Fat but with healthy BF%
Need2Exerc1se
Posts: 13,575 Member
I've had my BF% measured by 2 professionals and both showed it in the healthy range (26-27%). But I'm overweight by BMI by more than a couple of pounds. Would you think this is a problem?
I am trying to lose weight but is it just vanity if all medical tests show I'm healthy? Should I care more? At 50 yo, am I a walking time bomb just waiting for the health problems to hit?
Just seeking opinions.
I am trying to lose weight but is it just vanity if all medical tests show I'm healthy? Should I care more? At 50 yo, am I a walking time bomb just waiting for the health problems to hit?
Just seeking opinions.
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Replies
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Hello? No opinions? Anyone?
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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If you want an opinion on how healthy you are, the person to ask is your doctor, not MFP. MFP is good for helping you troubleshoot issues with your weight loss and fitness, giving advice on basic nutrition, and the like. Your health is going to be determined not by your BMI but by a combination of various factors. In terms of what's vain or whether you should care, don't worry about what you "should" do. If you care, make it happen, but if you don't, then don't worry about it. As long as you're in the range approved by your doctor, there's no right or wrong when it comes to your body composition.0
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I guess I should have worded the question differently.
If you were overweight but had a healthy BF% and check-ups, would you be concerned about the weight affecting your health?0 -
I would not be concerned about the BMI if your BF% is in the healthy range. The BMI is very general and does not take body composition into account.0
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Yes, I would be0
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BMI is a good tool when talking averages. But, you're an individual, not a group of people. If you're happy with your BF%, then why bother worrying about BMI?0
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Mischievous_Rascal wrote: »BMI is a good tool when talking averages. But, you're an individual, not a group of people. If you're happy with your BF%, then why bother worrying about BMI?
Honestly, because it's the only thing out of the healthy range and I like to say everything is in the healthy range. I guess I want to be perfect on paper.0 -
Your question is whether I'd be concerned about weight affecting my health if my BF was normal and so were other methods of assessing health eg blood pressure, cholesterol, waist circumference:height etc, but I felt that I was overweight (by reference to the BMI which is notoriously unreliable/unhelpful) ?
No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't measure my health solely based on the BMI. If I was otherwise healthy and I felt great, I would consider myself healthy. My goal weight is well above my healthy range for the BMI and I couldn't care less if everything else is in order and I look good.
If you want to lose more weight to improve how you feel about your appearance then by all means do so - it's not vain to want to look a certain way. Just be healthy about it and choose sustainable methods to do so.0 -
Dropping a few pounds won't kill you. Being slightly overweight without a high BF% won't kill you. Probably. It's your call. Losing for 'vanity' is ok as long as you are healthy.0
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Honestly, in terms of both BMI and BF% I'm rather overweight. HOWEVER, all my internal numbers (BP, Glucose, HR, Cholesterol, Thyroid, etc.) are all perfect. For this reason my general family doctor is not worried about my weight. He said to lose 50lbs but only because, as a doctor, he said he knew he should even though personally, he said my vitals showed my weight was not affecting my body.
On the other hand, my orthopedic surgeon (I had my knee replaced due to a long standing injury) wants me to lose around 75lbs for the sake of the replacements longevity.
For this reason, I highly suggest you talk to your personal doctor who knows your body and your health and can give you a better answer.
But to just give you a vague answer... You are most likely fine as BF% is a much better tool than BMI. Maybe, instead of losing weight your should aim to tone up by lifting weights and not worry so much about BMI.0 -
BMI is trash. If you are weight training throw away anything with BMI talking about anything for health.0
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As far as I know (and no I haven't researched this,) no one ever died by losing a few vanity pounds. If you're worried or that concerned with a number on paper, work on trying to lose 0.5lb a week. This is a reasonable goal for someone who only has a few lbs to lose.0
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refuseresist wrote: »Dropping a few pounds won't kill you. Being slightly overweight without a high BF% won't kill you. Probably. It's your call. Losing for 'vanity' is ok as long as you are healthy.
Oh, it's the "probably" that worries me. I've looked around online and can't really find an answer, but when it comes to BMI statistics is it the extra fat cells that causes disease risk, or the extra weight itself. It seems logical that extra weight would be extra work for the body whether the weight is fat, muscle, water or something else.
Surely extra muscle isn't as dangerous as extra fat, but does the extra weight from any source up risk of disease?0 -
Are you looking for validation on this? Because that is what it sounds like to me. You yourself should know how you feel about this and if you feel ok with it, great - if not, change it. That's really the only thing to do.0
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Also - forgot to add, check with your doctor. As people have said MFP is for support and troubleshooting weight issues. We aren't doctors so whether you're healthy, a ticking time bomb, able to run an ultra marathon, who knows? Your doctor is the best person to ask about this.0
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extra weight could potentially increase stress on certain elements such as joints.0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »BMI is trash. If you are weight training throw away anything with BMI talking about anything for health.
BMI is good for studying populations, but lousy for individuals, and especially bad for people of normal bodyfat levels who also do strength training.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I guess I should have worded the question differently.
If you were overweight but had a healthy BF% and check-ups, would you be concerned about the weight affecting your health?
