What has Race got to do with BMI and Weight ?

abheshek

With a waistline of 34 inch and a BMI of 25 i thought i was normal untill a visit to a doctor yesterday who told me that i am actually still obese.

To my horror i asked how is that possible. He said that since i am Asian Indian my BMI is different from Caucasians and other ethnic groups.

He says for Indians BMI range is between 18-22.For others it's between 20-25...

I don't understand many in my swimming group are whites and most of them are of similar dimension as i am ....how is that i am different from others ?

likitisplit

You'll need to ask your doctor this. Seriously, call the office and leave a question with the nurse.

However, my best guess is that it has to do with average bone structure/muscle density???

omma_to_3

Interesting. I have no doubt the BMI charts were created based on Caucasians, but height vs. weight standards should apply to all races. Now, if you were talking the average BMI of different races, I do think there would be significant differences.

Interested to see data on this as my children are Asian.

omma_to_3

Some interesting info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index

An interesting quote: "In Singapore, the BMI cut-off figures were revised in 2005, motivated by studies showing that many Asian populations, including Singaporeans, have higher proportion of body fat and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, compared with Caucasians at the same BMI. The BMI cut-offs are presented with an emphasis on health risk rather than weight."

abheshek

thanks a lot friends