BMI phone aps

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Vladaar
Vladaar Posts: 147 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good Morning,

What's your thoughts on BMI calculation? I got the BMI calculator phone ap and while I agree that I am overweight now for my height, I noticed that when I reach my goal weight 175 pounds it says I'm still heavy and could use a run. What I am thinking is that it doesn't take muscle into consideration. I'm 5'9" it would have me weight like 155 pounds to be normal weight.

Replies

  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    I personally ignore BMI. It's a very generalised way to classify bodies and doesn't account for the difference in increased weight in fat vs muscle. I believe in setting a realistic goal and seeing how you feel at that goal and then reevaluating.
  • Lesscookies1
    Lesscookies1 Posts: 250 Member
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    KateTii wrote: »
    I personally ignore BMI. It's a very generalised way to classify bodies and doesn't account for the difference in increased weight in fat vs muscle. I believe in setting a realistic goal and seeing how you feel at that goal and then reevaluating.
    She's actually right! BMI doesn't take into consideration a few things. I have a friend who is. a nurse practitioner who mentioned waist circumference is a better measure which I agree with.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You can type the words "BMI calculator" into Google and it immediately gives you a calculator at the top of the page. No need for an app.

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bmi+calculator

    Being underweight or overweight per BMI means that you are part of groups that have increased risks of certain medical conditions as compared to people who have healthy BMIs. It's a screening method, not a diagnosis. As @SezxyStef wrote, it is valid for the majority of people. Anything you read about BMI is going to list the known outliers. The fact that a screening tool or test has outliers does not make it invalid, despite the fact that in pretty much every thread about this somebody who is tall and/or heavily muscled will come in and claim that the fact BMI says he is obese means it is meaningless. What that means is that the person making the claim doesn't understand the meaning of "outlier".
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I just type "bmi" into google and the calculator comes up.

    The range for 5'9. No, it would not have you weigh "like 155 lbs." You just need to drop just over 5 lbs from your goal weight to hit a normal BMI.
    • Underweight: <125 lbs
    • Normal Weight: 125-168.9 lbs
    • Overweight: 170-202 lbs
    • Obese: 203+ lbs

    You can do a search on the interwebz for "5'9 men before and after" and see pictures of different guys at different heights. Because of muscle mass, most men don't look super fat if they're just barely in the overweight category (especially since we, as a society, are so used to seeing overweight people).
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited November 2017
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    1) BMI is a fine way to decide what weight to aim for. You can change your mind later if you aren't happy with the results. Just because it isn't perfect, that doesn't mean you should ignore it completely.

    2) I just use an online calculator I have bookmarked. As much as I could use the encouragement of an app that tells me to go for a run, I have MapMyRun staring me in the face every time I unlock my phone, so I'm all set.

    https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm

    I also use the Libra app to track my weight, and it gives BMI.
  • Lesscookies1
    Lesscookies1 Posts: 250 Member
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    I use an app called "Monitor My Weight" I didnt look at the bmi calculations, but I guess it has it, and it's kinda customizable. Might be a helpful app.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I just use mfp for bmi so I don't need to input any data - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmi-calculator but admittedly, I don't look at it all that often.
  • hunterc47
    hunterc47 Posts: 9 Member
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    BMI is strictly a relationship between height and weight. It is just one of many useful comparative data points. Most of us fall in the center portions of the bell curve .... for those that think that they are the outliers I recommend also comparing things like body fat % and an honest assessment of musculature. If you have a high body fat % and a corresponding high BMI, then you are not an outlier. If you have a low body fat %, 20 inch arms, and can bench press a mid sized sedan .... then BMI is probably not the best method of tracking comparative body composition.
  • Burton_Bmc
    Burton_Bmc Posts: 35 Member
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    I don't believe in BMI calculators, for instance with my height, I can weigh from 66kg up to 86 kg, and this is considered a healthy weight. I can asure you that I don't look healthy when I weigh 66, nor look healthy when I weigh 88. Best thing to do is, have a measurement tape and a mirror.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    BurtonBmc1965 wrote: »
    I don't believe in BMI calculators, for instance with my height, I can weigh from 66kg up to 86 kg, and this is considered a healthy weight. I can asure you that I don't look healthy when I weigh 66, nor look healthy when I weigh 88. Best thing to do is, have a measurement tape and a mirror.

    so just because you fall in the middle of something that measures averages you think it's bogus...that's funny.

    My range is 118-154lbs...

    those ranges are to account for things like skeletal mass, connective tissue, muscle mass etc...

    will I ever weight 118 nope...I think the lowest I have been in my adult life is 130lbs...while in high school and in the military...and now I am 148...still healthy.

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