You are not overfat if you have a healthy BF% and that's what matters. I have friends that are classified as obese according to BMI and yet their doctors are happy with where they're at because they're at a healthy BF%.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »refuseresist wrote: »Dropping a few pounds won't kill you. Being slightly overweight without a high BF% won't kill you. Probably. It's your call. Losing for 'vanity' is ok as long as you are healthy.
Oh, it's the "probably" that worries me. I've looked around online and can't really find an answer, but when it comes to BMI statistics is it the extra fat cells that causes disease risk, or the extra weight itself. It seems logical that extra weight would be extra work for the body whether the weight is fat, muscle, water or something else.
Surely extra muscle isn't as dangerous as extra fat, but does the extra weight from any source up risk of disease?
No, because unless it's wrapping around your internal organs and strangling them (which it wouldn't) muscle mass isn't typically the cause of disease and organ failure in obese people.
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The BMI chart was created in 1830 in Belgium. It's hardly relevant to today's population, as lifestyles and even the foods available are very different that they were back then.
If you like the way you look and feel, be happy with your body. No one can tell you what "perfect" is in your own eyes.0 -
I agree that you should talk to your doctor IF your doctor is "fat-friendly." Which it sounds like you're not fat but the point is you should talk to a doctor that understands that a person CAN be fat and healthy. That way he/she is not basing your health purely off of an antiquated irrelevant number that was never meant to determine a single person's health (I'm talking about BMI).
My personal opinion, based on the information you've given, I would not be worried. First of all, like I said, BMI is a terrible measure of health and fitness. I would sit down and answer these questions:
Do you feel like you're eating well? Not overeating, getting nutrients from vegetables and lean meats.
Are you staying active? Moving at least 30 minutes a day and stretching
Do you have good blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels?
Do you have a family history of poor health? Cancer, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, etc.
DO YOU FEEL GOOD? Normal to high energy, no other ailments
If you answered yes to these questions (no to the family history), you should not be worried about your health. This might not be popular opinion on here but being fat is fine, so long as your taking care of yourself. And like I said, it sounds to me like you are not fat at all. Your weight may reflect a lot of lean muscle. And you're 50. I think for you're age, you sound in very good health. If you really really want to loose some weight, just make sure you do it in a healthy way. But I honestly would not be that concerned.
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acorsaut89 wrote: »Also - forgot to add, check with your doctor. As people have said MFP is for support and troubleshooting weight issues. We aren't doctors so whether you're healthy, a ticking time bomb, able to run an ultra marathon, who knows? Your doctor is the best person to ask about this.
My doctor says I'm perfectly healthy. My current health is not in question.
I wasn't asking if anyone thought I was healthy, I was seeking opinions on whether others would worry about future health problems if they were in my situation.0 -
What method was use to gauge your BF%?
If it's an accurate measurement then being a healthy BF% is generally going to be a better indication of health than BMI.0 -
What method did these professionals use to measure your BF%? While BMI is not the golden rule, neither is BF% if it's not measured in one of the more accurate ways. Both are just tools to measure progress.
Edited because the rest of my post was already addressed by the OP while I was writing it.
If it was me, I'd work on continuing to lose the weight but set my deficit fairly low and take my time doing it.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I guess I should have worded the question differently.
If you were overweight but had a healthy BF% and check-ups, would you be concerned about the weight affecting your health?
You are not overfat if you have a healthy BF% and that's what matters. I have friends that are classified as obese according to BMI and yet their doctors are happy with where they're at because they're at a healthy BF%.
This is another thing I have trouble wrapping my brain around. If I have the same amount of fat as someone else, but I have more muscle, are they overfat and I am not because of the BF%?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »My doctor says I'm perfectly healthy. My current health is not in question.
I wasn't asking if anyone thought I was healthy, I was seeking opinions on whether others would worry about future health problems if they were in my situation.
No I would not be worried about future health problems. Unless you have a family history of health problems. You are getting older. You're body will change. But keep eating right, staying active, and taking care of yourself. Listen to your doctor. If (s)he says you're healthy now, than you're healthy now and for the foreseeable future. If (s)he was concerned with your future health, (s)he would have said something.
I feel like this is more an issue with aging than it is with health. You might consider talking to a therapist about it. Mental health is just as important as physical health. The stress you are causing yourself worrying about it might do more damage than those "extra pounds" you think you're carrying.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I guess I should have worded the question differently.
If you were overweight but had a healthy BF% and check-ups, would you be concerned about the weight affecting your health?
You are not overfat if you have a healthy BF% and that's what matters. I have friends that are classified as obese according to BMI and yet their doctors are happy with where they're at because they're at a healthy BF%.
This is another thing I have trouble wrapping my brain around. If I have the same amount of fat as someone else, but I have more muscle, are they overfat and I am not because of the BF%?
You would more likely weigh more than them but better body composition.
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'overfat' would be excess body fat %, so, yeah.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »This is another thing I have trouble wrapping my brain around. If I have the same amount of fat as someone else, but I have more muscle, are they overfat and I am not because of the BF%?
Essentially, yes. If 150 lbs is an 'ideal weight' at a height and you're 30% BF, you lack muscle mass and are easier to kill than someone at the same weight at 18% bodyfat.
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