Body Fat % or BMI?

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slp51
slp51 Posts: 201 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Which is the number to go by?
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  • rhoda1990
    rhoda1990 Posts: 25 Member
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    Bodyfat for sure! I find the bmi chart to be stupid and totally inaccurate. Try mesureming your waist size and bodyfat bi-weekly to track your progress. Are you strength training by the way?
  • emmyjo1981
    emmyjo1981 Posts: 25 Member
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    My physician told me that body fat percentage was more accurate and important than BMI. That the percentage breaks it down into blood, bone, muscle, organs and fat...while BMI is just based off your weight/height and a formula. They also advised that where your weight is carried is super important too, for example, carrying it on your abdomen puts you at a high risk for heart disease.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    BMI has its uses, but as you get closer, then bf% becomes more important.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Although finding an accurate BF reading is not cheap
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Body fat. BMI is an arbitrary measurement that does not take very important variables into consideration. My bf % is around 19% right now and I’m listed as obese on the chart. I would have to lose 28 lbs to get down to “normal” per the BMI chart or get down to 9% bf (assuming I lost fat to get there). Anything that discourages lean muscle mass is a terrible model.

    Yes, getting your bf checked professionally can be expensive. As a cheap alternative, you can measure your body (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms and upper legs). For women the ratio of hip to waist and for men the ratio of stomach to waist are key short cuts to understanding how you’re going on a bf cut.
  • slp51
    slp51 Posts: 201 Member
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    Thanks. I did find a body fat percent calculator online (several, actually). I weigh 120.5 and am 5'4", age 64. In one I was obese, in another I as acceptable. Yeesh! I LIKED MY BMI number better.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
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    My BMI wouldn't be "healthy" unless I was near 0% bodyfat. It's donkers.

    Body fat is great. Waist to height ratio is pretty good too.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    slp51 wrote: »
    Thanks. I did find a body fat percent calculator online (several, actually). I weigh 120.5 and am 5'4", age 64. In one I was obese, in another I as acceptable. Yeesh! I LIKED MY BMI number better.

    You can’t calculate body fat online. That is just an estimate and like took data similar to a BMI ratio. If you really want to know, you can go one of three routes: 1) get a professional to use calipers to estimate bf (good), 2) Go to a bodpod that uses air displacement (better) or 3) get a dexa scan (best). Also, the dexascan will give you data on your bone density, which is very important to know and manage as we age.


  • slp51
    slp51 Posts: 201 Member
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    I get a dexascan every year because I have osteoporosis. I think I'm due again in September. I don't want to use last year's results because I'm a lot leaner now than I was last September.

    GREAT to know about the dexascan! Thanks much!
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
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    with a BMI of 32 and a bodyfat percentage of 27, neither one of mine is considered acceptable.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,638 Member
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    According to BMI, I'm obese. According to the mirror, I'm most certainly not.

    Your gym may offer an annual caliper test as part of your gym membership dues, mine does. Which reminds me, it's been a couple years since I last had it done...
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    According to bmi, I'm midway into overweight. Haven't had body fat measured professionally (and since I'm not considering dropping a weight class probably won't), but most people are in agreement that my body fat isn't anywhere near overweight levels.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    999tigger wrote: »
    BMI has its uses, but as you get closer, then bf% becomes more important.

    Yeah, I agree. If you're obese or very overweight (and you're not a bodybuilder, like it's not all muscle), use the BMI to start. Then, bf %.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    all of the above.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    Body fat % > BMI
  • vroleinbau
    vroleinbau Posts: 5 Member
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    The BMI really dumb in my opinion, because it doesnt work for athletic people at all. If you have lots of muscles it tells you, you are overweight...even if you have hardly any body fat. And that isnt good at all...or healthy
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    BF%, scale weight, tape measure, BMI, mirrors, clothing size...and last but not least how you feel/look

    There isn't one measurement that tells the whole story.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited May 2015
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    slp51 wrote: »
    Which is the number to go by?

    For what?

    What are you trying to accomplish?
  • Jessica_Pippen
    Jessica_Pippen Posts: 2 Member
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    Body fat!! The BMI cannot tell you the difference in composition of muscle to fat ratio.
  • slp51
    slp51 Posts: 201 Member
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    slp51 wrote: »
    Which is the number to go by?

    For what?

    What are you trying to accomplish?

    I want to know where I fall within each range. At 5'4" and 120 lbs, neither number was complimentary!

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