BMI Opinions
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Mauthos
Posts: 128 Member
Firstly I am not sure if this is the right area to put this, so apologies if it is in the wrong place.
I am curious what people who exercise regularly, especially in weight training, think regarding the BMI scale and whether they use it as a guide in their weightloss or weight maintaining journey?
Basically, I am curious because currently at my height and weight my BMI is 31.5 which puts me in the obese category. Now, I exercise a lot, 4 - 5 resistance training sessions a week (lifting heavy for approximately 1hr 20 mins per session), 2 spin classes, 2 body combat classes, 1 body pump class and 2 martial arts sessions a week. I have also recently had my body fat tested by the personal trainer (caliper method) and although I know this isn't accurate, I am approximately sitting at 18% body fat.
Now, I know that I can get my body fat lower and I am aiming for around 12 - 14%, but this will still only drop me into the fat/overweight category of the BMI scale. Also at 18% body fat I would like to think no one would look at me as looking fat, but maybe I am wrong.
Anyway, do you guys take a lot of stock in the BMI scale, or generally ignore it, relying on how you look or feel over a chart?
I am curious what people who exercise regularly, especially in weight training, think regarding the BMI scale and whether they use it as a guide in their weightloss or weight maintaining journey?
Basically, I am curious because currently at my height and weight my BMI is 31.5 which puts me in the obese category. Now, I exercise a lot, 4 - 5 resistance training sessions a week (lifting heavy for approximately 1hr 20 mins per session), 2 spin classes, 2 body combat classes, 1 body pump class and 2 martial arts sessions a week. I have also recently had my body fat tested by the personal trainer (caliper method) and although I know this isn't accurate, I am approximately sitting at 18% body fat.
Now, I know that I can get my body fat lower and I am aiming for around 12 - 14%, but this will still only drop me into the fat/overweight category of the BMI scale. Also at 18% body fat I would like to think no one would look at me as looking fat, but maybe I am wrong.
Anyway, do you guys take a lot of stock in the BMI scale, or generally ignore it, relying on how you look or feel over a chart?
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Replies
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Completely ignore it.
Pro bodybuilders come out as morbidly obese on the BMI scale.
Focus on what you look like and your body fat percentage. Those are the important things.0 -
I have read the scale is reasonably accurate for around 85% of the population. Not real accurate for those that are heavily muscled. Ex, Michael Jordan in his playing days would be overweight/obese per BMI. If you're really 18% BF, I would consider you in the 15% where the BMI measure isn't a reliable predictor.
Thing is people have to be honest and not tell themselves they are in the obese range just because they are "heavily muscled".0 -
It is an antiquated calculation used back in the 1800's designed to allocate food during times of famine or low crop results...
It can still apply to "averages" but there are always lots of people who don't/can't fit into it.
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Packerjohn wrote: »I have read the scale is reasonably accurate for around 85% of the population. Not real accurate for those that are heavily muscled. Ex, Michael Jordan in his playing days would be overweight/obese per BMI. If you're really 18% BF, I would consider you in the 15% where the BMI measure isn't a reliable predictor.
Thing is people have to be honest and not tell themselves they are in the obese range just because they are "heavily muscled".
Completely agree with your last statement. I was shocked being told I had 18% bodyfat (approximately at least) as I think I am still at that stage where I don't see my weightloss in the mirror (mindset not catching up with what my eyes are seeing I guess) and I still don't consider myself heavily muscled although I have been told I am looking powerful these days. Strange how our brains work. But think I will ignore the BMI scale then. Thanks.
Keep the comments coming!!0 -
I think that BMI gives you a good healthy weight range to aim for if you've either never been at a healthy weight or at least haven't been there for quite a long time. Once you get to that point, I wouldn't use it to aim for a specific weight. I used it to figure out my first weight goal, 154, which was the top of my healthy weight range. I am neither heavily muscled nor above average in height so BMI worked well for that purpose. Now I'm more focused on what I see in the mirror. My scale weight still is going to have to decrease due to the amount of fat I still need to lose but if I magically woke up tomorrow and the fat in the specific area that is left was gone but I still weighed what I weigh today, I'd be fine with it.
