BMI for African Americans/Blacks/Browns

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Replies

  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.
  • Melonhead
    Melonhead Posts: 168
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.
    I realize that. I was using that as an example of why the BMI can be misleading. Ray Lewis is in amazing shape. But if you gave someone both of our sets of numbers in a blinded test and said figure the BMI's - well, you have two obese men.....which is clearly not the case.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    I am ever so slightly offended reading this thread. I've been told I've got a "black girl" physique before. I was like WTF? Cause I'm pear shaped? I don't really get it? Then this post is all like, black woman have a higher BMI because of their ethnicity? Because they have less fat but weigh more? The OP does sound more like a Fat Acceptance message rather than a BMI issue. Cause everything is bigger in the south? Sigh. I need off the forums for the night.

    Race also make a difference in BMI. Asians have lower BMIs because of their lighter bone density while Blacks have slightly higer BMI because of the heavier bone density. Which is why there is an Asian BMI standard. However there is no such thing as "black girl physique", a pear-shaped body exists in all races.

    THANKS! I read the link from the first page quoting the study. I was being sarcastic. I am pear and am white. :laugh:
  • Cortx
    Cortx Posts: 103 Member
    i don't know but I do know race don't have nothing to do with a persons BMI.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.
    I realize that. I was using that as an example of why the BMI can be misleading. Ray Lewis is in amazing shape. But if you gave someone both of our sets of numbers in a blinded test and said figure the BMI's - well, you have two obese men.....which is clearly not the case.

    That's why doctors ask you about your activity :noway:

    If you walk in there and you look over weight then the bmi scale is probably a good range of where you should be around. If you walked in looking jacked and fit, they won't even check your bmi.
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
    That is precisely why I think it is useless. On one hand people can use its inaccuracy for others, to tell themselves that they are not overweight. On the other hand it can tell other people (like me) that no matter how they live their life, no matter how fit they are, no matter their health, they will never be 'normal' or 'healthy'. Oh and then you also have people who are completely unhealthly, but 'normal' weight who don't have to question or act on their lifestyle.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    That is precisely why I think it is useless. On one hand people can use its inaccuracy for others, to tell themselves that they are not overweight. On the other hand it can tell other people (like me) that no matter how they live their life, no matter how fit they are, no matter their health, they will never be 'normal' or 'healthy'. Oh and then you also have people who are completely unhealthly, but 'normal' weight who don't have to question or act on their lifestyle.

    That's why I'm going to pretend I'm Polynesian from now on. Safest bet.
  • Melonhead
    Melonhead Posts: 168
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.
    I realize that. I was using that as an example of why the BMI can be misleading. Ray Lewis is in amazing shape. But if you gave someone both of our sets of numbers in a blinded test and said figure the BMI's - well, you have two obese men.....which is clearly not the case.

    That's why doctors ask you about your activity :noway:

    If you walk in there and you look over weight then the bmi scale is probably a good range of where you should be around. If you walked in looking jacked and fit, they won't even check your bmi.
    [/quote

    Ummm, I'm fat and I know it. That's why I'm here! I just though the topic was interesting.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    i don't know but I do know race don't have nothing to do with a persons BMI.

    Yes there is. If you're Asian, your BMI is lower but that doesn't automatically mean healthy because Asians in general have lower bone density & carry high percentage of body fat which is why they look smaller yet soft & weigh less. I'm in an Asian country & here there is a different set of BMI standard used, its Asian BMI standard which is skewed. If your BMI is 27, you're considered obese & if your BMI is 23, you're already considered overweight. Being a Latina, I weigh more than the typical demographics here although my body fat percentage is lower but as per Asian BMI standards, I'm "overweight". I'm also pear-shaped by the way although my thighs have gap because of weight lifting.
  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
    So such a useful tool can be immediately over-ruled by a doctor simply eyeballing his patient... ok:noway:
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    So such a useful tool can be immediately over-ruled by a doctor simply eyeballing his patient... ok:noway:

    I would hope so. A different lifestyle can account for different results for many tests at the doctors office. Your doctor should use all the tools he/she has available. An initial assessment and "eyeballing" of the patient is always necessary.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
    BMI should definitely not be taken too seriously.
    Also, I had no idea different races had different average healthy BMIs. :O Learned something new today!
  • fitby2012
    fitby2012 Posts: 167 Member
    I agree that BMI calculations suck, it doesn't account for a lot of things, but honestly, I feel like a lot of women of color like to use our uniquely shaped/proportioned bodies as excuses to remain overweight and unhealthy. *Don't pull out your guns and pitch forks nah!* Yes, Black women are more curvy and volumptuous than other women but that line between healthy-curvy and unhealthy-curvy is very thin! I think that we need to find a way to maintain our culturally defined curves without sacrificing/neglecting our health. And yes, there are a lot of Black men who like thicker women but sadly, those are the same women who are suffering with hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes, heart problems, and a shortened lifespan. We need to stop being complacent with these socially acceptable standards for our health and well-being when they bear harmful and costly consequences.

    ~Tasha~

    I so agree!
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.

    What if you're a healthy bf% with pretty much no muscle? I guess being at risk for osteoporosis is healthy now.
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.

    uh that was the point he was making.. duh
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.

    What if you're a healthy bf% with pretty much no muscle? I guess being at risk for osteoporosis is healthy now.
    '

    DId I say that? I simply said too much body fat is unhealthy, which it is... is it TOM for you or something?
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    My issue with the BMI boils down to this. I'm 6'3" and weigh 255 pounds, about the same as your average NFL linebacker. Our BMI's are the same. But guess what, guys like Ray Lewis are ripped and I am not. He's "obese" like me, according to the numbers. So, I'm just going to pay attention to my percent body fat and not worry about the BMI.

    Ray Lewis is a professional athlete, you are not. Sorry.
    uh that was the point he was making.. duh

    And my point is the doctor is not going to go in there and throw ray lewis on the bmi scale because he doesn't even apply. It's not like doctors use just one tool to measure risk factors. Every kind of tool is flawed in some way that doesn't make them totally useless.
  • Leiki
    Leiki Posts: 526 Member
    I'm pretty sure race doesn't have anything to do with it. BMI is just an indicator of health.

    Personally, I don't like BMI, I prefer body fat percentage. Regardless of race, having an elevated level of body fat will cause health issues in the long run.

    Race actually does have something to do with it. WHO has a separate BMI appropriate for Asians, and there are several studies on BMI for Asians, for example. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:6k8kgp9ZauYJ:www.who.int/nutrition/publications/bmi_asia_strategies.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjPSqmEwq72rFdtUAbBh645UezYGSPGvM5pg38oyM2TyBPhLaXxl2IVxO1u29NJDqk2_nIdZzCRMyB9t7UB5dIjD4hOwaFMw6cCLc-FMQWIZ5v4oE-7WQUJAJ7h7wfA7KCcHARW&sig=AHIEtbS0rzb6lyOeaC804MuaqKZH4iqxFQ

    People of certain races tend to wear their weight differently. I just imagine not very many people have done studies on Black BMI due to lack of enough gathered interest on the topic.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.

    What if you're a healthy bf% with pretty much no muscle? I guess being at risk for osteoporosis is healthy now.
    '

    DId I say that? I simply said too much body fat is unhealthy, which it is... is it TOM for you or something?

    So how does that equate to BMI being automatically crap? A sedentary person with a high bmi very likely has too much body fat as well.