doesn't really answer my question
I meant it entirely as an answer. It's not body fat percentage because you would need to have measurements and weight and height for that. BMI is a BMI point. The closest thing I can find online is that it is a relative proportional measure of mass, but it has no indication of muscle, bone, or other body tissues, so yeah. Wikipedia says: "The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2." I don't know if that would help.0 -
BMI points. That's all they are.
That doesn't really answer my question0 -
BMI is an index of your height to weight. BMI doesn't account for age, gender, race, etc. It's not a direct percentage, and doesn't distinguish between fat, water or muscle. Therefore, it's not a very accurate way to gage your progress. What it is good for is very rough guidelines for underweight, healthy, overweight, and obese.0
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Where do I go to figure out how much body fat I've lost then?0
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First of all, congratulations on your weight loss so far. I hadn't thought about the BMI, what it really means, but now that you mention it, it seems a bit vague to me too.
We have a digital scale that tells both weight and fat percentage. I think body measurements are good feedback too. Even blood pressure can tell you if you are improving!
You are doing great though, so keep it up!0 -
Where do I go to figure out how much body fat I've lost then?
Several methods listed there... some of which require high tech equipments!
Most people seem to either use a digital scale that measures body fat percentage (which I don't trust), or a caliper pinch (never used one myself, but heard good things about it).0 -
Found a body fat calculator at... http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm
With height & measurments I was 60.2% when starting MFP ... now I'm at 54.9%
That's 5.3% of body fat I've lost!
So maybe the mbi chart gives "general" or "vague" numbers for body fat?0 -
Basically it means you're getting closer to a healthy weight, according to current medical standards. Obesity is defined as BMI of 30 and above, while overweight is between 25 and 29.9; once you're between 18-25 on the BMI chart, you will be at what is considered to be the healthy weight range for your height. It's a rough metric that does not take into account body composition, etc., as others on here have noted, but a lot of medical professionals use it to loosely estimate healthy weight. Congrats on your great improvement in BMI, keep up the great work!0
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Found a body fat calculator at... http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcalculator.htm
With height & measurments I was 60.2% when starting MFP ... now I'm at 54.9%
That's 5.3% of body fat I've lost!
So maybe the mbi chart gives "general" or "vague" numbers for body fat?
No, it is totally unrelated to body fat. I have a BMI that puts me in the borderline obese range, with 18% bodyfat. Another person my height, with less dense musculature and/or bone structure, might have as much as 35% bodyfat or MORE at the same BMI.
This is what makes the BMI chart completely and totally WORTHLESS.
~EDIT - Additionally, those online calculators are virtually worthless as well. Go to a gym, and pay them to take your bodyfat % with a caliper.0 -
BMI is a standardized ratio of height and weight. Think of the body as a cylindrical object. Weight increases proportionally to the square of the height. Or something like that.
Functionally, it is a number that provides the relative circumference of the cylinder.
The limitation of it is that all "cylinders" are not the same. It works fine for a huge population of data. The distribution of the population should be similar.
And when you apply it to yourself, it will show weight loss. But so will the scale.
The very best way to know progress is by clothing sizes, in my opinion.0
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