Anyone else have BIG problems with BMI?

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kaalin
kaalin Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
I looked myself up. Total baloney. Says Im 24.8 almost out of the healthy range and into the overweight range.

Im 5"9. 165lbs. Size S/M tops and 6 jeans.

I am in great shape. Hit the gym 3-4x a week. Have a trainer for nearly 2 years now. Just trying to loose a little in the waist/love handle area. BMI must not account for any muscle.

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  • ksheppard0509
    ksheppard0509 Posts: 19
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    BMI is one of the worst measurements to use. It is somewhat accurate except for the different body types. I have an athletic build with dense bones so my BMI is completely screwed up as well. I use to be a Kinesiology major now I am sports and leisure, but every trainer I have had the pleasure of learning from told me as an athletic build to just ignore it and pay attention to the percent of body fat I have on my body.
  • kaalin
    kaalin Posts: 9
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    Glad to hear its not just me.
  • andforpoise
    andforpoise Posts: 185
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    BMI tells me I'm borderline obese, and I'm pretty sure that's baloney :P I am a little overweight (5'5 and 177 lbs) but I'm chipping away at it! I've always had a problem with BMI - it's irritating... because healthy weight range for a lady of my height is between 111 and 140... my goal is somewhere between 130-140 and I'll still be at the high end of "healthy" ... but my end result was 111 lbs, I'd probably be checking into the hospital!
  • ksheppard0509
    ksheppard0509 Posts: 19
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    Yeah, according to BMI I am overweight. My range is between 140ish and 160ish for me to be "normal". If any of you ever have a chance to go to a BodPod do it. It is one of the best and most accurate measurement devices around! It tells you everything you need to know.
  • Fitnerd
    Fitnerd Posts: 16 Member
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    BMI is a joke! - OLD and FLAWED. Google pics of Cory Everson, based on her height and weight she'd be considered "Obese" on the BMI scale. Or look up Johnnie Jackson - same thing there. BMI is truly a poor measure of fitness or health.

    The best "tool" for measuring overall health is body fat, get a body fat analyzer - a good one is about as much as a good scale - the electrical impedance type (hand held) they're about $35-$40. Thats of course if your stuck on some empirical type of measurement, otherwise - use the following; How you feel, how you look - use a mirror (or have someone take pictures of you in a bathing suit), and how see your clothing fits - and don't worry about the numbers.

    Just my two cents...
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    use the following; How you feel, how you look - use a mirror (or have someone take pictures of you in a bathing suit), and how see your clothing fits - and don't worry about the numbers.

    Just my two cents...

    I like this advice.
  • jamiealdridge02
    jamiealdridge02 Posts: 93 Member
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    The BMI can be helpful, but it has to be taken with a grain(or lots) of salt. In college when I was playing soccer (running miles everyday, lifting weights, probably the best shape of my life), a nurse actually wrote down that I was obese because I was outside of the BMI for my height (5'8" and 168 lbs). My husband is the same way. He's only 5'9" but has a big muscular build (D1 football and track). I think the guidelines can be useful, but every body is different and it is very inaccurate if you are muscular. I'm not quite as muscular now so I fall within the guidelines, but when I was at the height of athletics I was above my BMI. I agree to go by the way you look and feel and forget the BMI!!!

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