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I completely disregard it - in the weeks close to a comp when I was at completely unsustainable and unhealthily low BF%, I was nearly in the overweight category....0
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I think BMI is useful as part of a set of tools for understanding weight for most people. My preferred weight and the one I am maintaining is just under BMI 20, so the lower end of the healthy spectrum. If I had a larger frame or carried more muscle I'd be a bit higher certainly. I find BMI interesting as a comparison point but I don't think about it much, besides twice a year when I have my occupational health check at work.0
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I have been told by friends that are doctors to essentially ignore it. Because, as has been previously stated in this thread, it doesn't take into account muscle mass. As my friend said keep an eye on the BMI but focus more on your body fat, especially around the stomach/heart.
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Packerjohn wrote: »I have read the scale is reasonably accurate for around 85% of the population. Not real accurate for those that are heavily muscled. Ex, Michael Jordan in his playing days would be overweight/obese per BMI. If you're really 18% BF, I would consider you in the 15% where the BMI measure isn't a reliable predictor.
Thing is people have to be honest and not tell themselves they are in the obese range just because they are "heavily muscled".
^^ This0 -
Completely ignore it.
Pro bodybuilders come out as morbidly obese on the BMI scale.
Focus on what you look like and your body fat percentage. Those are the important things.
Most of us are not pro bodybuilders. I would say for the majority of the population it is a good indicator of where you fit. If you are above the normal end of BMI and can see abs, then BMI scale isn't for you, for most it isn't too bad.
That said, BMI was designed to compare populations against other populations, it was not designed as a measure that you as one person should measure against.0 -
If you're overweight, then you can use it as a metric to track your progress.
Other populations (bodybuilders, athletes, etc) are probably going to find it useless. They'll do better using a tape measure, or bf%.
Be honest about your starting point and where you're going and then you can select effective tools to track progress. BMI could form part of that, it may not. The answer is: it depends.
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Firstly I am not sure if this is the right area to put this, so apologies if it is in the wrong place.
I am curious what people who exercise regularly, especially in weight training, think regarding the BMI scale and whether they use it as a guide in their weightloss or weight maintaining journey?
Basically, I am curious because currently at my height and weight my BMI is 31.5 which puts me in the obese category. Now, I exercise a lot, 4 - 5 resistance training sessions a week (lifting heavy for approximately 1hr 20 mins per session), 2 spin classes, 2 body combat classes, 1 body pump class and 2 martial arts sessions a week. I have also recently had my body fat tested by the personal trainer (caliper method) and although I know this isn't accurate, I am approximately sitting at 18% body fat.
Now, I know that I can get my body fat lower and I am aiming for around 12 - 14%, but this will still only drop me into the fat/overweight category of the BMI scale. Also at 18% body fat I would like to think no one would look at me as looking fat, but maybe I am wrong.
Anyway, do you guys take a lot of stock in the BMI scale, or generally ignore it, relying on how you look or feel over a chart?
How do you know that at 12% body fat % that you will still be in the overweight category if you have not been there yet? Remember when you lose weight you lose fat and LBM, so you can't just look at your current LBM and say if I lose X and weigh Y I will be Z BF%.
I am not saying you don't carry a lot of muscle, you may, you will see that when you get to lower BF%.
I am right in the middle of the BMI scale and I think I carry a decent amount of muscle.0 -
Maybe if your an 'average person' with a sedentary lifestyle, you may see it as a simple gauge of where you are and where you need to be. For anyone else it's useless.
I swim several days a week, bike 4-5, run 3, weight lift 3, and occasionally spar.
I took an Inbody 230 test a few months ago.
I'm 6'1". Weight: 189.1lbs
Skeletal Muscle Mass: 95.5 lbs
Body Fat Mass: 23.8lbs
BMI: 25.7 (over weight)
Body Fat: 12.6%
Result: BMI Useless
It really hurts when you have a wellness program at work to save $$$ on your health insurance. Then turns around and shares your BMI with the health insurance company.
