BMI and healthy weight

skyhowl
skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
okay, so i know that BMI is not a real accurate measure if you are "overweight" or "underweight". i know that if you lift weight, you probably will have high BMI but you are not overweight. but i've read an interesting article that mention that you can be in the "normal" range of BMI but you are still not healthy and have a high body fat percentage. i don't really know how is that. or i cannot imagine a person or a type of body that would be in the normal range of BMI but is still overweight?! or not healthy?

Replies

  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You can be in a healthy BMI range and have little muscle and be overly fat...i.e. an unhealthy BF% at a normal BMI...it happens...it's called "skinny fat."

    Also, being at a normal BMI doesn't mean you're healthy...I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine where their weight is concerned but they are unhealthy and unfit as *kitten*. Weight is only one small aspect of overall health.

    yeah, i was kinda wondering because i am at a normal BMI now. (i didn't have so much weight to lose) but my friends keep telling me that i am healthy now, why are you still dieting. but i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    Wicked_Seraph wrote: »
    BMI, barring the rare individuals who are bodybuilders, is generally a pretty good indicator of someone being over- or underweight.

    Weight is just an assess of your mass relative to gravity. It says nothing about how much of that mass is made up of muscle, fat, water, food you just ate, etc. It's possible for someone to be within the parameters of healthy weight but have a body fat percentage above the recommended amount. Someone with an objectively high body fat percentage is going to be overweight or obese; someone who has more than what's suggested for their gender could be within the numerical bounds of recommended weight.

    Look up "skinnyfat" for what'll probably be a better summary of this.

    thank you for the your input :)
  • grannynot
    grannynot Posts: 146 Member
    Yup - my husband is "skinnyfat". 6'3", weighs 175 lbs or so. Size 32 waist. Gets zero exercise other than puttering with cars. Two weeks ago, he had surgery to repair a hernia - his surgeon said the "bulge" was just FAT pushing through the abdominal wall. My husband was incredulous - just because he doesn't have obvious fat on his body doesn't mean it's not there.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    skyhowl wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You can be in a healthy BMI range and have little muscle and be overly fat...i.e. an unhealthy BF% at a normal BMI...it happens...it's called "skinny fat."

    Also, being at a normal BMI doesn't mean you're healthy...I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine where their weight is concerned but they are unhealthy and unfit as *kitten*. Weight is only one small aspect of overall health.

    yeah, i was kinda wondering because i am at a normal BMI now. (i didn't have so much weight to lose) but my friends keep telling me that i am healthy now, why are you still dieting. but i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    True. And even if it is, it doesn't mean you are necessarily happy with it. There's a fairly wide range of healthy %BF. Nothing wrong with choosing to be lower in the range if you want to be.
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    stealthq wrote: »
    skyhowl wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You can be in a healthy BMI range and have little muscle and be overly fat...i.e. an unhealthy BF% at a normal BMI...it happens...it's called "skinny fat."

    Also, being at a normal BMI doesn't mean you're healthy...I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine where their weight is concerned but they are unhealthy and unfit as *kitten*. Weight is only one small aspect of overall health.

    yeah, i was kinda wondering because i am at a normal BMI now. (i didn't have so much weight to lose) but my friends keep telling me that i am healthy now, why are you still dieting. but i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    True. And even if it is, it doesn't mean you are necessarily happy with it. There's a fairly wide range of healthy %BF. Nothing wrong with choosing to be lower in the range if you want to be.

    Thanks for your reply. I needed reassurance and that did it for me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    skyhowl wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You can be in a healthy BMI range and have little muscle and be overly fat...i.e. an unhealthy BF% at a normal BMI...it happens...it's called "skinny fat."

