Think BMI is bogus? Find out why!

dkassens · March 2013

Agreed. Can't rely on the BMI numbers, they don't work for everyone. According to BMI I'm still overweight at 184 pounds, but I'm at 193 pounds with no body fat. I would have to loss 30 pounds of muscle mass to be at 183 with 10% body fat !

My goal is to get to 220 pounds. This just gets me to the "overweight" BMI category even though I'm only at 12% body fat at that point.

skylark94 · March 2013

BMI is an excellent starting point for most people. When I was setting my goals in the beginning I chose a weight that would put me at the top of "normal" for my height (145 pounds). Once I got there it was obvious that I had more to lose, so I recalculated a new goal based on body fat.

The main issue is that people need to stop focusing so much on the numbers. Most at home body fat testers have a big margin of error too. Get to where you are comfortable and stay active. The rest doesn't really matter.

skmolove · March 2013

Your trainer is right....you have a good one....I wish more people would understand this.

I agree, my doctor also told me body fat was the better test and not to worry too much by the bmi, think its about time the guide lines were changed

I was just at my doctor's this week; he said the EXACT same thing to me... your % of body fat is way more important. no doubt I will always and forever be outside of whats considered a normal BMI range but i'm .8 of a percent away from being at my doctor's reccommended healthy body fat % goal which he set for me.

edited to say* When I started my weight loss program my body fat was 42.1% (obese = 39% & ^). today its 35.8 the HEALTHY goal range for my age/sex is 35-23% I see my dr ever 2 months. he measures my body fat with a digital electric type of scale / machine that I grip that's attached to the scale i stand on. he never once mentioned bmi but he records it.

vmekash · March 2013

I invest very little into all these charts/guides, scales. I use them as a frame of reference and make comparisons to MY numbers alone THEN vs. MY numbers alone NOW. These guides just let me know that I'm on the right path for my goals.

Now, what really matters??
1) How I feel. Do I feel comfortable? Do I feel tired? Do I feel in such a way that I simply don't notice how I am feeling (this is a good thing)?
2) How does that gal in the mirror look? Is that how I want to look? Do I want to be thinner than her? Do I want more toning than her?
3) How are my numbers at my annual physical? I know I don't want to find myself having to take any medications to help or arrive at certain numbers.

...and I'm living happily ever after.

LJSmith1989 · March 2013

I invest very little into all these charts/guides, scales. I use them as a frame of reference and make comparisons to MY numbers alone THEN vs. MY numbers alone NOW. These guides just let me know that I'm on the right path for my goals.

Now, what really matters??
1) How I feel. Do I feel comfortable? Do I feel tired? Do I feel in such a way that I simply don't notice how I am feeling (this is a good thing)?
2) How does that gal in the mirror look? Is that how I want to look? Do I want to be thinner than her? Do I want more toning than her?
3) How are my numbers at my annual physical? I know I don't want to find myself having to take any medications to help or arrive at certain numbers.

...and I'm living happily ever after.

Agreed well said

trigger2354 · March 2013

But it is only that a number.

No one likes to be called Obese mind, I don't, but then I am!

I agree with what allot of people here have said, it's what makes you happy that is important, and the numbers are not.

I wish it were only a number and just a guideline. Unfortunately, in some arenas, it's a frustratingly significant number. Insurance companies (who are anal about finding any reason to disqualify a candidate for health or life insurance) pay very close attention to BMI. And while they may admit that BMI doesn't apply to certain individuals, they still use it because it applies to the majority of individuals, and that's good enough for them. I'm assuming this won't be an issue with health insurance starting in 2014 as Obamacare is fully implemented, but you may still find life insurance hard to come by or very expensive if your BMI pushes you too far into the overweight/obese range.

saxmaniac · March 2013

BODY FAT % RULES:
Essential fat 10-13% (required to live) is 140-145 lb
Athlete 14-20% (considered underfat) is 147-158 lb
Fitness 21-24% (ideal) is 159-166 lb
Average 25-31% is 168-183 lb
Obese 32% is 185 lb

While BF% is certainly a better measure, I wonder why there is no "overweight" category.

traceytwink · March 2013

But it is only that a number.

No one likes to be called Obese mind, I don't, but then I am!

I agree with what allot of people here have said, it's what makes you happy that is important, and the numbers are not.

I wish it were only a number and just a guideline. Unfortunately, in some arenas, it's a frustratingly significant number. Insurance companies (who are anal about finding any reason to disqualify a candidate for health or life insurance) pay very close attention to BMI. And while they may admit that BMI doesn't apply to certain individuals, they still use it because it applies to the majority of individuals, and that's good enough for them. I'm assuming this won't be an issue with health insurance starting in 2014 as Obamacare is fully implemented, but you may still find life insurance hard to come by or very expensive if your BMI pushes you too far into the overweight/obese range.

Wow that sucks I'm glad I live in the uk I know we complain about the state of the NHS but you guys need medical insurance, everyone should be allowed health care whether they are over weight or not

Think BMI is bogus? Find out why!

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