Do BMI's seem unrealistic to anyone else?

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.

PixieGoddess

Wow, there are a LOT of judgmental people on this thread! BMI can very easily be unrealistic for plenty of people. Is it also perfectly realistic for plenty of people? Yes.
Is it possible that a weight seems too low to people because they are currently overweight? Yes.
Is it possible that people discredit the BMI because they don't want to accept that they're overweight? Yes.
Is it possible that some people are "too lazy to do the work" to get to a "healthy" BMI? Yes.
Is it a fact that all people who don't fit into the "healthy" BMI range are "too lazy to do the work"? NO!! Get off your high f***ing horses!!

And as others are sharing, my "healthy" BMI tops out at 145.7lbs. The few times I've been under 150lbs, I constantly lacked energy and felt sick, so that it NOT a healthy weight for me! But at 150lbs, I feel great, look great, have a flat tummy, have lots of energy, etc. So quit assuming that anyone who doesn't fit into a range calculated from 4 points of data is just lazy!

stellcorb

I am 5'5" and since becoming an adult, have spent ALOT of time around the high range of my BMI and also in the overweight, then obese category. My maximum normal is 149 and I usually look pretty "normal" up through 155 if I'm in shape... I'm also usually a larger size... at my smallest (around 130) I'm a size 6 while many ppl at my height and weight would be a 4 or less. BUT... after I hit 200 lbs after my first pregnancy (and yes, that was 9 mos AFTER I delivered) I thought that 150ish was the best I could do... and this was not the case. I was able to lose the weight and maintain, even through another pregnancy and actually stay in the upper healthy range. I think it is a bit of a mindset overall... but I don't think there is anything wrong with setting an initial goal at a higher weight and maybe re-setting your goals once your confidence has been raised.

JGainingHealth

For me and my body type, it works.

However, my husband is considered "obese" due to his muscular build. At 5'9", his doctor wants to see him below 170. Granted, he can afford to lose a few pounds and is working to do so, but I would say 200-210 is his ideal range without intentionally letting his muscle deteriorate. So I guess he's doomed to be obese forever... haha

CoachReddy

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.

nah you're right - and i don't think outliers are a small percentage in America. I think HERE outliers are probably almost as common as those who fit into the "healthy" category.

but i don't NECESSARILY think that means that the metric is broken...

ChgingMe

Wow, there are a LOT of judgmental people on this thread! BMI can very easily be unrealistic for plenty of people. Is it also perfectly realistic for plenty of people? Yes.
Is it possible that a weight seems too low to people because they are currently overweight? Yes.
Is it possible that people discredit the BMI because they don't want to accept that they're overweight? Yes.
Is it possible that some people are "too lazy to do the work" to get to a "healthy" BMI? Yes.
Is it a fact that all people who don't fit into the "healthy" BMI range are "too lazy to do the work"? NO!! Get off your high f***ing horses!!

And as others are sharing, my "healthy" BMI tops out at 145.7lbs. The few times I've been under 150lbs, I constantly lacked energy and felt sick, so that it NOT a healthy weight for me! But at 150lbs, I feel great, look great, have a flat tummy, have lots of energy, etc. So quit assuming that anyone who doesn't fit into a range calculated from 4 points of data is just lazy!

I hate it not because i'm classified as overweight which I am, but that i'm classified as obese. Which I am clearly not. Being labeled as obese raises insurance rates. I am trying to get more life insurance before I turn 50. It puts me in a whole different catagory and changes peoples perceptions of me, (on paper)

As for being too lazy as some have suggested. I am a 48 year old AA woman who is in her 5th week of Insanity. My 17 year old daughter couldn't keep up with me. I am far from lazy or in denial.

Technoboggan

The Body Mass Index was created by Adolphe Quetelet between 1830 and 1850, and was never intended to be used to determine an /individual/ person's health (medical diagnosis of being over or underweight). It was intended to be a means of classifying physically inactive or sedentary populations (when comparing one group to another in the context of social physics.) It's suitable for recognizing trends in a population, but not for categorically determining whether any given individual is carrying too much fat on their frame to be healthy or not.

Studies have shown that it is not a good measure for the risk of heart attack, stroke or death, that it can be very inaccurate in actually determining the Body Fat Percentage, and doesn't take into consideration that tall people are not just scaled-up versions of short people.

While I don't want to argue with those who are saying "BMI is realistic for me", I would like to point out that just because some people's ideal body weight for their height falls within the BMI ranges doesn't indicate that it is accurate or ideal for everyone. Scientifically speaking, even the experts agree that it is, at best, a rough guideline.

Crankstr

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.

ok i thought we were saying the opposite.

i dont feel like i look are AM overweight.

regosaki

Iv'e actually been my BMI weight and I look as though I have just been saved from a Romanian orphanage!

Mama_Jag

It is realistic for me. I am four pounds from "normal", and should be able to get down well into the range, I will still be too fat at the top of the range.

trud72

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.

can I call you Justin??? :bigsmile: I will call you anything you want actually! :laugh: