BMI
AnnaPixie
Posts: 7,439 Member
Interesting prog on UK tv last night.
I didn't know this and I dont know if anyone else knows this (so forgive me for teaching you to suck eggs) but the BMI healthy ranges were changed (can't remember what year, but relatively recently) from 27+ being the 'overweight' category, to 25+, which it is now.
So all those people from 25 - 27 basically, "Overnight, 29 million Americans became overweight"!!
I found this quite jaw dropping!! (Being short and certainly not of average shape, I've never had any faith in the BMI measurement anyhow, but that's another story)
The slant of the journalist, who interviewed the scientist that was responsible for the shift, was that the researched was funded by drug companies, thereby implying, that pushing 29 million (+rest of world) people into overweight status would benefit their already overflowing bank accounts. The diet industry, as you know, is HUGE!
So now, a person with less than 20lbs to lose is considered fat, unhealthy and at risk of premature death! :noway:
The journalist, through speaking with opposing views, went on to prove that a person 'overweight' (BMI 25 - 30), and also obese (30+), can be fitter and healthier than a person in the under 25 BMI range, by a mile. And all this BMI shift has done has increased the turnover of the diet industry. She said the decision was an political one, not a scientific one and has lots of counter arguments etc! She said it's responsible for the 'skinny culture' that is now upon us. She means skinny as in Posh Spice, Nicole Richie etc - where celebrities/models are sporting bones, rather than figures......
Thoughts?
I didn't know this and I dont know if anyone else knows this (so forgive me for teaching you to suck eggs) but the BMI healthy ranges were changed (can't remember what year, but relatively recently) from 27+ being the 'overweight' category, to 25+, which it is now.
So all those people from 25 - 27 basically, "Overnight, 29 million Americans became overweight"!!
I found this quite jaw dropping!! (Being short and certainly not of average shape, I've never had any faith in the BMI measurement anyhow, but that's another story)
The slant of the journalist, who interviewed the scientist that was responsible for the shift, was that the researched was funded by drug companies, thereby implying, that pushing 29 million (+rest of world) people into overweight status would benefit their already overflowing bank accounts. The diet industry, as you know, is HUGE!
So now, a person with less than 20lbs to lose is considered fat, unhealthy and at risk of premature death! :noway:
The journalist, through speaking with opposing views, went on to prove that a person 'overweight' (BMI 25 - 30), and also obese (30+), can be fitter and healthier than a person in the under 25 BMI range, by a mile. And all this BMI shift has done has increased the turnover of the diet industry. She said the decision was an political one, not a scientific one and has lots of counter arguments etc! She said it's responsible for the 'skinny culture' that is now upon us. She means skinny as in Posh Spice, Nicole Richie etc - where celebrities/models are sporting bones, rather than figures......
Thoughts?
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Replies
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BMI is stupid.
For the brief month I was considered of normal weight I didn't look like it.
Plus it doesn't account for muscle at all.0 -
No one takes BMI serious. By BMI standards, most professional athletes and bodybuilders would be considered overweight, if not obese. Even I'm very close to being considered "overweight" if you look at my BMI.0
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The slant of the journalist, who interviewed the scientist that was responsible for the shift, was that the researched was funded by drug companies, thereby implying, that pushing 29 million (+rest of world) people into overweight status would benefit their already overflowing bank accounts. The diet industry, as you know, is HUGE!
So now, a person with less than 20lbs to lose is considered fat, unhealthy and at risk of premature death! :noway:
The journalist, through speaking with opposing views, went on to prove that a person 'overweight' (BMI 25 - 30), and also obese (30+), can be fitter and healthier than a person in the under 25 BMI range, by a mile. And all this BMI shift has done has increased the turnover of the diet industry. She said the decision was an political one, not a scientific one and has lots of counter arguments etc! She said it's responsible for the 'skinny culture' that is now upon us. She means skinny as in Posh Spice, Nicole Richie etc - where celebrities/models are sporting bones, rather than figures......
Thoughts?
It's all about the money. Let's not forget how some insurance companies categorize you depending on where you place on the BMI chart and can deny a person coverage or even raise rates if you fall in the overweight or higher category. I for one, get pamphlets every 3 months from my insurance company asking if I'd like to "register" on their website for help from a dietitian. I asked them to stop and they said they would take me off their mailing list but I still get them nevertheless.0 -
No one takes BMI serious. By BMI standards, most professional athletes and bodybuilders would be considered overweight, if not obese. Even I'm very close to being considered "overweight" if you look at my BMI.
I agree!