It's fun to tell people your 'overweight' at 12.6% BF.0 -
I don't find it all the helpful. I am barely in the "normal" category even though I only have 5-10 lbs to lose. I blame my giant, muscley legs. Since it can't take muscle mass into consideration, I don't even bother with it anymore. (Similar note: Don't use an online body fat percentage estimator either. It's wildly inaccurate, but can still make you feel bad about yourself anyway.)0
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It is an antiquated calculation used back in the 1800's designed to allocate food during times of famine or low crop results...
It can still apply to "averages" but there are always lots of people who don't/can't fit into it.
It may have been developed in the 1850's but it wasn't brought into common use until Metropolitan Life Insurance Company started using it in the mid 1900's to help determine life expectancy for insurance applicants. That became the "norm" for all health related body measurements for the "average"population but never took into account individual variances.
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kristinegift wrote: »(Similar note: Don't use an online body fat percentage estimator either. It's wildly inaccurate, but can still make you feel bad about yourself anyway.)
Made my day.
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kristinegift wrote: »(Similar note: Don't use an online body fat percentage estimator either. It's wildly inaccurate, but can still make you feel bad about yourself anyway.)
Made my day.
True. they can be waaaay off, esp. the army one! Even handheld ones and scales can be way off. Handheld Omeron had me at 7ish %, where I think I was a tad over 10%.
How did you calculate your BF%?0 -
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I read a study somewhere (I can't find it for looking at the moment) that suggested that if you are petite then you need to add 1 point to your BMI to get a more accurate understanding of where you are on the scale. If you are tall the opposite applies, you need to subtract 1 point to get something more normal. That study only looked into how the formula works against height - it didn't look at frame size or muscle mass.
My husband is 6'1 as broad as a barn and 230lb. He was a body builder and he's still in good shape now (about 18% body fat at the mo) - frankly he'd look like he was on deaths door if he tried to get even into the very bottom end of the 'over weight' range, let alone the 'normal'!
My opinion is that at 18% body fat unless a doctor is telling you otherwise you should completely ignore BMI. If you are tall and/or naturally broad shouldered/heavy framed then you should take even less notice of it.0 -
Firstly I am not sure if this is the right area to put this, so apologies if it is in the wrong place.
I am curious what people who exercise regularly, especially in weight training, think regarding the BMI scale and whether they use it as a guide in their weightloss or weight maintaining journey?
Basically, I am curious because currently at my height and weight my BMI is 31.5 which puts me in the obese category. Now, I exercise a lot, 4 - 5 resistance training sessions a week (lifting heavy for approximately 1hr 20 mins per session), 2 spin classes, 2 body combat classes, 1 body pump class and 2 martial arts sessions a week. I have also recently had my body fat tested by the personal trainer (caliper method) and although I know this isn't accurate, I am approximately sitting at 18% body fat.
Now, I know that I can get my body fat lower and I am aiming for around 12 - 14%, but this will still only drop me into the fat/overweight category of the BMI scale. Also at 18% body fat I would like to think no one would look at me as looking fat, but maybe I am wrong.
Anyway, do you guys take a lot of stock in the BMI scale, or generally ignore it, relying on how you look or feel over a chart?
How do you know that at 12% body fat % that you will still be in the overweight category if you have not been there yet? Remember when you lose weight you lose fat and LBM, so you can't just look at your current LBM and say if I lose X and weigh Y I will be Z BF%.
I am not saying you don't carry a lot of muscle, you may, you will see that when you get to lower BF%.
I am right in the middle of the BMI scale and I think I carry a decent amount of muscle.
Again, I agree, I don't honestly know once I am down to that percentage but on a guesstimate I think to get down to approx 12 - 14 % body fat I would need to lose at least another 10kg (including LBM as well as fat) which would still calculate out as 27.9 on the scale so overweight.
To get into the top of the healthy scale I would need to drop 17kg and I really can't see where that weight would come from (that would put me at around 70kg. I also know from when I joined the RAF I weighed in at 80kg then, they used the BMI scale and said I needed to lose weight before I could join. Then on the medical (drop and cough section lol) it was noted I was pretty lean, or in the docs words, not carrying any fat that he could see (visible abs etc). So I honestly don't think I could get to 70kg.0
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