Do BMI's seem unrealistic to anyone else?

denezy

Hi, I am Obese.

stummee

If you look it up in Wikipedia, BMI was never meant to be used as an individual tool but on a population. Also, it is a no brainer, women have less muscle mass and more fat than men and BMI does not use sex in its calculation. Also, if you think about ethnic background, eskimos have a larger fat layer. You can not use BMI on children. I remember there use to tables for small, mid size, and large size frames and male/female weight tables. I'm surprise how popular BMI is and it is due to how easy it is to calculate. If you are concerned about your health, get a blood test.

didntfeelcreativetoday

I hate BMI, do I think it's realistic YES,. I recently had the caliper test done and measured in at 27% body FAT. DAMM is all I could say. I am far from an expert and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express but I do know a lot goes into determining BMI. Well at least my nutritionist used multiple charts that included average of 3 caliper tests on 3 different areas, Age Height, Weight and Body Frame Type ( I didn't get to choose my body type) .
I am not on a diet, however I am changing how and what I eat. My goal is to be under 18 percent body Fat

Everyone has their own opinion on this subject and there is no right or wrong answer. However I am embracing the BMI and including that in my goals.

breeshabebe

*snip*

LOL. I was trying to illustrate a point but I'll admit it was rather subtle.

Fortunately I'm not associated with beachbody so I don't need to fill another 25 pages defending my unfounded ridiculous assertion with a bunch of wishful thinking dressed up in sciency sounding language. :happy:

I think I got your point. You believe that people should be more focused on what their bodies can do than how they look or stack up to statistical averages as a way to determine goals.

The problem is that you're conflating two things, health and fitness. There is some overlap there, but they are not the same. People with high levels of fitness can still be at risk for cardiovascular disease if they are obese, and people who meet all the statistical markers for health can still be woefully unfit. I don't think your assertion was ridiculous or unfounded, I think it had major flaws.

My tone was a catty because I'm personally defensive about my fitness level. Put yourself in my position. You to work your *kitten* off to get your BF%, BMI, WHR, WHtR and whathaveyou into healthy ranges but you still can't do basic fitness things like a handstand. You work your *kitten* off even harder to work at being able to do those things, but they are still months or even years in the future. THEN someone comes up like, "if you were at a healthy weight you could do a handstand."

No. No sir. That is not how it works.

Geez. Lighten up.... He wasn't being serious. Your reading wayyyyyy too much into what he was saying because he wasn't saying any of the above. It was a joke. Look at his profile pic..... he's doing a headstand... his ticker says he still has weight to lose. Obviously, he hasn't "arrived" fitnessly. I'm 80lbs overweight and can do a headstand... so is he saying that I'm good now? That I shouldn't lose anymore weight? It was just a joke, man.

KatrinaWilke

Every one of these posts is identical. Its pretty indicative of our culture... the self-delusion is incredible.

I so gotta agree with this. Sure, there might be some very few special snowflakes out there that indeed are big boned. However, chances are, you are not one of them. I even saw a couple of posts in another thread where a woman stated she would feel underweight if she were under 200 lbs.

Sorry, but no.

I agree with you two! I was starting to feel judgemental. There are alot of people I think look overweight in this post that are saying they have an overweight BMI but do not agree with it. I have always been in my normal BMI range, but felt overweight at the upper end!

CristinaL1983

A woman i know has a 36 inch waist. is 5'1 and weighs about 140 pounds. her bmi is overweight. why is she overweight and not obese. She looks 30 pounds heavier than I do. She does not exercise. Her body fat is also almost at 50%. But her bmi is just in the overweight catagory. we are in a contest with a few other ladies and we share our stats that is how I know all of this.

You're back to "looks" again. It isn't what someone looks like. It's an equation between height and weight basically. She's over 30 lbs lighter than you and only minimally shorter. Get over what it looks like and your perception of what you look like. You are classed as obese at your height and weight based on BMI. Someone 30 lbs lighter is classed as overweight. If you lose 30 lbs you could be overweight instead of obese.

