BMI confusion

jjay23
jjay23 Posts: 160 Member
Ok so I am getting increasingly confused with this BMI thing. I am in the overweight category which is fine but I have a friend who has the same hip and waist measurement as me and is the same height but is just in the healthy weight bracket. One difference, she has a very small chest and I have a rather large chest. so what do I do? inevitably my goal is to be within a healthy BMI with the weight loss I am going for but how much stock do I put on my BMI? VERY CONFUSED INDEED

Replies

  • Kurrsteee
    Kurrsteee Posts: 72 Member
    I wouldn't put too much stock in it. Like, I used to be a size 8-10 (UK) and I was always supposedly overweight, because I have a large chest. Obviously, if it says you're obese then you can't blow it off because of your chest size. Since this isn't the case, I'd sort of aim for mid-range BMI at the lowest (which is what I'm doing) since then you're not going to be in danger of being unhealthy from being underweight (proportionally).
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
    BMI is useless at the individual level. From what I understand, it was created in the mid 1800s as a means of assessing health at a population level.

    Body Fat Percentage is far more meaningful.
  • jjay23
    jjay23 Posts: 160 Member
    ok brilliant, i will keep doing what i am doing and measure etc as well, its when I go to the gp and they do the whole your BMI says this and then the nurse says different.
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
    I have a huge chest, and my goal weight will leave me at the top of the overweight level. Its a joke that GPs take BMI seriously!

    (Not that my chest size has anything to do with my BMI - I am currently just too fat)
  • jjay23
    jjay23 Posts: 160 Member
    I have a huge chest, and my goal weight will leave me at the top of the overweight level. Its a joke that GPs take BMI seriously!

    (Not that my chest size has anything to do with my BMI - I am currently just too fat)

    me too! its ridiculous, I am highly aware i have quite a few lbs to shift but please mr huffing and puffing overweight GP please use some common sense! good luck with your goal, loads lost so far!!!