Opinions On BMI

SummerSkier · December 2018

Agreed. You don’t need to be underweight to be short. You can be short in any shape or size.

I am not saying that everyone is like me. I am just saying that imo the chart can be too generous to short women. My opinion. A 30 pound range is a lot.

AnnPT77 · December 2018

SummerSkier wrote: »

Im the outlier I guess. I am best (for me) right at the bottom of the BMI normal or slightly below. I was FAT at the high end. That's me tho. Everyone is different. It's a good chart to start with but I think for shorter girls it is actually too lenient on the high end. My opinion only based on my frame and build.

I'm not a BMI outlier (because I know what outlier means in statistics), but I like myself best around the lower end, too: 120ish at 5'5", which is BMI 20. My bad knee hurts less, the residual lower-abdomen squishy fat isn't gravitationally distorted at that weight, etc. I, too, was overfat at the high end. While I have broad shoulders, big hands, and big wrists, I have a narrow pelvis, and unreconstructed post-bilateral-mastectomy chest.

I've let myself drift up into the 130s, BMI 22ish, and am holding there over a fairly long time (year and a half, maybe). That's more lower body fat than I really need. I'm vaguely trying to slowly drop it, but not with any great vigor, and "it's a healthy BMI", coupled with a natural hedonism that's one of my more charming faults (

), makes it pretty easy to let myself off the hook. The BMI ranges can be an excuse, too.

I don't think of myself as "shorter", I think of myself as "medium height". My build makes lower normal BMI (IMO) best for me. Women with actual hips and breasts are plausibly fine at my height and 149 pounds, high end of normal (at least they look fine in photos). It's a range for a reason. The majority of people will find their best weight somewhere in it, according to both statistical analyses, and my opinion.

I don't know why we're always arguing about BMI, thread after thread. There once was a talking Barbie doll that said "Math is hard". After public outrage, that saying was discontinued. There's some sign she was right, statistically speaking.

Gisel2015 · December 2018

DaisyHamilton wrote: »

I absolutely never recommend anyone to go by BMI. It's interesting to read about, but not useful to go by.

Obviously and looking at the above picture, BMI is not accurate for those two guys, but for the general population is not too bad.
Unless doctors decide to go by body fat % instead of BMI, and insurance companies pay for DEXA or a reliable test to determine body fat in an individual, BMI is the only thing that we have.

GottaBurnEmAll · December 2018

SummerSkier wrote: »

Agreed. You don’t need to be underweight to be short. You can be short in any shape or size. I am not saying that everyone is like me. I am just saying that imo the chart can be too generous to short women. My opinion. A 30 pound range is a lot.

You keep saying what you think other people should be based on you. And you are underweight.

You do realize that BMI is supposed to be an approximate for body fat? And that within that 30 pound range, there are also ranges of body fat that can be carried. The point you are missing is someone can have an entirely different build than you, with a different sort of fitness routine and different fitness goals which result in a healthy level of body fat, but a weight that puts them higher on the BMI scale.

You are only imagining bird-like women who are over-fat at a BMI of 24 or so, and are missing the point that there's a wide range of body fat levels within that 30 pound weight range.

So, maybe be more precise in your language. It's not good for anyone to be over fat. But where a specific individual's BMI will settle once they're a decent body fat level will vary depending on a number of different factors.

SummerSkier · December 2018

Nope. Not saying everyone needs to be like me at all! Lol. I am being very precise. I agree that people come in all shapes and forms and body fat levels. I also think that folks can be over the BMI range and not over fat. I actually am fairly open minded about it all. BMI is a good guideline. Period. But there are lots of other variables. I personally was over fat at the higher end of normal BMI. I used BMI like AnnPT says for a few years as a good excuse to pretend but my knees started to hurt too.

I am now into my second year of maintaining.

Here is a photo. On the left normal BMI. In the middle Current low BMI (not a rib or bone in sight I swear!) and just cause on the right runners old legs.

GottaBurnEmAll · December 2018

That's great, that's you.

But you still said this:

I am just saying that imo the chart can be too generous to short women.

There is a range because not everyone is you. That doesn't mean that the chart is too generous. And that's the point of contention. The fact that you're saying the chart is too generous. It's not.

People have to find a healthy weight for their frame within that range.

And FTR, I don't care if there's no a bone or rib in sight, it's more unhealthy to be underweight than it is to be a little bit above a normal BMI. Especially for women of a certain age like us. There's a study somewhere supporting this, but it's not worth derailing this thread to argue it with you. It's your life and your body.

AnnPT77 · December 2018

SummerSkier wrote: »

<snip>

I personally was over fat at the higher end of normal BMI. I used BMI like AnnPT says for a few years as a good excuse to pretend but my knees started to hurt too.

<snip>

I feel like you are taking my comment out of context. I think you look fine and healthy in your photos, though, no matter what people said in another thread.

SummerSkier · December 2018

Gottaburmem. It’s all good. IMO means in my opinion. This thread is for opinions on BMI I understand you differ. It’s really not meant to be personal since we are all different.

Annpt. Sorry if I misinterpreted your words.

timeforwork · December 2018

I personally think bmi works for most people, my theory is if you are smack in the middle of the healthy weight catogory you still have almost a stone either way to play with. So someone who was perfect weight then became a bodybuilder would have to gain a stone of muscle before edging out of the healthy range. And your frame would have to be a stone heavier or lighter than avarage to put you outside healthy. Of course if you like the way you look and feel and are outside the healthy range you will question if bmi works this is to be excepted and is perfectly fine, either you are kidding yourself about your health or you know your correct so other people's opinions shouldn't matter, some people are either side of healthy for any number of reasons but if you are majorly out then maybe time to double check bloods etc.

nxd10 · December 2018

Like people say: BMI is about populations not individuals. With all that great muscle you have no worries. For those of us who are average, it is a decent guideline.

CarvedTones · December 2018

Another point is that a lot of it is semantics that people get hung up on. If you are in the overweight range and there is a valid reason that it isn't unhealthy for you, it doesn't mean the normal range for height to weight range is wrong. It's right for most people. But someone at a healthy weight doesn't like to be labelled as overweight. The touchy part of that is that nearly all of the people I personally know that say BMI is wrong for them are deluded. This makes me question such claims and people whose reasons are legit probably get fed up with that. I am not sure what a better solution is. If it was quick and easy to get BF% accurately at check ups, that wold probably be a better option. But it isn't.

nooie19 · December 2018

Yes there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding BMI. As a teacher, when I look at student data I try to focus on: multiple data points and larger trends. So the BMI chart for me personally is a useful data point. And what I’ve found is that when I am within the normal range of the BMI I have a normal A1C, good cholesterol levels, and a healthy waist/hip ratio. I also have great energy! I am 5’3” and currently maintaining between 131 and 133 pounds. I am small boned and NOT muscular. Eleven years ago I was at my lowest weight as an adult at 110. There were people who told me I was looking “too thin” but my doctor assured me that I was still perfectly healthy. And I would encourage you to have a conversation with your doctor as well.
By the way, about ten years ago I gained back ALL of my weight gradually over time back to 159 because I didn’t understand how to maintain. For me, at age 50, it’s more important to maintain a healthy weight and healthy habits for the long haul.

Opinions On BMI

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