    Also, being at a normal BMI doesn't mean you're healthy...I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine where their weight is concerned but they are unhealthy and unfit as *kitten*. Weight is only one small aspect of overall health.

    yeah, i was kinda wondering because i am at a normal BMI now. (i didn't have so much weight to lose) but my friends keep telling me that i am healthy now, why are you still dieting. but i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    keep in mind that it's not all about dieting down...a lot of people need to start doing resistance training and re-shaping and re-comping their bodies...dieting alone isn't going to get most people the body they truly desire.
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    grannynot wrote: »
    Yup - my husband is "skinnyfat". 6'3", weighs 175 lbs or so. Size 32 waist. Gets zero exercise other than puttering with cars. Two weeks ago, he had surgery to repair a hernia - his surgeon said the "bulge" was just FAT pushing through the abdominal wall. My husband was incredulous - just because he doesn't have obvious fat on his body doesn't mean it's not there.

    Wow, hope he is doing okay now.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    skyhowl wrote: »
    i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    Are there any medical reasons why you think your weight is currently unhealthy.. like blood tests that are off, joint pain when running, etc? :+1:
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    Just like I'm supposed to weigh 160 lbs. The lightest I have been is 180 lbs. BMI is designed for the lowest commen demoninator. A scale to "fit" everyone. You can be skinny and have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. You can be overweight and have no underlying medical conditions. Health is relative.
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    skyhowl wrote: »
    i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    Are there any medical reasons why you think your weight is currently unhealthy.. like blood tests that are off, joint pain when running, etc? :+1:

    no, my blood tests are fine i guess. i didn't do one for months, but the last time i did that. i was only anaemic
    but i feel like i am not healthy because i still hold lots of fat in thigh area... i don't think that's healthy
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    I started as what I would describe as Normal Weigh Obese, not even close to skinny fat, healthy, but low fitness.

    I was within the normal BMI range, just, but had a high fat percentage.

    5'1 130lbs, BMI 24.5
    Now 100-105lbs, BMI 19-ish.

    Still relatively small muscled, age & genetics, but much stronger and fitter.
    Health has never been a problem.

    Visual of top and bottom of normal BMI.

    hck05iy07x3y.jpeg

    Cheers, h.

    I should say others at my height and 130 can look amazing, because of a sedentary lifestyle I didn't. No muscle; lots of fat.

    wow, didn't see this post yesterday. i see. you look amazing. i am at 23.6 BMI now. and i am planning on going low to reach maybe 20 or 19. just because i know i will feel better
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    skyhowl wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    You can be in a healthy BMI range and have little muscle and be overly fat...i.e. an unhealthy BF% at a normal BMI...it happens...it's called "skinny fat."

    Also, being at a normal BMI doesn't mean you're healthy...I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine where their weight is concerned but they are unhealthy and unfit as *kitten*. Weight is only one small aspect of overall health.

    yeah, i was kinda wondering because i am at a normal BMI now. (i didn't have so much weight to lose) but my friends keep telling me that i am healthy now, why are you still dieting. but i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    keep in mind that it's not all about dieting down...a lot of people need to start doing resistance training and re-shaping and re-comping their bodies...dieting alone isn't going to get most people the body they truly desire.

    yeah, i've been lifting for a few weeks. but i want to be consistent. i know i won't build muscles while still in a deficit but i will feel stronger and that's my goal
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    skyhowl wrote: »
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    skyhowl wrote: »
    i feel like i still got lots of fat to lose. just because i am at a normal weight doesn't mean that my bf% is in healthy range.

    Are there any medical reasons why you think your weight is currently unhealthy.. like blood tests that are off, joint pain when running, etc? :+1:

    no, my blood tests are fine i guess. i didn't do one for months, but the last time i did that. i was only anaemic
    but i feel like i am not healthy because i still hold lots of fat in thigh area... i don't think that's healthy

    I'm still not hearing any valid medical reasons why you think your thigh fat is unhealthy. If it was visceral fat (deep belly fat), you would have a point, because that's associated with some health problems.. but having extra thigh fat is not associated with any health issues that i'm aware of. In fact there's some evidence that it's healthier to have some extra thigh fat (source).
    I suspect that your legs were leaner when you were more active & healthier, so you're associating lean legs with health? Anyway, leading a healthy lifestyle will probably have a bigger effect on your health than simply lowering your body fat. :+1:

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