Who figures this BMI crap anyway?

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anirishdad
anirishdad Posts: 80
in Motivation and Support
Hi all. Was going to try and get myself back in shape. Clean slate type thing..
The years and unfortunately the pounds, seem to be creeping up on me. I think when I hit 40 some friggin switch flipped that told my body that I have to stop eating like I did in my 20s and 30s.Thing is..no one told my taste buds.

Anyway.. going to try and get back on the wagon and get back to a healthy weight. Now, for work they want my BMI under 25,..so to hit that I have to get under 174 I think. (I’m 5’11’’) OH sure..that should be no problem.. I was that when I was SEVENTEEN!! Who figures this BMI crap anyway?
Anyone here in the same boat? I’d love to have some likeminded friends ,support, inspiration.. Wish me luck.
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Replies

  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    So, you were on the higher side of normal when you were 17, and this condemns you to being overweight forever??? Or are you saying you are extremely muscular, in which case, it should be possible to explain this at your working place?
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    At 5'11", you can weigh 179 and be at 25 BMI. Unless you have a lot of muscle mass, that would be a good weight at your height.

    I do agree that for some people, especially men, the BMI charts can be a bit off. If you have a large frame and higher than average muscle mass, then it may be hard to get your weight under 180. If that is the case for you, I would ask your work to check your BF% and if it is in the healthy range, then give you a pass on the BMI being slightly over.

    Or put some lifts in your shoes to give you another 5 or 10 pounds!
  • ColeCake292012
    ColeCake292012 Posts: 247 Member
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    BMI sucks.

    It doesn't take into account muscle mass and that right there can make a huge difference. There are people out there who, according to their BMI could be considered obese, when, in fact, they are bodybuilders-as an example. BMI is a good start, but you should also consider finding out your body fat percentage. This could be as simple as taking measurements with a tape measure and using an online calculator to get a pretty good estimate. It could be more complex, like seeking out a professional to get more accurate measurements. You can also get calipers and measure your fat rolls, hehe. I've never used them, but I hear they are more accurate than the tape measure method.

    Between monitoring your BMI, your body fat percentage, and even things like how you FEEL and how healthy your body is overall (maybe through labs and what not)...all of that will help you decide what a good weight is for YOU. :)

    And clearly these first two posters after you woke up on the RUDE side of the bed. Because really, its not secret that BMI is a d-bag.
  • BeckyMBisMe
    BeckyMBisMe Posts: 215 Member
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    BMI figures are way too generic. I think they should be outlawed! Too many other things figure into what the scale says. It's not just a height to weight ratio. We should be able to take into account muscle mass, bone density, etc. It would be much more reasonable to expect a body fat percentage from an employee. Where the heck do you work OP?
  • ColeCake292012
    ColeCake292012 Posts: 247 Member
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    Also, my husband is 5'9 at 180, and because of his muscle mass he will never be where BMI says he should be (169) unless he's at the end of his cut cycle and getting ready to bulk.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    It's really not.
    It doesn't take into account body composition. A lot of athletes are considered obese according to BMI because they've got so much muscle. It doesn't even work well on the average person because there's no such thing as the average person.
  • BeckyMBisMe
    BeckyMBisMe Posts: 215 Member
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    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    yes, he probably has! many males grow a couple more inches between 17 and 20.

    http://chartsgraphsdiagrams.com/HealthCharts/growth-2-20-boys.html
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    yes, he probably has! many males grow a couple more inches between 17 and 20.

    http://chartsgraphsdiagrams.com/HealthCharts/growth-2-20-boys.html

    My brother graduated HS at 17 and was 5'11", then a year later he was 6'5". Seriously.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    BMI sucks.

    It doesn't take into account muscle mass and that right there can make a huge difference. There are people out there who, according to their BMI could be considered obese, when, in fact, they are bodybuilders-as an example. BMI is a good start, but you should also consider finding out your body fat percentage. This could be as simple as taking measurements with a tape measure and using an online calculator to get a pretty good estimate. It could be more complex, like seeking out a professional to get more accurate measurements. You can also get calipers and measure your fat rolls, hehe. I've never used them, but I hear they are more accurate than the tape measure method.

    Between monitoring your BMI, your body fat percentage, and even things like how you FEEL and how healthy your body is overall (maybe through labs and what not)...all of that will help you decide what a good weight is for YOU. :)

    And clearly these first two posters after you woke up on the RUDE side of the bed. Because really, its not secret that BMI is a d-bag.

    For the majority of the world's population, BMI is a relative indicator of obesity. It's telling that your example to discredit BMI (bolded above) is such a tiny percentage of the population. Yes, for that tiny subset BMI is skewed ... but perhaps you've noticed that there is not a bodybuilding epidemic in America while obesity is quite common.

