So, you think you hate the BMI now?

Options
245

Replies

  • GadgetGuy2
    GadgetGuy2 Posts: 291 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    Article indicates that body fat testing should be incorporated.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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
    Options
    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!
  • mitchyinge
    mitchyinge Posts: 196
    Options
    I thought this was about the 'new BMI' calculator

    http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi_calc.html
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Options
    While I agree that body fat percentage is s much better metric to track, it is also much harder for the general population to have accurately measured.

    BMI is easily calculated and is a useful metric. Yes it is not reliable for body builders or football players but those groups are a very small percentage of the general population.

    I say this as someone who carefully tracks his body fat, cholesterol and blood pressure. BMI is but perfect but it is useful for the general population most of which (in the US) is currently overweight or obese.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Options
    I thought this was about the 'new BMI' calculator

    http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi_calc.html

    Haha no. That would be news from this year. This thread is about an article published in April of last year.

    The concern of the article and base study is false negatives - people with "normal" BMI but "obese" body fat levels. Those people are passing under the radar. Reducing the BMI cutoff in the manner suggested would enable detection the false negatives. But obviously it would pick up a lot more false positives, which is why the suggested BMI change probably won't happen.

    But the main point of the study cited by the article was that BMI isn't accurate in obesity detection, and doctors should incorporate body fat testing. The study results suggest leptin testing as a reliable alternative when DXA scan testing is unavailable as an option.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22485140
  • tonynguyen75
    tonynguyen75 Posts: 418 Member
    Options
    BMI is dumb. I'd have to be at 4% body fat to be considered "Normal".
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Options
    I'm 133.5 pounds and have 24.4% BF, that would put me back in the obesity again!!! Wut?? :sad:
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Options
    I'm 133.5 pounds and have 24.4% BF, that would put me back in the obesity again!!! Wut?? :sad:

    Suggested obesity cutoff in the article is 30% BF for women. Wipe away those tears.
  • Artaxia
    Artaxia Posts: 185
    Options
    I refuse to use BMI. It's not a healthy way to measure people. Everyone is different, we all have different muscle and fat content. Therefore, they need to readjust everything with correct measurements. sigh!!!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Options
    6' w/ a goal weight of 185 will just put me at "overweight", not "obese".

    *phew*

    Dodged a bullet there.


    ETA: However, I'm sometimes measured at 5'11", which puts me just a little bit closer.
  • bingefreeaubree
    bingefreeaubree Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    But, I thought a BMI from 18.5-25 was considered healthy? WTF if a woman has a BMI of like 24.5 they go from being in the healthy range to obese range? That's ridiculous. :explode: :angry:
  • mitchyinge
    mitchyinge Posts: 196
    Options
    25 has never been healthy, it was always the start of being overweight

Categories