BMI just doesn't seem right...

lilmandapanda
lilmandapanda Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, first off, sorry if this is a re-post! I'm 5'6 and currently 156lbs, hoping to get down to 135. I was looking at my BMI today and it said that I could go as low as 115 lbs and still be in a healthy weight range. I've been down to 135 before and it took an unbelievable amount of working out hard and perfect eating habits to maintain that weight, I don't think I really could have gone much lower. I don't know if it's just my messed up perception but does anyone else have the same view on their recommended BMI? As for my weight right now, it technically says that I'm overweight by about 2lbs, but I really dont feel overweight, or feel that I look overweight. Does anyone know if your natural body features (i.e. large breasts) may affect this?

Replies

  • EstiloPanama
    EstiloPanama Posts: 245
    You can buy a body fat analyzer and it should give you an accurate reading of your BMI and body fat based on your weight/height, as long as it is used correctly.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    BMI is utterly worthless. Don't waste your time thinking about it. Be concerned with how you feel, what your estimated body fat % is, and how your overall health is.
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    My BMI says I am obese, which is definitely not true. To get in the healthy range I would need to weigh under 190lbs. I've had my body fat checked not too long ago and based on it, I had 198lbs of lean body mass. aka I need negative bf% to be healthy :huh: I don't care too much about that number!
  • McChubbyruewho
    McChubbyruewho Posts: 194
    BMI is only for the Mahority of people I think, there are too many verables in the way we are shaped

    my husband for intance is 5'10 or 5"11 and he weight 130 he is very fit, and very lean but no bones sticking out, he is just made much leaner then most men, I am very broud, I have wide shoulders and hip and big muslce mass, I am 5'8 and at 185 I wear womans small shirt and can start to see my rib cage, soo you cant go by the BMI, just go by how you look and feel
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    BMI calculators don't consider a person's fat to muscle ratio. I knew a guy who was really short but VERY muscular. Hardly any fat at all on his entire body. The BMI calculator told him he was morbidly obese. It doesn't know that his weight is from muscle and not fat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The low end of my BMI is around 135 Lbs...I would look sickly at that weight. The high end of my BMI is 174 and I look pretty good at that weight, particularly when muscle is involved.

    BMI is a good tool for the average Joe out there who doesn't do much in the way of exercise and particularly for those that don't lift...they get to that healthy weight range and they're still skinny fat. If you exercise a lot and particularly if you lift, BMI is pretty much worthless.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    The BMI is based on average populations. It does not take into account muscle mass. You should pay attention to BF% and the mirror.

    Most body builders are obese according to the BMI.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    BMI charts are for the general population, they are statistics. The vast majority of individuals should fall somewhere in that range; not everyone will be healthy, happy and wise at every point of that range.
  • islandnutshel
    islandnutshel Posts: 1,143 Member
    BMI is not right. I've had two different doctors tell me that it doesn't apply to me. One doctor that thought I was anorexic (I wasn't I was undiagnosed celiac) when I was well into the healthy range of BMI. And the other just recently that told me I shouldn't lose more than 20 more pounds and I told him that wouldn't get me into the normal BMI range. He simply said that it isn't for all body types, and fitness levels.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    BMI is a range for the average healthy person of your height. Not specifically for you. So for all people who are 5'6" on average, the healthy ones range from 115-149. It doesn't mean YOU specifically will be healthy anywhere from 115-149.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    My mum's dr tells her to lose weight, even though her BMI is within the 'healthy' range, because she has high blood pressure and heart problems and losing weight might help. Equally, I am pretty chubby (double chin, terrible waist to hip ratio) towards the top end of the 'healthy' bmi. Other people look and feel great at that BMI. Go with what you feel is right.
  • lilmandapanda
    lilmandapanda Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks guys, the reason it bothers me is that my work offers an incentive program where you get a considerable amount of money if you have a checkup where all of the parameters are within a certain range (including your BMI). All of my parameteres were EXCELLENT, with the exception of my BMI which was about .4 off and I lost out on the money because of that! Stupid BMIs!!
  • Star_Basil
    Star_Basil Posts: 21
    Problem with BMI is that it doesn't account for the differences in muscle mass from one person to the next. The Wii Fit uses BMI and it told my Fiance that he was overweight. I'm not saying this because I'm marrying the guy but he is not fat! He does have a fair bit of muscle though so according to his weight vs. height he's overweight but it's not with fat.

    When he was taking human kinetics in University the professors expressed pure venom for BMI and said that it was not an accurate way to measure health.

    It's weird that your work would be using BMI as a standard of measurement, perhaps you should look up some studies on the faults with it and present it to them (not sure how open your work place is though and they may not appreciate it!).
  • FrankCBright
    FrankCBright Posts: 1
    The BMI was created in the 1800s by a sociologist to help him classify populations for statistical work. It was never originally intended to be used as a health indicator, plus it was based on a much smaller build population than exists today. It's a historical anachronism in today's day and age.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    The BMI is based on average populations. It does not take into account muscle mass. You should pay attention to BF% and the mirror.

    Most body builders are obese according to the BMI.
    ^ This.

    If I ever reached the lower end of what they consider a "healthy" BMI, I'd look like a walking skeleton. As Sara said, BMI is a statistic that was intended to be used to compare average populations, not a tool to determine an individual's ideal weight. Doctors and insurance companies (mis)use it because it's quick and easy to look up a number and apply a label to you, rather than basing it individually upon more relevant parameters like body fat percentage and overall health. A 190-pound athlete at 10% bodyfat would have the exact same BMI as a fat, out of shape, 190-pound slob with 35% bodyfat and a beer gut hanging over his belt. Valid comparison for purposes of overall health/fitness? I think not.

    Like Sara (and others) said - base it upon your body fat percentage and the mirror.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    BMI calculator said I could go as low as 105 pounds. I'm 150 right now and there is no way I could go lower than 130 and not look like death. It may be because I have a lot of muscle, but who really knows? I'll be happy at 135-140 and have no problem being a little higher weight than "recommended" because I know I'll look good.
  • Amandatorie
    Amandatorie Posts: 93 Member
    The range doesn't mean that everyone your height would look fine and be healthy at any weight in the range. It means that on average, people at your height are healthy in that range with people with very small frames healthy at the lower end and people with larger frames healthy at the higher end. On average. And it doesn't account for any features outside of average--such as extensive muscle, or very large breasts. Many Olympic athletes have an obese BMI because they are so muscular they are very heavy for their height, even though they are clearly no actually obese!

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