So why do you think that Doctors/scientists/personal trainers (I've been told I'm overweight at the gym- perhaps to prolong my membership??) use it as the yard stick to which to measure health?? Any idea?0 -
The slant of the journalist, who interviewed the scientist that was responsible for the shift, was that the researched was funded by drug companies, thereby implying, that pushing 29 million (+rest of world) people into overweight status would benefit their already overflowing bank accounts. The diet industry, as you know, is HUGE!
So now, a person with less than 20lbs to lose is considered fat, unhealthy and at risk of premature death! :noway:
The journalist, through speaking with opposing views, went on to prove that a person 'overweight' (BMI 25 - 30), and also obese (30+), can be fitter and healthier than a person in the under 25 BMI range, by a mile. And all this BMI shift has done has increased the turnover of the diet industry. She said the decision was an political one, not a scientific one and has lots of counter arguments etc! She said it's responsible for the 'skinny culture' that is now upon us. She means skinny as in Posh Spice, Nicole Richie etc - where celebrities/models are sporting bones, rather than figures......
Thoughts?
It's all about the money. Let's not forget how some insurance companies categorize you depending on where you place on the BMI chart and can deny a person coverage or even raise rates if you fall in the overweight or higher category. I for one, get pamphlets every 3 months from my insurance company asking if I'd like to "register" on their website for help from a dietitian. I asked them to stop and they said they would take me off their mailing list but I still get them nevertheless.
Wow, I didnt even think about insurance and associated sponsors. It's akin to bribery!! :noway:0 -
BMI is stupid.
For the brief month I was considered of normal weight I didn't look like it.
Plus it doesn't account for muscle at all.
Are you saying you 'looked' good or bad in the 'normal' category?0 -
No one takes BMI serious. By BMI standards, most professional athletes and bodybuilders would be considered overweight, if not obese. Even I'm very close to being considered "overweight" if you look at my BMI.
I agree!
So why do you think that Doctors/scientists/personal trainers (I've been told I'm overweight at the gym- perhaps to prolong my membership??) use it as the yard stick to which to measure health?? Any idea?
Worldwide conspiracy theory into shaming people to think they are overweight and need to eat less. Maybe to conserve resources like corn, wheat, meats, etc. Not being serious here.
I really have no idea why the BMI system is used so often. Maybe because it's just very easy to calculate and simple to understand (even if it is wrong)?0 -
HATE BMI, lol. My son is considered overweight by BMI ... he's a solid 10 year old ... but is also thin and you can see his ribs. If he lost any weight to bring him into a healthy BMI he would be extremely unhealthy. (and before anyone jumps on me, yes I feed him, lol. He's on ritalin and doesn't have much of an appetite)0
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BMI is used because it's essentially a free standardised unit of measure that only requres a calculator and moderate numerical ability to work out. It is misapplied every day, however - it's meant to measure populations, not individuals. It is this misapplication that leads to the sort of nonsense we see, with pro. athletes categorised as obese, and perfectly-healthy individuals of Northern European descent (typically structurally larger and more muscular than their Southern European counterparts), for example, denied insurance coverage on the grounds of their 'high' BMI, despite being fit and having great stats by other, more accurate, but harder(more expensive) to test/apply, parameters.
Anna, that's not the first time the lines have shifted, either. The limits to different categories have been altered downwards several times in the last hundred years, as the World Health Organisation expanded its' reach to include more non-Caucasian populations, especially in Asia and the Indian subcontinent where physical frames tend to be smaller and body composition divergent from the European 'norm' which previously informed these charts.0 -
Good point - I didnt even think of race differentials. Jeez! Such an obvious difference in physical appearance and we're still banging on about BMI. Somebody needs to invent something more superior. I'm guessing it won't be the the diet industry though.
The market for BMI 25 - 30 is the biggest!! There is now a stomach clipping surgical procedure available to people in that range!! So if you're 20lbs 'overweight' you can now have bariatric surgery...........awesome! Celebs have it all the time, apparently :noway:0 -
BMI is stupid.
For the brief month I was considered of normal weight I didn't look like it.
Plus it doesn't account for muscle at all.
Are you saying you 'looked' good or bad in the 'normal' category?
I didn't look good for being considered of normal weight which sucked!!0 -
I'm quite sure I'm now a part of the 29 million 'overweight' population. But i have about 40 pounds to lose, so maybe I already was.. Anywho, it should be standard practice to test body fat percentage instead, wouldn't that be more accurate and beneficial?0
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Anywho, it should be standard practice to test body fat percentage instead, wouldn't that be more accurate and beneficial?
It would, but would also be much more expensive, or at least would require significantly more expertise than plugging some numbers into a calculator to be sufficiently accurate to be worthwhile.0 -
No one takes BMI serious. By BMI standards, most professional athletes and bodybuilders would be considered overweight, if not obese. Even I'm very close to being considered "overweight" if you look at my BMI.
THIS!
ignore BMI! total sham!0