    I'm trying to overlook the fact you referred to a mathematical relationship as "a d-bag" and chalk it up as a youthful indiscretion on your part.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-definition/obesity-definition-full-story/
  • f1redshoes
    f1redshoes Posts: 79
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    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    yes, he probably has! many males grow a couple more inches between 17 and 20.

    http://chartsgraphsdiagrams.com/HealthCharts/growth-2-20-boys.html

    My brother graduated HS at 17 and was 5'11", then a year later he was 6'5". Seriously.
    I'm female, and I grew 2 inches from the age of 23. It's rare, but it happens!
  • jeffininer
    jeffininer Posts: 204 Member
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    My company has BMI under 32 as a criteria to qualify for a lower medical premium. I think we're getting ready to lower that to 28. But 25? I guess they want to make sure you're in the 'normal' range. Makes since, but BMI is such an out dated measure of health. But, it's a quantifiable number, so it's used often.
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    Would depend on the job role maybe I guess?

    My work asks you to fill in an annual health check form but no one actually bothers following up on it. Unless of course there's a major red flag.

    Funnily enough I went to a dance class the other night & their paperwork asked for my BMI. I was pretty surprised by that.
  • Woodspoon
    Woodspoon Posts: 223 Member
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    Nothing wrong with the BMI when it's used for what it is.
    It's a rough guideline, not an absolute rule.
    There will always be exceptions to any guidelines laid down just because not everybody is the same, the best you can ever do is come up with something that works for most people.
    It should never be used as an absolute rule.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Options
    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    It's really not.
    It doesn't take into account body composition. A lot of athletes are considered obese according to BMI because they've got so much muscle. It doesn't even work well on the average person because there's no such thing as the average person.

    Please use a bit of common sense and then BMI is fine. It is clearly not a one size fits all model. If you are a matchstick with a BMI of say 26, then common sense would say dont lose anymore. Similarly if you are very well built with lots of muscle.

    I have a BMI of around 23.5. If I tried to lose another 2-3kg to hit my ideal BMI, I would look too thin for my liking.

    However, various people of average build - no point being picky about this; it is quite reasonable to assume what is an average build (someone who doesnt work out 6 times a week, perhaps) - think they arent overweight when they actually are. Besides what is wrong with a tool that reasonably encourages people to lose weight. Is there really an epidemic of vast people being treated for eating disorders because of what BMI has got them into?
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Options
    BMI sucks.

    It doesn't take into account muscle mass and that right there can make a huge difference. There are people out there who, according to their BMI could be considered obese, when, in fact, they are bodybuilders-as an example. BMI is a good start, but you should also consider finding out your body fat percentage. This could be as simple as taking measurements with a tape measure and using an online calculator to get a pretty good estimate. It could be more complex, like seeking out a professional to get more accurate measurements. You can also get calipers and measure your fat rolls, hehe. I've never used them, but I hear they are more accurate than the tape measure method.

    Between monitoring your BMI, your body fat percentage, and even things like how you FEEL and how healthy your body is overall (maybe through labs and what not)...all of that will help you decide what a good weight is for YOU. :)

    And clearly these first two posters after you woke up on the RUDE side of the bed. Because really, its not secret that BMI is a d-bag.

    It is a guideline. If you cant use common sense, then you are very much like the person who ran his car across a train track because his sat nav told him to take a turning down there....
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    BMI is for use in general populations and works fairly well but does not work for all individuals in the population. There is another measure call ASBI which takes waist circumference into the calculation and is supposed to be a much better indicator of health.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    Options
    BMI is fine. Why the complaint? Are you saying you have grown in height since you were 17?

    It's really not.
    It doesn't take into account body composition. A lot of athletes are considered obese according to BMI because they've got so much muscle. It doesn't even work well on the average person because there's no such thing as the average person.

    Please use a bit of common sense and then BMI is fine. It is clearly not a one size fits all model. If you are a matchstick with a BMI of say 26, then common sense would say dont lose anymore. Similarly if you are very well built with lots of muscle.

    I have a BMI of around 23.5. If I tried to lose another 2-3kg to hit my ideal BMI, I would look too thin for my liking.

    However, various people of average build - no point being picky about this; it is quite reasonable to assume what is an average build (someone who doesnt work out 6 times a week, perhaps) - think they arent overweight when they actually are. Besides what is wrong with a tool that reasonably encourages people to lose weight. Is there really an epidemic of vast people being treated for eating disorders because of what BMI has got them into?

    There is no such thing as an average person. There are so many factors that go into your body composition. Genetic traits, race, gender, level of exercise, type of exercise you do, what kind of work you do. None of this is taken into account with BMI.

    You've even demonstrated yourself. To be the right BMI, that would be too thin for you.

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