Obese BMI, Aceptable Body Fat Percentage?

bethfartman

I'm confused. Technically my BMI is considered obese (31.5), but according to a body fat percentage calculator I'm considered in an 'aceptable' range (27.5%.) Does that sound right? Of course I want to lose weight and will continue to do so and although this seems like pretty good information as far as my health is concerned and makes me feel a bit better about myself, it leads me to be confused as to what a good goal is. Also my body fat composition does not seem the same as most people on here, when I look at photos of those in the same height/weight range they appear to be much heavier than I do, I gues my body just spreads out my fat well? Any input as to if this seems accurate and what a good goal body fat percentage would be, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

NikkiTompson

I'm confused. Technically my BMI is considered obese (31.5), but according to a body fat percentage calculator I'm considered in an 'aceptable' range (27.5%.) Does that sound right? Of course I want to lose weight and will continue to do so and although this seems like pretty good information as far as my health is concerned and makes me feel a bit better about myself, it leads me to be confused as to what a good goal is. Also my body fat composition does not seem the same as most people on here, when I look at photos of those in the same height/weight range they appear to be much heavier than I do, I gues my body just spreads out my fat well? Any input as to if this seems accurate and what a good goal body fat percentage would be, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

BMI is a load of toddle.. I would not go by that..a body fat percentage of 20 - 30 % is good for woman, so I would suggest that your body fat percentage is pretty good.. so dont worry too much about what the bmi says.

other people of the same weight and height could easily look different in size to you, as their muscle mass could be different...so that may account for them looking bigger than you. also someone could weigh less than you but have a much higher body fat percentage.. so its really about finding the right balance for you...hope that helps

bethfartman

Thanks Nikki! That's what I thought, but I was afraid I was fooling myself just to feel better about my health . I'll just work my way towards the lower range of body fat percent.

RuthieCass

I'm confused. Technically my BMI is considered obese (31.5), but according to a body fat percentage calculator I'm considered in an 'aceptable' range (27.5%.) Does that sound right? Of course I want to lose weight and will continue to do so and although this seems like pretty good information as far as my health is concerned and makes me feel a bit better about myself, it leads me to be confused as to what a good goal is. Also my body fat composition does not seem the same as most people on here, when I look at photos of those in the same height/weight range they appear to be much heavier than I do, I gues my body just spreads out my fat well? Any input as to if this seems accurate and what a good goal body fat percentage would be, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Those body fat calculators can be really really inaccurate. BMI can be a bad indicator for those who have more muscle than "average." But I don't know how much stock I'd necessarily put in comparing pictures, though. People have different fat distributions, which may make them appear heavier than you, but may not really be "more fat" than you. Also, we often have distorted views of our body (not saying this is necessarily true in your case, but possible). It's also possible that you are a bit more muscular than most, but I would probably not TOTALLY disregard BMI unless I was a bodybuilder.

If you want to use BF % as your preferred measure, I'd strongly suggest that you go somewhere and get it measured using the calipers. I've tried many of those calculators and they vary so much that they are not useful.