So, you think you hate the BMI now?

MrsBingley
MrsBingley Posts: 145
in Fitness and Exercise
"Based on their findings, Braverman and his coauthor, New York State Commissioner of Health Nirav Shah, M.D., say the BMI threshold for obesity, which now stands at 30, should be lowered to 24 for women and 28 for men."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/03/health/obesity-rates-maybe-worse/

Smh
«134

Replies

  • alikonda
    alikonda Posts: 2,358 Member
    BMI was always an oversimplification, to which even the article already alludes:
    Bodybuilders can be classified as obese based on their BMI, he says, while "a 55-year-old woman who looks great in a dress could have very little muscle and mostly body fat, and a whole lot of health risks because of that -- but still have a normal BMI."

    Any generalized metric that tries to assign concrete weights to a person based on their height is going to be BS because peoples' bodies are built so differently - which is precisely why I roll my eyes when somebody tries to tell someone what a "healthy weight" is for someone they've never met.
  • SteveStedge1
    SteveStedge1 Posts: 149 Member
    I hear that under Obamacare BMI may be use to determine if you are obese for your rates. Love the govt.
  • PennyM140
    PennyM140 Posts: 423 Member
    GEEZ...If they think 150 is obese what is healthy? Right now I'm just trying to get under 168 so I can be in their stupid healthy category ( I'm 5'9")
    Not everyone is meant to weigh 100 pounds
  • anro86
    anro86 Posts: 790 Member
    You have ruined my day, ruined it. I am going to choose to put my fingers in my ears right now and sing "la-la-la-la"
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
    BMI sucks IMO. According to the scale I am overweight coming up on obese. Im sorry but if I have abs I am not anywhere close to over weight.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    I hear that under Obamacare BMI may be use to determine if you are obese for your rates. Love the govt.

    A lot of insurance companies already do that. So even if "Obamacare" did that, it wouldn't be new to the health insurance industry.

    Also, the "require BMI for rates" is thusfar unsubstantiated FUD, made all the more dangerous by the fact that EHR records do require the BMI, but not for the purposes of determining rates.

    http://www.examiner.com/article/does-obamacare-mandate-bmi-screening
  • KateK8LoseW8
    KateK8LoseW8 Posts: 824 Member
    BMI 24 is nowhere near obesity. WTF. That's 145 pounds for me. Just, no.
  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    That would put me in the "overweight category," again. :cry:

    However, I don't use BMI as my metric; I use my trip to Italy and seeing so many thin, healthy-looking people that appeared to weigh, on average, 15-20 lbs. less than me, now.

    Yeah...I'm a glutton for punishment, as well as food. :tongue:
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Here's a thought, let's ditch the BMI and just stick with body fat percentage.

    If the BMI says that a person of a given height and weight, but without much muscle, is "healthy," but their BF% says they're essentially obese; and that same scale says that a person of a given height and weight, but with a fair amount of muscle, is "overweight" or "obese," but their BF% says they're in the healthy or even athletic category, then it's not the people that are faulty, here.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Well, I'll be rocking my bikini this coming spring at their obese level for my height. I don't know what these people do to get such a low LBM, but it does suck to be penalized for their habits.

    I had the nurse yesterday come back in and make sure she didn't transpose 2 numbers in my weight, lol. She thought I was 20 lbs lighter than I really am.

    Scale weight is just not the greatest measure, although for populations you do have to use something pretty inexpensive, I guess. Couldn't they at least pull out the measuring tape to go with scale weight, though? Or just use calipers, my goodness. We have robots performing surgery and can't figure out how to tell if people are fat or not? Kinda crazy.
  • micheleb15
    micheleb15 Posts: 1,418 Member
    Well, still fat.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Damn, obese again.
  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
    If they are planning on mixing up how BMI is calculated for obesity, why not switch the standard to Body Fat percentage? Give doctors a pair of calipers. Much, much more accurate than BMI. Not perfect, but still much better.
  • coolraul07
    coolraul07 Posts: 1,606 Member
    BodPods and DunkTanks for everyone! ObamaCare's paying! WOO-HOO!
    pBx6JEh.gif
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    GEEZ...If they think 150 is obese what is healthy? Right now I'm just trying to get under 168 so I can be in their stupid healthy category ( I'm 5'9")
    Not everyone is meant to weigh 100 pounds

    Go by BF%...it is and always will be a better measure. BMI is for mass populace, not individuals.
  • rockstarginaa
    rockstarginaa Posts: 1,529 Member
    BMI is flawed. There are better benchmarks to use.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    BMI, the researchers say, is an overly simplistic measure that often misrepresents physical fitness and overall health, especially among older women.

