Does anyone else agree that the BMI scale is absolutely ridi

So am i, i was heaps depressed about and went to my doc and a nutritionist and they both said it is a pile of cow poo as it doesn't take into account muscle mass, ethnic background and other stuff,

supreme athletes and body builders also get classed as obese in Australia they prevent ppl from being in the army cause they are 'overweight' according to their bmi

I was 156lbs and it classed me on the end of overweight and it sucked but i am getting normal range and my doctor is now worried!

I avoid my BMI............ afraid to see where I sit on that scale! Ha

I am another who is obese according to my BMI. I found it (still find it a little) depressing. I cried for hours the first time i found this out!
I do agree that it can be a good wake up call for your health though.....

I really agree. My daughter is obese - she is really very overweight to the point where her health is badly affected. She needs to lose at least 5 stone. To hear someone classed in the same category who looks fit and health and well proportioned makes it hard for her to take her condition as seriously as she should. The word 'obese' has a dictionary meaning. To describe someone who is only a bit overweight as 'obese' is indeed ridiculous

mrchantele: you're not obese. BMI doesn't take build and especially muscle mass into account. Here's an example: I'm a substitute teacher and was doing BMI with a P.E. class - the guy who was in the best shape had the highest BMI but a low body fat percentage, while the apparently skinny girls actually had higher body fat (and very little muscle.)

Of course obese DOES exist - I'll admit I'm obese - but when I was younger and healthy I was still in the 'overweight' category. My mother and sisters, who run half marathons and are clearly healthy, are also technically overweight. BMI is a tool that uses generalizations, and generalizations don't apply to everyone. But it's simple, so a lot of people use it.

I think that the BMI scale is a useful tool but not the only tool that should be used.

If you have a lot of muscle then it is not going to be the right measure for you. Have you thought of getting your body fat measured? I had mine done in September and had a body fat of 21% (which is good for a female) however my BMI was 24.

Your measurements do correlate though as your BMI is is the normal range as is your fat %. So that all seems to match

I'm apparently obese.

Obese is a definition from BMI though. This is a good link for info BMI which explains a lot and helps answer some questions you could have.
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html

I think that the BMI scale is a useful tool but not the only tool that should be used.

If you have a lot of muscle then it is not going to be the right measure for you. Have you thought of getting your body fat measured? I had mine done in September and had a body fat of 21% (which is good for a female) however my BMI was 24.

Your measurements do correlate though as your BMI is is the normal range as is your fat %. So that all seems to match

Sorry I should have explained further. Other people who had a lower BMI than me had a higher fat percentage. I had a fairly high muscle percentage which was probably keeping my BMI higher.

According to the BMI I was spot on before I started losing weight. I'm at the opposite end of the scale, until I was 27 I was underweight. According to some people I was unhealthy and my body wasn't functioning properly. They obviously had never met me.

You could tell by looking at me last year that I had a couple of kg to lose with a BMI of 23. As soon as I stopped eating a lot of high fat high sugar food and replaced with good food I lost 1kg in a month. Everyone says I look better now that I'm at the low end of 'normal'.

According to the doctor who initially took the BMI as the measure I should put the weight back on however the recent blood tests show that I much healthier at the lower weight.

There are people who are obese according to BMI with an acceptable body fat % and there are people with a 'normal' BMI with a high body fat % with all the associated problems. It is only one measure and not designed to look at individuals it is a population measure that shows that 90% of people will be within this range if they are not over or under weight.

I've never followed the BMI scale; whenever I've trained I've always used body fat percentage to gauge my level of success.

To be honest I personally believe that when you reach a certain weight it's best to start using body fat percentage, tape measurements and whether or not you can get back into those jeans you've been holding onto!

Honestly, the BMI was a crutch for me for a long time, I have been obese since elementary school, which came in handy as a football lineman but after competitive sports ended in college I have continued to put on weight. As a 6 ft tall male the high end of the BMI scale is 180, which looking at that I said there is no way that is going to happen so why bother (not to mention all of the other confusing, conflicting information about eating, diets and everything else. Thankfully, I found MFP and I have lost 54 pounds in the last 4 months.

Now, the small town that I live is having a get healthy 90 day event (great idea btw) and I had a body composition test through it. Long story short, it works out that my lean body mass is 205 lbs (CW is 318). So, to hit the high end of my normal BMI I would not only have to be 0% body fat (and dead), but I would also have to lose 25 pounds of lean mass. I know that many people are not realistic about their own weight and BMI, but the BMI can be seriously flawed. To me, the best answer is to not rely on any one measurement (of course bureaucracies always will) to judge your healthy but do your own research and use a variety of methods.

I know from personal experience that people who aren't truly prepared to become healthy will find every excuse or crutch (just read the message boards). It really is a lot more simple than we make it. Move more, eat less, make better food choices. Unfortunately for our instant gratification society, quick fixes generally do not work and more often than not make the situation worse. I do think that for many people being overweight is similar to alcoholism, it is impossible to recover until the person is totally honestly with themselves, truly wants to change, and is prepared to make the necessary changes. To me the BMI was just another convenient excuse why I should even bother to try.