It is what it is. You can argue for the next ten years that you are the special person who doesn't "look" your version of obese at your weight but it doesn't change the statistics at all. For your sanity I'd suggest you just let it go, carry on doing whatever you're doing and quit trying to justify why you are different than the rest of the world.

To me it is all about the way I look. I hate being classified as obese on paper. It is making it hard for me to get insurance at a reasonable rate. While people who 'look' worse than me but have better numbers (bmi) aren't going to pay the same price. Side by side an insurance agent would classify me as in better health(shape) than say some of my friends. But on paper that same agent would rate me higher, therefore causing me to pay more. My issue is that insurance companies are using bmi to determine fitness and it is not true in all cases. I am overweight. Butmy blood work is really good and my numbers are where they should be. I agree. I'm going to stop beating this dead horse. This is purely financial for me. I'll bow out now.

Overweight and Overfat are slightly different. Ideal body fat for women is between 18-25%. Over 30% body fat is overfat and over 40% body fat is obese by body fat standards. Overweight is very simply a BMI of 25 or above, obese by BMI standards is a BMI of 30 or above.

For me, I'll be overweight by BMI standards until I am 23% body fat. That's not a lot of wiggle room between my ideal weight (and body fat percentage) and the top end of my healthy BMI. I have a friend who is the same height as me with a slimmer build who doesn't work out (so probably less muscle mass) who at my ideal weight would probably be well into the "overfat" zone but still considered a healthy weight.

That doesn't make it any less right for me to get down into the range of healthy BMI. Yeah, it kind of sucks that at a better body composition than others of my height I would still be classified as overweight and that if I gained weight again, by BMI standards I would be classified as "obese" even before I was actually obese by body fat standards. It doesn't change the fact that the "healthy" BMI range is also in my ideal body fat range and that I actually would be healthy at those weights.

If you really think that you aren't obese by body fat standards, go have a body fat test done. Get a DEXA scan or hydrostatic weight test done they cost under $100. You could find out what your lean mass actually is and figure out where your ideal body weight is. You could probably also send the report to the insurance company and get the cheaper rate. A lot of insurance companies will accept those reports in lieu of a simple weight report. Being of better body composition does also lower health risks and even when I was in the military, people could have the fitness test weigh in waived with a body composition test that showed that they were actually healthy.

Right now you are trying to convince a bunch of people on the internet that you aren't obese. You don't have a profile picture up and the one stat that you have given, a 34" waist, puts you well into obese territory. Not only that but you are well out of the range of healthy by waist-height ratio standards which are pretty lax. Even when I was obese, I never had a 34" waist (I'm 5'7''). Right now, I'm overweight and my waist is 27.5."

SBolles01

You really shouldn't focus on your BMI, it does not indicate body fat to muscle ratios, only weight. So a body builder with very low body fat and high muscle mass would also show up overweight according to BMI scales. You should be more concerned with body fat % than BMI.

Mokey41

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

ChgingMe

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

Why so harsh? I think she looks great. Curves aren't bad. And I have found that most men above a certain age prefer a little curve to their women. Or did you think this was a picture of me. :blushing:

Mokey41

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

Why so harsh? I think she looks great. Curves aren't bad.

Here we go with "looks" again. Yes, she looks great, yes she thinks she looks great. It has nothing to do with BMI once again. It's not how you look, it's weight to height ratio. It's really simple math. Not sure why you have such a hard time understanding that. Close your eyes, your BMI is still the same no matter how you LOOK!

Pink9874

Yes. I'm 5'8 and to be in the healthy range I would need to be between 164 and 121. I know from personal experience that if I go under 150 I look emaciated.

ChgingMe

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

Why so harsh? I think she looks great. Curves aren't bad.