    So wouldn't the solution be to find a different measurement that incorporates fitness and other health markers, not to lower the BMI obesity standard? Those researchers are dumb.
    Nearly 4 in 10 adults whose BMI places them in the overweight category would be considered obese if their body fat percentage were taken into account, according to the study.

    So use body fat, jack wagons.
  • Carol_L
    Carol_L Posts: 296 Member
    So, based on my height and current lean body mass, once I finish losing this last chunk of fat I'll be officially obese at 21% BF?

    And some woman of the same height who weighs 20 lbs less than me (BMI 3 points lower) but has 30 lbs less lean muscle mass than I have is somehow healthier than I am?

    That makes perfect sense.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    BMI should be called "BS"MI because it does not take into account muscle mass, body type, etc. and therefore is grossly inadequate as a tool to gauge obesity.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    I hear that under Obamacare BMI may be use to determine if you are obese for your rates. Love the govt.
    God I love the National Health Servicevin the UK.
  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    I hear that under Obamacare BMI may be use to determine if you are obese for your rates. Love the govt.
    I haven't heard this.

    But....why should people with more health expenses (obesity related) have to pay more for their personal irresponsibility!

    Its anti-socialist I tell ya'.....bunch of anti-commies, taking away free healthcare (i.e. they didn't work and pay for the additional healthcare expenses via premiums) from those who haven't controlled their eating behavior!
  • LadyMustard
    LadyMustard Posts: 104 Member
    Nearly 4 in 10 adults whose BMI places them in the overweight category would be considered obese if their body fat percentage were taken into account, according to the study.

    So use body fat, jack wagons.

    I kept looking for a like button for this, but alas... forums don't have like buttons. =(

    I never understood why they would use a BS BMI chart to determine obesity and body fat percentage when there already exists a way to determine body fat percentage that requires nothing more than a tape measure which is far cheaper than a bathroom scale anyway.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    Caring about BMI is like caring about weight... it's inaccurate and kinda dumb. Google bodyfat % and be smarter about training and setting goals.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Article indicates that body fat testing should be incorporated.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    So, now that I'm in the 'fit' category of the Navy's %BF range, I'll be just under the overweight limit for BMI (where I started > 20 lbs ago)?

    Sounds legit.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    So, what BF% should consider someone obese/overweight/healthy? I've seen conflicting things online so I only have the Bod Pod suggestions to go by. Curious what people think.

    Here is what Bod Pod has:
    Men: Risky = > 30%, Excess Fat = 20.1% to 30%, Moderately Lean=12.1%-20%, Lean=8.1% to 12%, ultra lean=5%-8%, Risky low=<5%

    Women: Risky = > 40%, Excess Fat = 30.1% to 40%, Moderately Lean=22.1%-30%, Lean=18.1% to 22%, ultra lean=15%-18%, Risky low=<15%
  • annwyatt69
    annwyatt69 Posts: 727 Member
    Normal BMI for a woman right now is already anything less than 25. So how is this a change???? Far as I know it's been this way for years.....
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Normal BMI for a woman right now is already anything less than 25. So how is this a change???? Far as I know it's been this way for years.....

    Overweight was 27 to <30, obese didn't start until 30.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    BMI was always an oversimplification, to which even the article already alludes:
    Bodybuilders can be classified as obese based on their BMI, he says, while "a 55-year-old woman who looks great in a dress could have very little muscle and mostly body fat, and a whole lot of health risks because of that -- but still have a normal BMI."

    Any generalized metric that tries to assign concrete weights to a person based on their height is going to be BS because peoples' bodies are built so differently - which is precisely why I roll my eyes when somebody tries to tell someone what a "healthy weight" is for someone they've never met.

    Yes, which is precisely why it is so frustrating that they seem to want to opt for arbitrarily lowering the obesity threshold rather then saying "hey, BMI doesn't paint the whole picture, how about we train Dr.s to take some other measurements as well?"
  • mitchyinge
    mitchyinge Posts: 196
    Normal BMI for a woman right now is already anything less than 25. So how is this a change???? Far as I know it's been this way for years.....

    it's between 18.5 - 24.9 for women and men, so not anything below 25 and not just for women!

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