BMI does not always apply to every body type

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Replies

  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    The saddest part about BMI to me is that insurance companies use it to gauge premiums and if anyone is considered overweight or obese, they may have to pay a higher premium. Two failed examples from my life... 1) my cube neighbor is one of the healthiest most active guys I know but he's considered overweight per BMI and it was recommended that he do a weight loss program by our annual health assessment based on his height and weight. And 2) my best friend is the hottest fittest female I know but she's only about 5 pounds away from being considered overweright per BMI - and we all know how easy it can be to put on 5 pounds! Please, I wish I had the body this chick has...abs to die for!

    The problem is that there are so many other factors than height and weight...and it amazes me that this is the best we can do after all the health, sport and science research out there.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    That's why I use BF% to measure myself. You may have an acceptable BMI, but if your BF% is over 25% (for men) or 32% (for women), you're still obese.

    However, you could have a BMI of 30 and have a BF% of 10%, you'll be healthy at that weight.

    This^ My BMI is 20.9 and my BF% is 28.4%. I'm still fat with a pretty low BMI.
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    At this point I'm fairly certain I've put on too much muscle to go down much below the "overweight" level. I can cut down some more, and I will, but I'm pretty heavy at the moment. Heavy as in, I wouldn't wanna try to pick me up. I'm already a size smaller than I used to be at this weight. I think BMI is WAY overblown.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Over time Melanie found peace with her weight and success-fully now maintains a weight of 175 to 185 pounds.
    not sure what the point is here - she's still obese but has given up ? As she weighs more than me I'm guessing her body fat isn't too low.
    The point is that she is still overweight but healthier and learing to accept herself even though she doesn't fit into the proper BMI category for her height and weight.
    Learning to accept oneself is very important. Is certainly should be a big part of any weight loss plan. But whether or not accepting yourself at a specific weight is healthy would also involve questions beyond BMI. How is Melanie's blood work? What are her waist, height and hip measurements? (on an individual level, BMI coupled with waist to height and/or waist to hip ratio is a much better sign of disease risk than BMI or weight alone). In other words, is she healthy and happy at this age. Or has she just given up on being healthy?
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    bmi-comparison.gif
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    bmi-comparison.gif

    THIS was the picture I was thinking of! Awesome... but I hate your avatar :[
  • Ge0rgiana
    Ge0rgiana Posts: 1,649 Member
    Over time Melanie found peace with her weight and success-fully now maintains a weight of 175 to 185 pounds.
    not sure what the point is here - she's still obese but has given up ? As she weighs more than me I'm guessing her body fat isn't too low.
    The point is that she is still overweight but healthier and learing to accept herself even though she doesn't fit into the proper BMI category for her height and weight.
    Learning to accept oneself is very important. Is certainly should be a big part of any weight loss plan. But whether or not accepting yourself at a specific weight is healthy would also involve questions beyond BMI. How is Melanie's blood work? What are her waist, height and hip measurements? (on an individual level, BMI coupled with waist to height and/or waist to hip ratio is a much better sign of disease risk than BMI or weight alone). In other words, is she healthy and happy at this age. Or has she just given up on being healthy?

    Yeah! This is the other thing that absolutely kills me! BMI says I'm borderline obese, but my waist-height and waist-hip both say I'm in fantastic shape and a cardiologist's dream come true. :huh:
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    That's why I use BF% to measure myself. You may have an acceptable BMI, but if your BF% is over 25% (for men) or 32% (for women), you're still obese.

    However, you could have a BMI of 30 and have a BF% of 10%, you'll be healthy at that weight.

    This^ My BMI is 20.9 and my BF% is 28.4%. I'm still fat with a pretty low BMI.

    Your BF% is still within a healthy range. You may wish to lose more, but your reasons cannot be for health reasons. It's a personal preference in your view.
  • AngryDiet
    AngryDiet Posts: 1,349 Member
    bmi-comparison.gif

    THIS was the picture I was thinking of! Awesome... but I hate your avatar :[

    I quite like yours.

    Beer!
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
    I've commented on this before.I know first hand the deception of BMI. A few months ago I went to the endroconoligst and once she weighed me she told me that at 5'3 and 175 pounds I was obese. And she told me to go on the scarsdale diet. I told her no at my age (almost 48) the last thing i needed to do was lose muscle on 800-1000 calorie a day diet. Fast forward about 4 months. Thru diet (MFP) and exercise (weight training and cardio) I have lost 2 pants sizes. Firmed up the flab and lost inches. Well guess what. I only lost a little over 4 pounds. So yes Im still technically obese by my BMI at 30.1 but im fitter than I have ever been. My ultimate goal is to get down to about 165-170. Which would still put me in the overweight catagory. BMI is a very useless outdated measurment of fitness and should be done away with. Thats my 2 cents
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    I think a lot of people on here bash bmi so they feel better about themselves

    Its generally ok, of course there are statistical outliers
  • JenSpinnaChick
    JenSpinnaChick Posts: 104 Member
    BMI is rediculous, though I agree I have a "few" lbs to loose, it puts me 1 lb away from being obese...
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    That's why I use BF% to measure myself. You may have an acceptable BMI, but if your BF% is over 25% (for men) or 32% (for women), you're still obese.

    However, you could have a BMI of 30 and have a BF% of 10%, you'll be healthy at that weight.

    This^ My BMI is 20.9 and my BF% is 28.4%. I'm still fat with a pretty low BMI.

    Your BF% is still within a healthy range. You may wish to lose more, but your reasons cannot be for health reasons. It's a personal preference in your view.

    Yeah, it's only in the 'acceptable' range. It's not acceptable to me tho. I look horribly fat. I want to be 17-20%
    But ur right, it's not for health reasons. I was just stating how u can have a pretty low BF% & still be fat cuz of high BF%
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member

    THIS was the picture I was thinking of! Awesome... but I hate your avatar :[

    I quite like yours.