Here we go with "looks" again. Yes, she looks great, yes she thinks she looks great. It has nothing to do with BMI once again. It's not how you look, it's weight to height ratio. It's really simple math. Not sure why you have such a hard time understanding that. Close your eyes, your BMI is still the same no matter how you LOOK!

Wow girlfriend bring it down a notch.. you are waaaaayyyy more into this than you should be. Why in the heck do you care how I feel about myself? You have commented on my rants more than anyone else. Am I fat, am I obese, am i in denial? Could be all of the above. But you my dear need to chill it really isn't that big a deal. I'm over it at this point. accepting my fate to be classified as obese. you should too.

bcattoes

Yes. I'm 5'8 and to be in the healthy range I would need to be between 164 and 121. I know from personal experience that if I go under 150 I look emaciated.

But you wouldn't have to go under 150 to be in the healthy range.

ChgingMe

Yes. I'm 5'8 and to be in the healthy range I would need to be between 164 and 121. I know from personal experience that if I go under 150 I look emaciated.

Ive heard african amercian women carry weight differently, and don't always look as big based on weight, but I didn't dare post that here. Ive been beat up enough... :sad:

Bighiker2

It seems pretty realistic to me. I am 5ft2inch tall, and weigh 132 lb (started my weight loss at 144). Right now my BMI measures 24.1. At goal weight (130) it'll be 23.8. Both BMIs are in the high range of what's considered normal weight. I am in good shape because I work out and hike many miles each week, but I am by all means not thin at this weight, so for these reasons I believe it's overall realistic.

denezy

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

I'm not debating that I am overweight, but at a BMI of about 31 in this photo, I would be classified as obese, but competing regularly as a national team athlete. Just debating the general statement of BMI as an indicator of health.

puckers82

Not read through all the replies.

Yes it is. Look at the England rugby team, all over their BMI's but some of the fittest people about and not fat!

I dont think its fair either that doctors use it when they dont agree with them. When you need an operation and you have to get to your target BMI to have it i think its just to put people off as its too unrealistic! Saying that it goes the other way and if you are really big you have to be over a certain BMI to get any help!

CoachReddy

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

I'm not debating that I am overweight, but at a BMI of about 31 in this photo, I would be classified as obese, but competing regularly as a national team athlete. Just debating the general statement of BMI as an indicator of health.

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

For example, professional football players - how many live to be 80, 90 or older? Very, very few. Sure they were incredibly athletic at one time, but that doesn't mean they weren't also at higher risk for disease because of their larger size, which, over time, is more taxing on the heart than a smaller person.

bcattoes

Yes. I'm 5'8 and to be in the healthy range I would need to be between 164 and 121. I know from personal experience that if I go under 150 I look emaciated.

Ive heard african amercian women carry weight differently, and don't always look as big based on weight, but I didn't dare post that here. Ive been beat up enough... :sad:

Oh, come on. First of all you did post it here. Second of all, you clearly enjoy the arguing. You know as well as everyone else that a measurement doesn’t have anything to do with how one looks or carries weight.

JuneBetty

I'm not sure if it's realistic, my current BMI is 25.54, I am 5"10 and I weight 178lbs.

bcattoes

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

This isn't exactly true. A higher BMI means you may be at a higher risk for health issues. While it should be a red flag that other factors need to be looked at or tested, BMI alone is not indicative of health risk at the individual level.

But you are correct that the other factors would not include how you feel or think you look.

denezy

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

I'm not debating that I am overweight, but at a BMI of about 31 in this photo, I would be classified as obese, but competing regularly as a national team athlete. Just debating the general statement of BMI as an indicator of health.

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

For example, professional football players - how many live to be 80, 90 or older? Very, very few. Sure they were incredibly athletic at one time, but that doesn't mean they weren't also at higher risk for disease because of their larger size, which, over time, is more taxing on the heart than a smaller person.

Really? One of the most violent sports with known significant risks of head injury is your example?

