Do BMI's seem unrealistic to anyone else?

ami5000psu

I was considered overweight according to BMI in this pic.. BMI is not only a joke but dangerous!! I have seen countless teenage girls on here posting about trying to get under 110-115 lbs because thats where BMI says they should be and they dont have another once of fat to lose looking at their pics.

110-115 pounds seems like a perfectly acceptable weight for some teenage girls especially if they are under 5'5". I'm not saying that it's perfect for everyone or that there won't be some outliers but to completely dismiss it as a joke or even dangerous is, frankly, pretty stupid.

contingencyplan

According to the BMI chart, I would have to lose approximately 40 lbs to qualify as normal/healthy. However, even my own doctor indicates that I can only stand to lose about 20 pounds or so.

CoachReddy

BMI is a joke! According to BMI guidelines I am considered Obese. I am 6"1, 226 lbs and I would have to look like Justin Bieber to be considered to be at a healthy weight.

Actually your BMI calculates to 29.8, which is overweight on BMI charts. But how does one outlier make something a joke?

i don't even think it's an outlier - it's just a shift in perception among an entire population as to what's considered "good", "normal", or what look is considered "desirable"

the BMI scale hasn't changed since it was designed in the 1850s... we have.

1850's??? Like I said, BMI is a joke.

I'm sorry, how does perception change what is healthy?

are you talking to me?

that's the opposite of what i'm saying. I'm saying BMI has been consistent since the 1850s, and the only reason people think it's a terrible metric is that our perception of "normal" as a society has begun to skew higher in weight, so we think that being 189lbs at 6'1" is "ridiculous" and "justin-bieber-looking", when in fact it's perfectly healthy.

get what i'm saying?

stephanieadorman

we can't even see your body in that pic.... but diggin' the NSYNC posters!

HAHA! RIGHT?! I was 17, 5'5ish and around 175. (Most of it muscle though.)

Now I'm taller - in college I somehow grew to 5'8ish - and I'm 185 and although I'm in worse shape than I was in that picture, I'm in a "better" BMI category.

In my high school they really stressed BMI which was horrible for us athletes. HORRIBLE.

bcattoes

The "overweight" category was expanded in recent years to include those bmi's that were previously considered "normal" There no medical reason for most people to need to be in the "normal" weight category.. Yes, you don't want to be obese.. but for most people they are just as healthy in the "overweight" range. Actually, many women receive some protective qualities from being slightly in the "overweight" category.

Actually, none of that is true. Not too many years ago, a BMI >27 was the low end of overweight. It was lowered to > 25 as more data was collected and analyzed and it became clear that people with higher BMIs were not healthy*.

*that doesn't mean they can't be healthy, it means that statistically most are not.

bcattoes

BMI is a joke! According to BMI guidelines I am considered Obese. I am 6"1, 226 lbs and I would have to look like Justin Bieber to be considered to be at a healthy weight.

Actually your BMI calculates to 29.8, which is overweight on BMI charts. But how does one outlier make something a joke?

i don't even think it's an outlier - it's just a shift in perception among an entire population as to what's considered "good", "normal", or what look is considered "desirable"

the BMI scale hasn't changed since it was designed in the 1850s... we have.

1850's??? Like I said, BMI is a joke.

I'm sorry, how does perception change what is healthy?

are you talking to me?

that's the opposite of what i'm saying. I'm saying BMI has been consistent since the 1850s, and the only reason people think it's a terrible metric is that our perception of "normal" as a society has begun to skew higher in weight, so we think that being 189lbs at 6'1" is "ridiculous" and "justin-bieber-looking", when in fact it's perfectly healthy.

get what i'm saying?

Yes, I get you. I was talking to the guy who thinks BMI is a joke because he has muscles. I'm just not getting that correlation.

BrettPGH

I got my weight down to the top end of my BMI. For like a day.

I immediately started gaining muscle and weight because I was scrawny.

casy84

It think it's pretty good for people who don't do lots of sports and don't have the means to measure bf%. From what I've noticed on this forum, people who live in high obesity rate countries don't know what 'normal' means anymore because 'normal' is not average. I hope I'm not upseting anyone with this, but I think some of the people that dismiss the BMI are just kidding themselfes because they take as 'normal' the average of what the see on the street.

