New BMI formula

yasemasuyo
yasemasuyo Posts: 177 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Today I read the following article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2265610/Are-fatter-thinner-thought-Oxford-mathematician-shows-flaw-body-mass-index.html

It makes sense, I suppose, but it left me feeling rather depressed as, at only 5ft, I will have to lose an extra 7lbs to even get down to the high end of the healthy BMI range! All of a sudden, my goal of a healthy weight seems quite unachievable. :sad:

Any thoughts on this? I could do with a little encouragement!

Replies

  • angusthedug
    angusthedug Posts: 1
    Best advice is never,ever, believe anything you read in the DM
  • casbar911
    casbar911 Posts: 61 Member
    BMI calculators are a crock of crap in my opinion. They do not take into consideration Muscle Mass at all.

    So someone that is 155 lbs with a high body fat % is going to seem bigger than a 155lb person with a low fat % -because of the muscle mass - (muscle takes up less space) but yet they weigh the same...I would rather look better and be a size 8 and feel better then worry about the scale and be a size 10...

    for me its all about size... yes I would like to see the scale move but I would much rather have an efficient fat burning machine then a "skinny fat" body.

    SO dont let it discourage you. Your goals are definately do able. :) just keep your head up and keep plugging along.
  • runningwild00
    runningwild00 Posts: 109
    Something tells me this is not a reputable source. I am not familiar with this site, but it just looks shady.

    How accurate is the BMI? It doesn't seem to take into account anything except height and weight. When I become more muscular, I get heavier, therefore I am obese?
  • SarahR77777
    SarahR77777 Posts: 21
    Urmmm the Daily Mail is not shady PMSL its one of our UK National Newspapers lol regardless of peoples political affiliations it is a good source of news in the UK.

    The new BMI formula has been studied by a professor and it takes into account peoples height and weight.

    I personally do not think BMI is accurate due to muscle mass but this is a new way to calculate BMI.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    Today I read the following article:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2265610/Are-fatter-thinner-thought-Oxford-mathematician-shows-flaw-body-mass-index.html

    It makes sense, I suppose, but it left me feeling rather depressed as, at only 5ft, I will have to lose an extra 7lbs to even get down to the high end of the healthy BMI range! All of a sudden, my goal of a healthy weight seems quite unachievable. :sad:

    Any thoughts on this? I could do with a little encouragement!

    He's made the assumption that smaller people are scaled down versions of taller people. However this is far from the typical case. Many shorter people have similar sized torsos but shorter arms and legs than average people. Also, frame size does not correlate with height. Yes some people are short and small framed, and others are tall and large framed, but there are also a great many short people who have a heavy build and tall people who have a slender build, and what you tend to find when comparing populations is that people fit more into the "cold adapted build" versus "tropical build" - i.e. that humans tend to range from being short and stocky with short limbs and big torsos to tall and slender with long limbs and slender torso, and this correlates with climate, i.e. short stocky people in cold regions (including mountainous regions) and taller, more slender people in hot, dry climates. BMI was already a very inaccurate tool, this guy's just made it even more innacurate basically, because he's a mathematician who has assumed that frame size correlates with height, when it doesn't.

    The moral of the story is go by body fat percentage instead measured with calipers (or even better, DEXA scan if you can afford it) because that's the same for everyone regardless of height and frame size. (different for men and women, women are obese at 35% and overweight around 28-34%; men are obese at 30% and overweight I can't remember the exact range, but 25% is healthy for a woman, but too much body fat for a man) People can argue until the cows come home about frame size, how to measure it, how to know if someone really does have a large frame or is "just making excuses" or whatever - body fat percentage ends all that speculation and if you're at the high end of BMI (or even in the overweight range) but your body fat percentage is in the healthy range, then just ignore BMI and go by your body fat percentage. It's carrying too much fat that causes the health risks. Having a larger lean body mass does not, and having a larger muscle mass correlates with better health.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    Urmmm the Daily Mail is not shady PMSL its one of our UK National Newspapers lol regardless of peoples political affiliations it is a good source of news in the UK.

    The new BMI formula has been studied by a professor and it takes into account peoples height and weight.

    I personally do not think BMI is accurate due to muscle mass but this is a new way to calculate BMI.

    It comes from a professor in mathematics who has not studied human sciences or anthropology and he does not seem to understand how variation in human populations works. Has he even tested his new formula on real people and measured their body fat percentages to see if his formula is giving accurate estimates?

    And I'm British and consider the Daily Fail to be a joke and an unreliable source of news, it's no better than the Sun, it just pretends to be more intellectual, when really it's not.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI

    ^^^ light humour which I hope everyone can appreciate :flowerforyou:
  • SarahR77777
    SarahR77777 Posts: 21
    Urmmm the Daily Mail is not shady PMSL its one of our UK National Newspapers lol regardless of peoples political affiliations it is a good source of news in the UK.

    The new BMI formula has been studied by a professor and it takes into account peoples height and weight.

    I personally do not think BMI is accurate due to muscle mass but this is a new way to calculate BMI.

    It comes from a professor in mathematics who has not studied human sciences or anthropology and he does not seem to understand how variation in human populations works. Has he even tested his new formula on real people and measured their body fat percentages to see if his formula is giving accurate estimates?

    And I'm British and consider the Daily Fail to be a joke and an unreliable source of news, it's no better than the Sun, it just pretends to be more intellectual, when really it's not.

    Awww are you a very short socialist dear :laugh: :wink:
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    Urmmm the Daily Mail is not shady PMSL its one of our UK National Newspapers lol regardless of peoples political affiliations it is a good source of news in the UK.

    The new BMI formula has been studied by a professor and it takes into account peoples height and weight.

    I personally do not think BMI is accurate due to muscle mass but this is a new way to calculate BMI.

    It comes from a professor in mathematics who has not studied human sciences or anthropology and he does not seem to understand how variation in human populations works. Has he even tested his new formula on real people and measured their body fat percentages to see if his formula is giving accurate estimates?

    And I'm British and consider the Daily Fail to be a joke and an unreliable source of news, it's no better than the Sun, it just pretends to be more intellectual, when really it's not.

    Awww are you a very short socialist dear :laugh: :wink:
    One doesn't need to be British or socialist to know the Daily Mail is a joke. It's well known worldwide. :laugh:
  • SarahR77777
    SarahR77777 Posts: 21
    Urmmm the Daily Mail is not shady PMSL its one of our UK National Newspapers lol regardless of peoples political affiliations it is a good source of news in the UK.

    The new BMI formula has been studied by a professor and it takes into account peoples height and weight.

    I personally do not think BMI is accurate due to muscle mass but this is a new way to calculate BMI.

    It comes from a professor in mathematics who has not studied human sciences or anthropology and he does not seem to understand how variation in human populations works. Has he even tested his new formula on real people and measured their body fat percentages to see if his formula is giving accurate estimates?

    And I'm British and consider the Daily Fail to be a joke and an unreliable source of news, it's no better than the Sun, it just pretends to be more intellectual, when really it's not.

    Awww are you a very short socialist dear :laugh: :wink:
    One doesn't need to be British or socialist to know the Daily Mail is a joke. It's well known worldwide. :laugh:

    Really? Did you manage to use a few well needed calories writing your post? FAIL!!

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