Best B.M.I test- your opinion??

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goblynn
goblynn Posts: 152
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello Friends!!

What, in your opinion is the most accurate B.M.I test?

I am down to 129 and still have some extra weight on my legs BUT I am suspicious that my b.m.i. might be lower than MFP is telling me. I would like to get it check so that I can start focusing on weight training if I am in a lower-healthy range. I don't have any fat on my upper body- it looks a little freakish. Just want to make sure I am doing everything to stay healthy. :) Thanks for your opinions.

The photos on my profile are from my original MFP start date. The blue photo is my most recent.

p.s. please not fighting- just put your opinion and any facts that support it. THANKS :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • GoalSixPack
    GoalSixPack Posts: 97
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    Bump
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    BMI is a number based solely on your height and weight. It does not take into account body composition or say anything about overall health - please do not use BMI as your main indicator of ANYTHING.

    I looked at the pictures in your profile and to me you should probably be looking into finding some other metric to gauge your progress by. You could try body fat percentage, taped measurements (or you could simply measure your progress in whatever exercise regimen you subscribe to).

    Fun fact: If you pack on enough muscle mass and you are have a normal or low fat mass, BMI will most likely be high - so please don't use BMI as anything other than a crude guideline suitable for statistical evaluation of large populations where outliers can be hidden in the averages.
  • ToughTulip
    ToughTulip Posts: 1,118 Member
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    You are like me! I carry my weight in my lower half too, but upper half is quite lean

    There really is only one way to get your BMI, it is just a simple calculation.

    IMO body fat percentage test would be much more useful to you at this point :)
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    BMI is a number based solely on your height and weight. It does not take into account body composition or say anything about overall health - please do not use BMI as your main indicator of ANYTHING.

    I looked at the pictures in your profile and to me you should probably be looking into finding some other metric to gauge your progress by. You could try body fat percentage, taped measurements (or you could simply measure your progress in whatever exercise regimen you subscribe to).

    Fun fact: If you pack on enough muscle mass and you are have a normal or low fat mass, BMI will most likely be high - so please don't use BMI as anything other than a crude guideline suitable for statistical evaluation of large populations where outliers can be hidden in the averages.

    Great post.

    According to BMI I am overweight.
  • kristinacottle
    kristinacottle Posts: 52
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    There's only one test for your BMI. I don't think BMI is very accurate.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    BMI, or body mass index, is a set formula, there is only one, weight in kg over height in meters squared. I think you may be looking for the best estimate of body fat percentage. In this case, the best estimates come from a lab, for example using a DEXA scan, or a displacement method such as a bod-pod or a hydrostatic weighting.
  • ScubyUK
    ScubyUK Posts: 271 Member
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    Forget the BMI number.

    Google around and see if there is a place where you live\work that does Bod Pod assessments. :o)
  • jeffrodgers1
    jeffrodgers1 Posts: 991 Member
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    BMI is a garbage stat. It was conceived by the insurance industy as means to guage the average individuals fitness.

    It is flawed in the sense that it is almost strictly a height vs weight. According to the BMI scale, my BMI is in the Obese range yet I have less than 17% body fat. Using BMI scale, notable fatties would include most professional football players, weight lifters etc.

    Body fat measurement is a far more accurate indicator of your health and can be accurately assessed using many different means (immersion, calipers etc)
  • jshort152
    jshort152 Posts: 80
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    Don't worry about BMI as much, you could be 5'6" and weigh 175lbs like me and be considered obese even though your body fat percentage is 14%. Just concentrate on the mirror for now, hope this helps!

    Jesse Short
    ISSA Certifed Personal Trainer
  • goblynn
    goblynn Posts: 152
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    Thanks everyone!! Have much to learn. :)
  • Athena98501
    Athena98501 Posts: 716 Member
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    My guess is that you mean BMR, and think MFP is recommending to many calories for you to be losing currently. Is this correct?
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    so please don't use BMI as anything other than a crude guideline suitable for statistical evaluation of large populations where outliers can be hidden in the averages.

    The spirit of this comment is generally correct, as BMI is not a great measure of fitness in people who are *already* fit or who already have reasonable body fat levels. But...

    (1) The vast majority of people with high BMIs have high body fat. There are people with high BMIs because of muscle mass, but they are massively outnumbered by people with high BMIs due to high body fat. Additionally, among people with very high BMIs, say obese and morbidly obese people, *almost* no one has high BMI due (solely) to high muscle mass (and please don't send me a few examples of professional/competitive athletes who are exceptions to this, they are, by definition unusual cases, or they wouldn't be where they are, this is why I emphasized almost).

    (2) "Outliers" are not "hidden" in averages, they are clearly represented and in fact have an undue influence on the average, however, in the univariate case, very easy to find if you are examining your data properly. I think what you mean to say is that in research, the relatively unusual case of a person with a high normal or overweight BMI caused by muscle rather than fat will not have a strong influence on findings because they are, by far, outnumbered by people who have high BMIs because of excess body fat.
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    The spirit of this comment is generally correct, as BMI is not a great measure of fitness in people who are *already* fit or who already have reasonable body fat levels. But...

    (1) The vast majority of people with high BMIs have high body fat. There are people with high BMIs because of muscle mass, but they are massively outnumbered by people with high BMIs due to high body fat. Additionally, among people with very high BMIs, say obese and morbidly obese people, *almost* no one has high BMI due (solely) to high muscle mass (and please don't send me a few examples of professional/competitive athletes who are exceptions to this, they are, by definition unusual cases, or they wouldn't be where they are, this is why I emphasized almost).

    You are right in that majority of people with high BMI, the result is probably due to exces fat - unfortunately BMI does not in any way shape or form handle those with a high BMI due to body composition as it is solely a matter of weight and heigh. You can say that it is a numerical representation of what you see in the mirror and on the scales.

    Unfortunately the conclusions are then presented as a blanket statement dictating that if you are in such-and-such range, you are normal/overweight/fat/obese/morbidly obese (or the similar categories on the underweight side).

    It would be a better statement if it told you that if you are in such-and-such range there is a high probability that you might be *whatever label the range corresponds to*. Unfortunately BMI presents itself as an absolute and not as a probability.

    (2) "Outliers" are not "hidden" in averages, they are clearly represented and in fact have an undue influence on the average, however, in the univariate case, very easy to find if you are examining your data properly. I think what you mean to say is that in research, the relatively unusual case of a person with a high normal or overweight BMI caused by muscle rather than fat will not have a strong influence on findings because they are, by far, outnumbered by people who have high BMIs because of excess body fat.

    I would tend to disagree as the BMI formula has no tools built in to identify outliers as the example of a person with high muscle mass and low fat mass (thay are out there - and not only select professionals) will receive a number corresponding to a high BMI placing them in a wrong category - and the category is not discriminating based on body composition which means the the "healthy outlier" is not identified within the "unheathy" group (s)he has been placed in and is thus hidden.

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