Your take on BMI

darrensurrey

Here's my take on it. The sort of people who criticise it don't need to worry about their BMI. The sort of people who get worried by it need to take heed of the numbers. There are exceptions, of course, who will reply below:

secretlobster

BMI might be helpful for someone who is completely inactive and needs to see "based on a simple calculation, you are obese" in writing to be motivated to lose weight.

It's not an accurate measure of health. Just an indicator that you, unformed public, are too massive.

Bakkasan

Body fat only.

journalistjen

I agree with most people on here. BMI is not preferred. It does not paint an accurate picture of your body composition. Even if I wasn't as overweight as I am now--my BMI will never be great. I'm 6' tall, hour-glass shaped, and I have a decent amount of muscle mass. And I"m female. So if I had to depend on BMI--FML.

Chief_Rocka

BMI doesn't take my feelings into account

bcattoes

I think for most people, it's a pretty good measurement. For male athletes and bodybuilders, it is not. For women, it's more often accurate since they don't build muscle like men do. It's much easier for a man to be at a healthy BF% and measure obese/overweight by BMI than for a woman.

But it's also important to remember that it's only tool for weight, and weight is just one element of health. Even if you have a healthy BMI, it's no guarantee that you are healthy (and vice versa).

n0ob

I like BMI threads, everyone is a massive bodybuilder

You got a problem brah?

arlenem1974

at my heaviest I had a BMI of 38.2. Now its 30.2 I'm still considered Obese. I have a scale that measures fat and that says I'm 47 %. No matter what I look at I'm still Obese.

Molly_Maguire

Depends on your muscle mass. BF% is a far better gauge.

Agreed. I would focus mainly on bf%. I could give a flying fack for my bmi.

cwolfman13

I use both BMI and BF% in assesing my goals. The way I'm looking at it, I'll most likely end up on the low end of "overweight" on the BMI scale when I reach my goal, as I intend to lose fat and also build muscle. I'm targeting 180-185 at 5'10.5" with 14-17% BF. If I was just going for skinny fat, I'd need to be in the 170 Lb range to be at a "healthy weight." My current BMI is 27.8 (targeting 25.5 - 26) and my BF% is 28.48, so I have some work ahead of me.

darloeye

Not a fan of it, Can't understand why people use it still.

Carolyn_79

I agree it's not accurate for those who lift and are more muscular than say the average person. On another note though, because it's gotten a bad rap in these type of situations, I know a few overweight people at my work who are in denial about being overweight claiming they're not and that BMI is BS. I think it can be a useful tool in the right situation but because it's lost some of its validity, a lot of people hide behind that and are in denial about their weight.

LadyZephyr

As a woman I ignore BMI - Women have a higher fat percentage, and there's the added weight of breasts, which in my case add aprox. 10 - 14 lbs. BMI is bull****.

bcattoes

Not a fan of it, Can't understand why people use it still.

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html#Why
Why does CDC use BMI to measure overweight and obesity?
Calculating BMI is one of the best methods for population assessment of overweight and obesity. Because calculation requires only height and weight, it is inexpensive and easy to use for clinicians and for the general public. The use of BMI allows people to compare their own weight status to that of the general population.

What are some of the other ways to measure obesity? Why doesn't CDC use those to determine overweight and obesity among the general public?
Other methods to measure body fatness include skinfold thickness measurements (with calipers), underwater weighing, bioelectrical impedance, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and isotope dilution. However, these methods are not always readily available, and they are either expensive or need highly trained personnel. Furthermore, many of these methods can be difficult to standardize across observers or machines, complicating comparisons across studies and time periods.

tigersword

As a woman I ignore BMI - Women have a higher fat percentage, and there's the added weight of breasts, which in my case add aprox. 10 - 14 lbs. BMI is bull****.

Wow, nothing like making excuses to make you feel better. BMI numbers are based on population averages. You aren't the only woman on the planet that has a higher body fat percentage or breasts.

