BMI... grrrr

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hjmygatt
hjmygatt Posts: 79
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I have been finding this very frusterating, and would be grateful to hear some of your thoughts.
I am 5' 7" , weight 170 lbs currently, with a target of 165 lbs.
When I use the BMI calculator on this website, it tells me my target goal should be between 118 - 159.8 pounds. Now, even at my most fit, when I was running and swimming everyday, I didn't weigh under 160 (in Jr hi / high school). I find it VERY hard to belive that I would be any where but sickly unhealthy at 118! Quite frankly, I look and feel great at 170!

Do any of you find that your ideal BMI range seems WAAAAAAAAY off? Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Replies

  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Yes, I have a feeling mine is way off. The limit for my height is 142 or something. My goal is 150 and even that seems unreasonable to me at this point (not seeing how 70 more pounds are coming off of this body, but we'll see!). The BMI is crap for many people. It may be an okay guideline for some of the population, but it's essentially just a shot in the dark.

    Stop wherever you feel comfortable. :smile:
  • mvl1014
    mvl1014 Posts: 531
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    BMI isn't the best indicator of health. I believe very active people and tall people get bad results. The important number is your height to waist ratio. You want a waist less than half your height.
  • carp68
    carp68 Posts: 42
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    I weigh 208 and will probably start to maintain when I reach my target of 190-195, yet the BMI says I need to be under 185 to be considered "normal."

    I also have qualms with the height / weight chart. For my height, it says I should weigh between 154 and 170. I think that's incredibly unreasonable. I am 6 feet tall and I think 154 to 170 would make me look emaciated.

    I sent my doctor an e-mail asking him what he thinks and if he puts any validity in those charts. We shall see...
  • carp68
    carp68 Posts: 42
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    BMI isn't the best indicator of health. I believe very active people and tall people get bad results. The important number is your height to waist ratio. You want a waist less than half your height.

    I've never heard that about height to waist ratio. Is that a true indicator?
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    BMI isn't the best indicator of health. I believe very active people and tall people get bad results. The important number is your height to waist ratio. You want a waist less than half your height.

    I've never heard that about height to waist ratio. Is that a true indicator?

    The ratio I always hear about is waist to hip, not waist to height. But what do I know? I don't even know if that one is a good indicator.

    http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/waist_hip.asp

    This one says I have a healthy waist to hip ratio -- .72
  • FireRox21
    FireRox21 Posts: 424 Member
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    I fully understand. I can't stand the BMI chart. I think there are some other threads around here that cover this topic as well.

    I am 4'11" and weigh 175lbs. Now, I know that is overweight and that is why I am here; but, according to the BMI chart I am severely overweight. The chart says I should be somewhere between 98-114 lbs. I did get down to that weight when I was 21 and I looked terrible! My hair was very thin and falling out, my bones stuck out of my skin all over my body, my eyes were sunk into my skull, and I was sick all of the time. It was awful! My goal weight is 140lbs. That is the weight that I look and feel my best at. The BMI chart just doesn't take into account that some people are a bit more structurally dense than others. It also doesn't take into account athletes' bodies.

    Just stick to a goal weight that makes you happy and you know you look and feel the best at.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
    Options
    BMI isn't the best indicator of health. I believe very active people and tall people get bad results. The important number is your height to waist ratio. You want a waist less than half your height.

    I've never heard that about height to waist ratio. Is that a true indicator?

    The ratio I always hear about is waist to hip, not waist to height. But what do I know? I don't even know if that one is a good indicator.

    http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/waist_hip.asp

    This one says I have a healthy waist to hip ratio -- .72

    Then again, It also says my waist to hip ratio is healthy from my measurements when I started MFP and I can assure you, I was in no way "healthy." So these results appear skewed based on the fact that baby got back. :ohwell:

    Found info about waist to heigh ratio, too. These all just seem to be more inaccurate measures, though I bet the measurement ratios are more accurate at predicting overall health than weight.
  • mstanley
    mstanley Posts: 121 Member
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    I'm glad to hear that most people think it is unreasonable. I was wondering if I would be able to reach the range for normal, and if I did, I don't think I would look very healthy.

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