Bmi?

Ciara108
Ciara108 Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys,
Just wondering about bmi?
What's people's opinion, is it accurate?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    edited October 2014
    Accurate for what ? It's defined as weight over height squared, so it's a statistic. Does it reflect obesity ? well practically everyone with a BMI of 30 or more will be carrying more fat than ideal.

    Are there exceptions ? Bodybuilders, pro athletes and other outliers may have lower body fat than their BMI implies, starved light people may have more body fat than it suggests due to muscle loss.
  • Kriptikk
    Kriptikk Posts: 15 Member
    I don't really think it's accurate as it doesn't really take body composition into consideration. Pretty much what the above poster has mentioned!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Nope they are just general calculators.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    It was a starting point for me, I wanted to be considered in the "healthy" weight range. But it is certainly not the end all, be all. For example, at less than 140lbs my SIL was considered overweight for her height, but it didn't take into account her large chest while the rest of her was quite thin. While at the same weight and height, I had a thicker waist with almost no breast, and looked heavier than her
  • NatalieSkywalker
    NatalieSkywalker Posts: 231 Member
    I don't think they're very accurate or a good judge of body type/body composition. That being said my BMI is under 25 for the first time in my life and my goal is to always keep it under 25.
  • goldenrodfarm
    goldenrodfarm Posts: 34 Member
    It is like all one size fits all things, it will fit a majority of people that are average but leave out the ones on either side of the bell curve. Even at a good weight for me I don't fit in the healthy range, because I do carry a lot of muscle with all the farm work for my age and as MamaRiss says, it doesn't take onto account women with larger chests, when people look at me they think I weigh up to 20 or 30 lbs less then I do, but as long as I feel good and fit in my clothing I am not going to worry about it. My Doctor said I would be way too thin if I went down to that weight.
  • TheSatinPumpkin
    TheSatinPumpkin Posts: 948 Member
    I don't really take them much into consideration but its still an eye opener when mine was reading 60.2 super morbid obese.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    yarwell wrote: »
    Accurate for what ? It's defined as weight over height squared, so it's a statistic. Does it reflect obesity ? well practically everyone with a BMI of 30 or more will be carrying more fat than ideal.

    Are there exceptions ? Bodybuilders, pro athletes and other outliers may have lower body fat than their BMI implies, starved light people may have more body fat than it suggests due to muscle loss.

    This is a good summary. I used the healthy bmi range as my starting point because I'm not an outlier. For the majority of MFPers, I think it's a good place to start as far as picking an initial weight goal.

  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
    edited October 2014
    Ciara108 wrote: »
    Hey guys,
    Just wondering about bmi?
    What's people's opinion, is it accurate?
    BMI is very accurate for normal people but not certain athletes. I lost over 90 pounds but still 15 pounds outside the highest BMI weight range for my height.
    lq3u3pglj8dg.jpg
    Instead of losing the weight, I engaged what is called "Body Recomposition".
    It's a slow [painfully slow :s ] process of weight maintenance and body fat reduction while preserving muscle.
    Though I don't desire to be one of those hulking body builder freaks, I also did not want to be some fit, little guy either. This is why BMI just does not give the whole picture.
    0ovbslvtb4l7.png

  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    Wow, good job 50sfit!!! You look awesome!
    My weight loss goal is to lose another 10-11lbs, which will bring my BMI to bang in the centre of the 'normal' range for my height. I figured it was a good target rather than just plucking a number out of the air! But, as others have said, it's not the be-all-and-end-all and can be misleading if you're an athlete. Now I'm getting closer to my goal weight I'm starting to think more about body composition. I want rockin' abs :-)
  • KnitSewSpin
    KnitSewSpin Posts: 147 Member
    I'm at the very top end of the BMI chart range. My goal is to be in the middle because that's where I feel best. It's not a goal I chose by the BMI chart, but by where I feel good and comfortable. It just happens to coincide with the chart.

    Sometimes I don't understand why there isn't a different chart for women and men, because in general our body compositions are so different. My husband is only an inch taller than me and when I'm at a weight a little lower than him I have a LOT more fat on my body.
  • Ciara108
    Ciara108 Posts: 45 Member
    Thanks for all the info guys!
    See my bmi says it's in the risk of overweight but I don't feel that I should be in that catagory. I do have a good bit of muscle from years of doing tae Kwon do so that's probably why, hopefully anyway, I'll go to my doctor to get it checked anyway just in case
  • gunswife1
    gunswife1 Posts: 2
    I think it is a good tool to use as an indicator only. Bone structure, how much muscle you carry, and yes, for women, breast size will all throw the BMI off.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you do the math correctly, it's accurate for what it is, but it isn't an extremely specific indicator of anything.

    The very muscular may register as Overweight/Obese when that clearly isn't the case, but for most of us, BMI is a good indicator of a healthy range.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
    edited October 2014
    It's a good general indicator but, as others have pointed out, there are variables that can make it less reliable for some people. I believe this is why they calculated ranges, rather than absolutes - to help account for these factors. Like it or not, it is what the medical profession uses to classify obesity.

    I'm shooting for the middle of the "healthy" range. It is, coincidentally, the weight I was before I started gaining and a weight where I am comfortable in my clothes so the BMI chart works fine in my case.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    50sFit wrote: »
    Ciara108 wrote: »
    Hey guys,
    Just wondering about bmi?
    What's people's opinion, is it accurate?
    BMI is very accurate for normal people but not certain athletes. I lost over 90 pounds but still 15 pounds outside the highest BMI weight range for my height.

    So what BMI goes with the three photos ?
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    50sFit wrote: »
    Ciara108 wrote: »
    Hey guys,
    Just wondering about bmi?
    What's people's opinion, is it accurate?
    BMI is very accurate for normal people but not certain athletes. I lost over 90 pounds but still 15 pounds outside the highest BMI weight range for my height.
    lq3u3pglj8dg.jpg
    Instead of losing the weight, I engaged what is called "Body Recomposition".
    It's a slow [painfully slow :s ] process of weight maintenance and body fat reduction while preserving muscle.
    Though I don't desire to be one of those hulking body builder freaks, I also did not want to be some fit, little guy either. This is why BMI just does not give the whole picture.
    0ovbslvtb4l7.png

    You seem to be posting your pictures in almost every thread you post in lol. I can almost identify your posts by it. Have you posted them in success stories?

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