Bottom line, unless you are a genetic outlier, or a professional athlete (which is probably about 1% of the people on this site,) BMI will be a very accurate gauge of overall health and fitness.

PaulW2MD

Yes!

fishgutzy

BMI is yet another gubmint "one-size-fits-all "cure" for everything. And we all know how often they are correct.
According to BMI 100% of NFL, NBA, and MLB players are overweight or obese. Only professional marathoners don't fall into being overweight.
Most Army airborne are overweight according to BMI.
At my son's last physical, the nurse didn't wait until he was standing straight to record his 6'4" height and wrote 6'3" instead. That resulted in an "overweight" BMI even though he is thin by any objective standard.
As for me, I know I'm overweight. I have never had a problem seeing myself as overweight or fat. My problem was seeing myself as fat when I weighed 155 pounds at 6' tall.

But fear not. The gubmint will find more ways to use BMI against us.
New employer mandates in the name of improving workforce health will come.
There is already a push for schools to report a child's BMI on their report cards. My sister already got a report card saying her daughter was obese even though she is not. That just gets her PO'd.

snowgrrl83

I'm going to put my 2 cents here.
People are so blinded by our society, where 60%+ adult population is considered overweight or obese that they think that the overweight look is the "healthy" look.
What are you, blind? Why is it that someone with a BMI of 21 is considered "too skinny"?

BMI is accurate for 95%+ of the population... WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
Stop denying it, you're FAT unless you're a bodybuilder.

If you're a man with "a bit more muscle" or a woman that has "bigger boobs", and you're BMI is overweight and/or obese, you are what the BMI says you are! Its not lying to you, you aren't at a "healthy" weight, so stop lying to yourself. YOU ARE NOT THE EXCEPTION - you just think you are, because you're so used to seeing fat people around you.

Now, at the other spectrum of the scale, (and feel free to look this up in all scientific litterature), if you are considered underweight, the BMI scale is even more accurate since the skinnier you are the less bodyfat/muscle you have and the less arbitrary this becomes.

and no, there is no such thing as being "big boned". Now, stop lying to yourself.

tigersword

BMI is yet another gubmint "one-size-fits-all "cure" for everything. And we all know how often they are correct.
According to BMI 100% of NFL, NBA, and MLB players are overweight or obese. Only professional marathoners don't fall into being overweight.
Most Army airborne are overweight according to BMI.
At my son's last physical, the nurse didn't wait until he was standing straight to record his 6'4" height and wrote 6'3" instead. That resulted in an "overweight" BMI even though he is thin by any objective standard.
As for me, I know I'm overweight. I have never had a problem seeing myself as overweight or fat. My problem was seeing myself as fat when I weighed 155 pounds at 6' tall.

But fear not. The gubmint will find more ways to use BMI against us.
New employer mandates in the name of improving workforce health will come.
There is already a push for schools to report a child's BMI on their report cards. My sister already got a report card saying her daughter was obese even though she is not. That just gets her PO'd.

BMI is not a government initiative. It's a 200 year old scientific classification.

InnerFatGirl

Depends on your muscle mass. I don't have much and I don't lift so I know my 159lbs for my 5'5" is overweight, and my 196lbs was definitely obese.

MemphisKitten

Well, it was developed between 1830 and 1850 and they still use it. :noway: I think they could come up with something a little more accurate.

snowgrrl83

Well, it was developed between 1830 and 1850 and they still use it. :noway: I think they could come up with something a little more accurate.

They have, its called a DEXA scan, which measures your body fat %, but you need some expensive gear to measure that accurately. So BMI still ends up being affordable/reliable....and given that its still used nearly 200 years later, proves that it is quite more accurate than some believe.

STrooper

Unfortunately, my employer is using it as our insurance premium guideline. Which means for me to get to the best premium, I will need to get to 164 Lbs. The nutritionist I talked to, told me that was an unrealistic goal with my lean mass. I can choose to do a body fat test that will give me an adjusted BMI, but I don't know if it would be worth it for the extra $50 insurance savings. The body fat test would probably cost me about that, so I wouldn't be saving much.