Crankstr

My BMI puts me in the overweight range.

Crankstr

It think it's pretty good for people who don't do lots of sports and don't have the means to measure bf%. From what I've noticed on this forum, people who live in high obesity rate countries don't know what 'normal' means anymore because 'normal' is not average. I hope I'm not upseting anyone with this, but I think some of the people that dismiss the BMI are just kidding themselfes because they take as 'normal' the average of what the see on the street.

no

MidwestAngel

I got my weight down to the top end of my BMI. For like a day.

I immediately started gaining muscle and weight because I was scrawny.

MINE

CoachReddy

It think it's pretty good for people who don't do lots of sports and don't have the means to measure bf%. From what I've noticed on this forum, people who live in high obesity rate countries don't know what 'normal' means anymore because 'normal' is not average. I hope I'm not upseting anyone with this, but I think some of the people that dismiss the BMI are just kidding themselfes because they take as 'normal' the average of what the see on the street.

no

yes

BunkyBumBum

For me being 5'3" tall, my lowest healthy BMI would be 105lbs, and my highest healthy BMI would be 140lbs.

At my lowest weight I was 125lbs and I looked almost skeletal. My husband used to tease me about spaghetti arms, I had some weight in my hips and butt, but just enough to look normal (any less and I'd have been shaped like a tube).

Knowing my body and how it carries weight, and how it has looked as it has changed, I think my goal weight is about 135. Last year I was down to 137 and people kept commenting on how I didn't look like I had anything left to lose and I should be careful not to get "too skinny". I'm not particularly muscular, I have strong leg muscles but my upper body is weak so I'd say it balances out to an average amount of muscle.

So, BMI is generally around the right range, but it is by no means the holy grail of healthy weight. If I were solidly in the middle of my ideal BMI I'd be around 125, and, as I mentioned above, that didn't look so great on me. I'd rather look like a woman and have some curves and fat in the right places, as long as I'm healthy, so I'm shooting for 135.

ChgingMe

Here are the facts. I am currently in recovery week of Insantiy. For those not familar that is the week just before month 2. I currently wear a size 12 and even those are becoming very loose on me. Got some belly fat going on that I'm trying to get rid of thru the program. Measured the waist yesterday and it was 34 inches. Not happy with it, but definitley not the waist of an obese woman.

Holy crap woman, I'm 5'8, with a 36 inch waist and still wear a size 12. I hate womens sizes. Booooo

I know and in all honesty I never really go by sizes. Just put it in here for a visual. Sizes vary so much. I can wear 10's or 12's depending on the clothes. I can even squeeze my big behind in a 9 if I don't move. LMBO... But I can get them on and possibly zipped... Its a crap shoot.

LittleMiss_WillLoseIt

My BMI puts me in the overweight range.

BMI can suck it...you are smokin' hot babe!

MidwestAngel

My BMI puts me in the overweight range.

BMI can suck it...you are smokin' hot babe!

QFT

_noob_

BMI is usually only unrealistic for those who are extremely muscular or have a warped perception of what would be good for their body or willingness to put in the effort needed to achieve a normal BMI. The range is so wide of what is a normal BMI that there are very few people who don't fit into normal at a good weight.

I'm 5 lbs over "obese" in this picture:

CoachReddy

My BMI puts me in the overweight range.

BMI can suck it...you are smokin' hot babe!

this is the perception thing I'm talking about.

she can be smokin' hot and in the "overweight" category of BMI - the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

stephanieadorman

this is the perception thing I'm talking about.

she can be smokin' hot and in the "overweight" category of BMI - the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Right? My ex broke up with me because I lost too much weight. LOL

Chubby chaser.

DontStopB_Leakin

BMI is far more accurate for men than it is for women. It's also far more accurate for shorter people than it is for taller people (5'8" and above).


Also, it's grossly inaccurate for individuals with a high LBM/low BF%.