I do understand the basis of what you're saying, but using professional football players are a terrible test subject.

CoachReddy

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

This isn't exactly true. A higher BMI means you may be at a higher risk for health issues. While it should be a red flag that other factors need to be looked at or tested, BMI alone is not indicative of health risk at the individual level.

But you are correct that the other factors would not include how you feel or think you look.

semantics.

CoachReddy

Hi, I am Obese.

We get it, you have large boobs and are "curvy", you carry more weight although it is well proportioned. It still means you have a higher weight per your height than average.

I'm not debating that I am overweight, but at a BMI of about 31 in this photo, I would be classified as obese, but competing regularly as a national team athlete. Just debating the general statement of BMI as an indicator of health.

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

For example, professional football players - how many live to be 80, 90 or older? Very, very few. Sure they were incredibly athletic at one time, but that doesn't mean they weren't also at higher risk for disease because of their larger size, which, over time, is more taxing on the heart than a smaller person.

Really? One of the most violent sports with known significant risks of head injury is your example?

I do understand the basis of what you're saying, but using professional football players are a terrible test subject.

haha ok fair enough. it was just my example based on athletes who are huge... but you could do the same with pretty much any athletes outside of maybe tennis, soccer... and other endurance based sports.

it's a big misconception but athletic =/= healthy

cubbies77

Yes. I'm 5'8 and to be in the healthy range I would need to be between 164 and 121. I know from personal experience that if I go under 150 I look emaciated.

So then don't go under 150. You said you need to be between 121 and 164, so set your goal to be "under 164 but above 150".

bcattoes

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

This isn't exactly true. A higher BMI means you may be at a higher risk for health issues. While it should be a red flag that other factors need to be looked at or tested, BMI alone is not indicative of health risk at the individual level.

But you are correct that the other factors would not include how you feel or think you look.

semantics.

"are at risk" and "may be at risk" is a little more than semanics.

cubbies77

If your waist was 32" in the 90's, you wouldn't wear an 8 now. Mine is 28" and I'm in a 6 now. I gained a couple pounds over the winter and in July my waist was a 27 and I was a 4. I know the sizes have changed, but not THAT much from the 90's.

Chill. It was a JOKE. I think vanity sizing is stupid, so that was a tongue-in-cheek comment.

CoachReddy

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

This isn't exactly true. A higher BMI means you may be at a higher risk for health issues. While it should be a red flag that other factors need to be looked at or tested, BMI alone is not indicative of health risk at the individual level.

But you are correct that the other factors would not include how you feel or think you look.

semantics.

"are at risk" and "may be at risk" is a little more than semanics.

lol "risk" is already an uncertainty. just because you're at risk doesn't mean you'll develop a condition.

to say "may" be at "risk" is just stupid legal jargon. thus, semantics.

just because doctors and pharmaceuticals have to follow the legal guidelines doesn't mean I have to while having a discussion on the internet...

denezy

BMI doesn't care how you think you look. BMI doesn't care how you feel about the word 'obese'. It simply means that you're at a higher risk for health issues than someone with a lower BMI. You don't have to like it or agree, but that doesn't change it...

For example, professional football players - how many live to be 80, 90 or older? Very, very few. Sure they were incredibly athletic at one time, but that doesn't mean they weren't also at higher risk for disease because of their larger size, which, over time, is more taxing on the heart than a smaller person.

Really? One of the most violent sports with known significant risks of head injury is your example?

I do understand the basis of what you're saying, but using professional football players are a terrible test subject.

haha ok fair enough. it was just my example based on athletes who are huge... but you could do the same with pretty much any athletes outside of maybe tennis, soccer... and other endurance based sports.

it's a big misconception but athletic =/= healthy

I will totally agree with that and also point out that there is a huge misconception that endurance athletes =/= healthy.

bobf279

I am only looking to move from obese to overweight on the BMI chart and then I will be happy, my "ideal" weight will be way to low for me