    Beer!

    ;D
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    I'm going for whatever weight loss gets rid of my protruding potbelly.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    i'm always going to be overweight on the BMI. I'm 5'5 and my lean body mass is around 140 pounds which already puts me at 23% body fat on the BMI. Adding in real actual body fat of 18% would make me 28/29% body fat according to the chart :laugh:

    BMI no match for she-hulks like me
  • hiker359
    hiker359 Posts: 577 Member
    Why BMI can be a crock:

    One of my favorite actors, Duane Johnson, has a BMI of 32.6 according to the height and weight stats provided by Google. Anybody want to call him obese?

    603778_10151163992289384_6152259_n.jpg

    ETA: BMI is only one indicator of overall health and fitness. No number should be the overall goal, but a sense of self-worth and being comfortable with the way you look and how you feel.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I don't go by BMI, but I really wish I could fit in size 2 pants.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    BMI might be useful for trends in populations but is useless for individuals as no distinction is made as to what the the weight consists of.

    England won the 2003 Rugby World cup - the whole team were in the overweight BMI category apart from some of the forwards who were in the obese BMI range.
  • PrincessLou71186
    PrincessLou71186 Posts: 741 Member
    Many people have a high BMI courtesy of muscle with a low BF%. They are far from overweight but are considered to be in terms of BMI.

    I am aiming to have a BMI of 22 because of fertility reasons but ultimately, I want my BF% to be between 21-24%. Once I have been lucky enough to have my child, BMI will not be a phrase that enters my world.
  • gboybama
    gboybama Posts: 53 Member
    I have to think I'm an outlier. I'm just a tick under six feet tall, but I get my pants in a 29" length. I see women who are six or seven inches shorter than me with longer legs. :-)

    So, with a freakishly long torso, by percentage, I tend to easily carry more weight when compared to my height. I routinely fool the carnival weight guessers by 30 pounds or more.

    At my target weight of 185, I'm in great shape. The last time I hit 175, my ribs were poking through like a feed the hungry poster child. Yet, the BMI chart wants me at 155. I'd have to come down with a fatal illness to hit that weight.

    So, for me at least, the chart is useless. My doc agrees, though. He told me I was just fine at 220.

    Of course, when I hit 245, that was a different matter.
  • primal_p90x
    primal_p90x Posts: 13
    BMI is dead. The best way is to measure your body fat%. If that is too complicated then simply measure your waist size not pant size and multiply it by 2. If your waist size x 2 in inches or cm is greater than your height in inches or cm then you better focus on your nutrition plan more than your workout plan.
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
    This paragraph is golden:

    "Weight management experts Dr. Arya Sharma and Dr. Yoni Freed-hoff suggest focusing on your best weight, which is defined as whatever weight you can achieve while living the healthiest lifestyle possible and still having fun and flexibility. At some point you will not be able to eat less, exercise more and still enjoy a great life. At that point you are trying to achieve a weight that is under where you should be. The words fun and flexibility are essential. Living fully is indeed about a mix of healthful and soulful choices."

    That totally resonated with me too! Thanks OP :)

    I agree BMI can definitely be off. I am 5'4" and when I was a little over 130 ...jesus it wasn't pretty. I was definitely not healthy but I was considered within a healthy range of BMI for my height/age (5'4" 39 y/o). Then I started working out and lost zero pounds after a year but I gained muscle, strength, stamina, good mood, and confidence in that year. Same person, same weight, 2 totally different bodies and definitely healthy even at that higher BMI (although it was in healthy range to begin with). I'm finally losing now and down from around 135 to 123 and while I'm not at my ideal weight currently (115-118) I look good. I'd be happy to lose 5-8 more pounds and am working towards that. But it's good to remember if at some point along the way I see it interfering with my life in a negative way I should stop and reevaluate because I don't need to be thinner at the expense of living a full and happy life. Good post.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    BMI might be useful for trends in populations but is useless for individuals as no distinction is made as to what the the weight consists of.

    England won the 2003 Rugby World cup - the whole team were in the overweight BMI category apart from some of the forwards who were in the obese BMI range.

    a prop's gotta do what a prop's gotta do :laugh:
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,332 Member
    Also important are genetics, family history, gender, age, body composition, sleep habits, stress levels and more. Remember that some factors we can change while others are factors we have little control over.

    This i totally agree with. I cant see myself EVER being 120 pounds again like I was in my early 20's. And even when I was in my 30's, all I had to do to lose weight and tone was walk....no gym. My skin tightened up and I looked great. But not now....its a bit more complicated. I think being between 140-150 will be great for me. I never would have thought that 30 years ago.
  • funpilot56
    funpilot56 Posts: 100
    BMI is a general physiologic measure that the insurance industry uses to measure health. Unfortunately, it doesn't take into account the older population who retain much more body fat, the younger population who is still maturing, or the athletic population for obvious (maybe not so obvious) reasons. Example: Lebron James is 6'8" and 280 pounds and is grotesquely obese according to the BMI scales. He has a body fat percentage of 5-7% from underwater weighing. Clearly, body fat is a better indicator of overall health but even then, the measures are so different. Make sure you use the same device every time you get your body fat calculated. If underwater weighing, stay there. If skinfold calipers, use them. They have a 3-5% error. If using handheld or scale bioelectrical impedence units, use them but stay on the type you use. It is easier to compare apples to apples instead of switching to different measuring devices. Also, if using scales or hand held devices, you should do them them the same time each time you get checked as hydration levels will varry the results. Same for skinfold calipers....use the same technician as user reliability will make your reading differ.

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