For me, even though I'm taller, it's accurate. For others, not so much.

BunkyBumBum

I am 5 foot 3 inches and it says I should weigh 111-148. My goal weight is 150. I look good at this weight. I would look nasty at 111! But its the way I am built. I have larger hips, thighs and butt. When I am 150 people always think I weigh less than that. In my opinon its not all about the numbers. Its how you look and feel

You're my body twin! 5'3" tall, 150, carry weight in hips, thighs, butt. The only difference is that I want to lose 15 lbs still, but I don't carry a lot of muscle so I've still got a few pudgy spots I can get rid of.

Raynne413

I currently wear a size 6, and smalls to mediums. I tend to put on muscle more easily than women due to elevated testosterone levels. Yet my BMI says that I am overweight and that I would need to lose 25 lbs just to be at the top range of healthy, or "normal". I don't think they are a good measure.

ArmandoG28

bmi suck balls !!!!!!!!!!!!

contingencyplan

I won't deny that CoachReddy has a point to some degree about perception in countries/regions where obesity is prevalent. However, the presence of outliers is much more common than I think he accounts for, and they are not such a small minority as he makes them out to be. The fact that my own doctor says I should only lose another 20 lbs or so at most when the BMI chart indicates I would need to lose 40 to enter into the healthy range is proof of that. And my story is not unique.

SadKitty27

For me being 5'3" tall, my lowest healthy BMI would be 105lbs, and my highest healthy BMI would be 140lbs.

At my lowest weight I was 125lbs and I looked almost skeletal. My husband used to tease me about spaghetti arms, I had some weight in my hips and butt, but just enough to look normal (any less and I'd have been shaped like a tube).

Knowing my body and how it carries weight, and how it has looked as it has changed, I think my goal weight is about 135. Last year I was down to 137 and people kept commenting on how I didn't look like I had anything left to lose and I should be careful not to get "too skinny". I'm not particularly muscular, I have strong leg muscles but my upper body is weak so I'd say it balances out to an average amount of muscle.

So, BMI is generally around the right range, but it is by no means the holy grail of healthy weight. If I were solidly in the middle of my ideal BMI I'd be around 125, and, as I mentioned above, that didn't look so great on me. I'd rather look like a woman and have some curves and fat in the right places, as long as I'm healthy, so I'm shooting for 135.

I guess I got lucky. At 5'6 and 120 lbs (even though my rib cage was showing a bit) I still had large "c" cups and big hips / small waist (I've always had a natural hour glass figure as my hips are just bigger structurally speaking.)

That just goes to show how different everyone's body type is.

OneEyeUp

In my profile picture, I was considered 1 point away from obesity. If I had been any skinnier, I would have looked anorexic. I have a very high bone density, and in martial arts, I kick/punch much harder than anyone else. There is obviously something about the way my muscles are structured that makes them heavy. But I wouldn't believe the BMI. I'd aim for the top range of "healthy," though.

PaleoChocolateBear

Yes, I'm close to obese

CristinaL1983

I'm 5'7'' my waist right now is 27" and has never been over 32" even when my body fat was pushing obese. For me, waist measurement is a less reliable indicator of obesity than BMI.

With my lean body mass and height, the top end of the healthy BMI puts me at 23% body fat. So for me, over 23% body fat means that I'm considered "overweight" by BMI. I don't like the way I look at that body fat so it doesn't really bother me. I think that most people can be within their healthy BMI, though I have a friend who is a crossfit trainer who is considered obese by BMI though he carries very little fat.

I think BMI isn't necessarily the best indicator of health because I have some friends who have a much slimmer build/small bone structure etc who would probably be at an obese body fat at the top end of BMI while I'm just outside the "athletic" body fat range there.

BMI was designed as a tool for measuring the fitness of entire populations rather than individuals and it is far better at that than as an individual indicator of health.

IronPlayground

BMI is a poor indicator of progress/success/health. It's a height to weight ratio that doesn't separate LBM and fat.

doubleduofa

I think its realistic for most people. My bmi range is almost 50 lbs. I could be 126 to 168 or something close to that.