BMI for African Americans/Blacks/Browns

mfpcopine

41% fat is obese.

Recent New York Times article. The author is an African American woman, who also discusses her own weight gain and loss.

"Black Women and Fat

FOUR out of five black women are seriously overweight. One out of four middle-aged black women has diabetes. With $174 billion a year spent on diabetes-related illness in America and obesity quickly overtaking smoking as a cause of cancer deaths, it is past time to try something new.

What we need is a body-culture revolution in black America. Why? Because too many experts who are involved in the discussion of obesity don’t understand something crucial about black women and fat: many black women are fat because we want to be. ..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/opinion/sunday/why-black-women-are-fat.html

mfpcopine

I'm surprised that BMI is still used so widely to measure health since its such a flawed equation.

I go by:
waist circumference
BP/RHR
Blood sugar
Cholesterol
BF%
muscle mass

BMI can make an perfectly fit person seem unhealthy, but none of these numbers lie.

I agree, you've listed many relevant indicators of health. BMI, which was not intended to be a weight loss tool for individuals, can at times be misleading. But oddly enough, almost every person on this site I hear complaining about the inaccuracy of the BMI is actually, indubitably obese.

shannashannabobana

"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. "

But that doesn't stop the schools from sending home notes to kids saying they are overweight based on the obviously flawed BMI scale....when their ribs are visable and any reasonable person standards would say 'obviously, that kid is not fat in any way shape or form'.

BMI was not created to be used the way it is.

victoria4321

Oh yeah we didn't even consider the fact that body fat testing isn't even exact. Most doctors offices are not outfitted with DXA scanners or underwater weighing capabilities.

mfpcopine, thanks for sharing that article. Definitely a lot of point in it are true.

Nataliaho

I'm surprised that BMI is still used so widely to measure health since its such a flawed equation.

I go by:
waist circumference
BP/RHR
Blood sugar
Cholesterol
BF%
muscle mass

BMI can make an perfectly fit person seem unhealthy, but none of these numbers lie.

I agree, you've listed many relevant indicators of health. BMI, which was not intended to be a weight loss tool for individuals, can at times be misleading. But oddly enough, almost every person on this site I hear complaining about the inaccuracy of the BMI is actually, indubitably obese.

According to what? The BMI....

Nataliaho

It is hardly surprising that the people more interested in the inaccuracy and misuse of the BMI are those most affected by that misuse... I'm also not surprised that those people so quick to support it and apparently so loathe to read anything about it that doesn't prove their point, are those who can safely and smuggly sit themselves inside of it.

victoria4321

"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. "

But that doesn't stop the schools from sending home notes to kids saying they are overweight based on the obviously flawed BMI scale....when their ribs are visable and any reasonable person standards would say 'obviously, that kid is not fat in any way shape or form'.

BMI was not created to be used the way it is.

The problem the school made was not sending a copy of that note to their school cafeteria. Kids are measured in a whole different way I believe. I think they go by growth charts or something. Childhood obesity is a serious problem, you should be happy that your child's school is trying to do something about it. Obese kids also carry their fat very differently from adults it seems. I've seen an overweight kid with a hanging gut but his ribs were somehow visible. I probably sound like I'm being mean to kids now but there is no excuse for a child to get over weight. It's borderline child abuse in my opinion.

dayone987

I think that the BMI scale was developed by/for insurance companies who have a heavily vested interest in the health of people d/t insurance policies. So it is based on averages not individual cases. On average, people above and below certain BMI values have more health issues. It's not perfect but it is an indicator for future and present health.

InvincibleJenks

Thanks for sharing the link And I agree with your thoughts on the subject.

Agreeing with all that BMI isn't the best indicator of whether you're healthy and fit or not. There are studies that show that different races have different BMIs but have the same body fat percentage, which is a better indicator.

http://www.halls.md/bmi/race.htm

So from this study, it does seem like Black people have a higher healthy BMI than white people, which I believe what most BMI standards are based on.

mfpcopine

I'm surprised that BMI is still used so widely to measure health since its such a flawed equation.

I go by:
waist circumference
BP/RHR
Blood sugar
Cholesterol
BF%
muscle mass

BMI can make an perfectly fit person seem unhealthy, but none of these numbers lie.

I agree, you've listed many relevant indicators of health. BMI, which was not intended to be a weight loss tool for individuals, can at times be misleading. But oddly enough, almost every person on this site I hear complaining about the inaccuracy of the BMI is actually, indubitably obese.

According to what? The BMI....

No, according to any reasonable standard. It's never athletes who are heavily muscled (and would use better measures than BMI anyway), it's always people who clearly are obese.

mfpcopine

Oh yeah we didn't even consider the fact that body fat testing isn't even exact. Most doctors offices are not outfitted with DXA scanners or underwater weighing capabilities.

mfpcopine, thanks for sharing that article. Definitely a lot of point in it are true.

I'm vaguely acquainted with the author. I knew her when she was normal weight, a long time ago. After college, she moved down South and apparently put on the pounds. In this article she claims that lots of black women want to weigh 200 pounds and their SOs are upset if they get below that.

Poppycock!

mfpcopine

I love this thread and the replies in it. According to my doctor, MY BMI is 42. I'm top heavy, small in the waist, but I still have a flabby stomach from 2 previous c-sections. I was told that in order to have my breast reduction surgery, I would have to lose 55 lbs. My breast weigh over 20 lbs alone. I've been exercising and trying to change up my meal plan.

My caloric intake according to my BMI is 1747. Okay if BMI is not a factor, maybe I am eating the wrong amount of calories. I need to know the amount of BF (Body Fat) do I actually have.

Your caloric needs are based on your BMR, your Basal Metabolic Rate, not your BMI. Knowing your body fat percentage is helpful.

fitby2012

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

victoria4321

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

Nataliaho

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

Who said what now? Must be reading a different thread I guess... Please point me to any comment where anyone said anything remotely like that...

victoria4321

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

Who said what now? Must be reading a different thread I guess... Please point me to any comment where anyone said anything remotely like that...

Just about everyone in this thread said to ignore BMI its useless...

Nataliaho

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

Who said what now? Must be reading a different thread I guess... Please point me to any comment where anyone said anything remotely like that...

Just about everyone in this thread said to ignore BMI its useless...

Correct, but no one said anything to suggest "they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy"... my assumption was that you are not a mind reader and therefore inferred what people "don't want to admit" by something they had actually said.

victoria4321

I believe somewhere up there we were going to agree to disagree? Lets get back to that :drinker:

Nataliaho

I'm not good at that... clearly... but I'll try. :flowerforyou:

sabified

Interesting.. bump for later