We had a similar requirement until a year ago. Actually, it meant that you couldn't participate in the 80/20 plan though you would still be covered by the 70/30 plan. Now the restriction for the 80/20 plan is that you cannot smoke or use tobacco. But unlike the year before where, if you met the health requirements to have the 80/20 plan provided, you could have it provided at no cost, this year having ihealth insurance for no additional premium cost is ONLY the 70/30 plan.

The BMI threshold for participation was a value of 40 (although I think they were initally consider a value of 35 as the demarcation.

firstsip

Has anyone already mentioned that it was a created by a psychologist for a specific study, where he himself said, "This shouldn't be used as a measure of health"?

LeenaRuns

It doesn't take muscle into consideration, just height and weight.....so it's crap...

OMG, I love this!!!

Mindarin

oops...double post. srry. :P

snowgrrl83

Has anyone already mentioned that it was a created by a psychologist for a specific study, where he himself said, "This shouldn't be used as a measure of health"?

True, but then overweight doesn't mean unhealthy neither. Just because you are over or underweight doesn't mean that you are sick, it just means that the risks are higher, and that you have a higher chance of becoming "unhealthy". It still leaves you being overweight or underweight...or obese. You could be obese and not suffer from any complications...yet. But your chances of getting sick, or unhealthy dramatically increases.

Just like being in the normal BMI scale doesn't mean that you're healthy (for all we know, you could be dying of cancer at a normal BMI)..

Mindarin

Well, it was developed between 1830 and 1850 and they still use it. :noway: I think they could come up with something a little more accurate.

They have, its called a DEXA scan, which measures your body fat %, but you need some expensive gear to measure that accurately. So BMI still ends up being affordable/reliable....and given that its still used nearly 200 years later, proves that it is quite more accurate than some believe.

So what would you say to someone whose measurements are healthy, (a woman with a waist under 30 etc...) but whose BMI is 26? Technically, I'm overweight, but I look a lot better than some of my friends who have a normal BMI...

firstsip

Has anyone already mentioned that it was a created by a psychologist for a specific study, where he himself said, "This shouldn't be used as a measure of health"?

True, but then overweight doesn't mean unhealthy neither. Just because you are over or underweight doesn't mean that you are sick, it just means that the risks are higher, and that you have a higher chance of becoming "unhealthy". It still leaves you being overweight or underweight...or obese. You could be obese and not suffer from any complications...yet. But your chances of getting sick, or unhealthy dramatically increases.

Just like being in the normal BMI scale doesn't mean that you're healthy (for all we know, you could be dying of cancer at a normal BMI)..

Oh, I know that; I'm just pointing it out since it's always rather fascinating to note that a psychologist created BMI.

snowgrrl83

Well, it was developed between 1830 and 1850 and they still use it. :noway: I think they could come up with something a little more accurate.

They have, its called a DEXA scan, which measures your body fat %, but you need some expensive gear to measure that accurately. So BMI still ends up being affordable/reliable....and given that its still used nearly 200 years later, proves that it is quite more accurate than some believe.

So what would you say to someone whose measurements are healthy, (a woman with a waist under 30 etc...) but whose BMI is 26? Technically, I'm overweight, but I look a lot better than some of my friends who have a normal BMI...

Stop comparing yourself to the rest of society. Remember, 60% of adults are overweight or obese..and just because your friend told you she has a "healthy" BMI, doesn't mean that she is being truthful... and your waist might be smaller than 30, but what about your hips, and elsewhere? Are you carrying too much weight somewhere else? I'd say, it probably wouldn't hurt to lose 10 lbs. Then you'd KNOW that you're in a healthy weight range.

Check out some women bodybuilders - for example, Jamie Eason, she is 5ft2 and 108lbs.... that is FAR FAR FAR from being near the overweight..and she's lots of muscle! ...so, even bodybuilders (esp of the female kind) fall within the BMI norms.