High BMI but healthy, is it possible??????

Options
LadyG33
LadyG33 Posts: 46
in Chit-Chat
Is it possible to be healthy but have an "OVERWEIGHT" bmi, according to all the calculators and polls out there??????? I understand that we must take into consideration, stature (height), genetics, etc. But since all doctors would call me "overweight" due to my BMI calculation, but can a person actually be healthy?????????
«1

Replies

  • lizsmith1976
    lizsmith1976 Posts: 497 Member
    Options
    Body builders all have an unhealthy BMI. It only measures height and weight so it ignores several other things. BMI is only one way to measure and you need to look at the whole picture. For women, body fat % and waist to hip ratio are probably equally if not more important measures.
  • pobski
    pobski Posts: 42 Member
    Options
    Body fat % is a way better indicator of health than BMI.
  • voluptuous_veggie
    voluptuous_veggie Posts: 476 Member
    Options
    I'm a clinical nutritionist, and we don't even factor bmi, as it really doesn't tell you much of anything.
  • StevLL
    StevLL Posts: 921 Member
    Options
    Body builders all have an unhealthy BMI. It only measures height and weight so it ignores several other things. BMI is only one way to measure and you need to look at the whole picture. For women, body fat % and waist to hip ratio are probably equally if not more important measures.

    Yep what liz said!
  • kellybug123
    kellybug123 Posts: 240
    Options
    My BMI is in the 50%...yes, I know it's super high and I'm working on it....but I don't have any health issues. I don't have diabetes, I have regular blood pressure and nothing wrong. I thank God for this every day.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    Options
    BMI is a crap metric. Don't pay any attention to it whatsoever.
  • Loko_Ino
    Loko_Ino Posts: 544 Member
    Options
    My BMI is obese =)

    I love it.
  • MariSama44
    MariSama44 Posts: 340 Member
    Options
    Yes, actually. There was a recent study done that showed people in the overweight catagory are generally healthier than those in the target range. However BMI is better suited to describe a large group of people, not individuals. So dont sweat it too much or take it that seriously, its a loose guideline. I will still be "overweight" at my ideal weight/body fat percentage.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
    Options
    I'm OVERWEIGHT according to BMI.
  • shrekk218
    shrekk218 Posts: 39
    Options
    I had a nice conversation with a doctor about my BMI by the classification I am obese due to my height and size but after a long discussion with the doctor he stated their would be no way for me to obtain a normal BMI because of actual muscle mass. So the BMI system is flawed stick with body fat %
  • daniface
    daniface Posts: 338 Member
    Options
    I think so, i weigh in at 190 pounds im 5"8 and a size 12. I have a lot of muscle. I work out 5 days a week and take care of myself. According to any BMI chart i am classiflied as overweight. i do not feel i am unhealthy or "fat" but according to any doctor basing my health on BMI, they would say i need to lose 30 pounds. i think its a bunch of crap.
  • kit_kat122000
    kit_kat122000 Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    Absolutely!
    According to BMI calculations I am obese. My doctor refuses to catagorize me as such though. I am only 5'4" and at the time of my last appointment I tipped the scales at 204 lbs BUT!!! my measurements are only 38 - 36 - 40 making me a very small woman to be called obese. One thing charts can't factor in is muscle mass. I was a weight lifter in high school and have a much higher muscle mass than most women, and, since muscle weights more than fat it increases my BMI calculations. A chart would put my optimal weight at 111 to 135 lbs (or somewhere thereabouts) but my doctor recommended optimal weight is 165. At the height of a college eating disorder I bottomed out at 135 and looked like I weighed somewhere around 100 lbs. I think BMI calculations should be a tool only and not an indicator of health. Use those numbers in combination with measurements, cholesterol, blood pressure and lung efficiency to get an accurate view of your overall health.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Options
    You can be obese and healthy. Your health doesn't go bad overnight. It's the long-term effects that you have to worry about.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options
    When I was running distance and wearing a size zero (practically a different life) I was considered overweight by BMI. My bodyfat percentage was very low and there would not have been a healthy way for me to lose any weight. BMI can help as a guideline to a certain point, but it does not determine your health.
  • crb1988
    crb1988 Posts: 134 Member
    Options
    I think BMI is a horrible calculation to base your "health" on. I am in the obese category, but my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels are all within normal ranges. I can walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded; walking 2 miles doesn't wear me out, it leaves me wanting more. So I think you need to take several things into consideration, not just BMI.
  • Buddhaboy
    Buddhaboy Posts: 60 Member
    Options
    I can't figure out BMI either
    For my age it says I'm unhealthy
    But I've always had a more musclar build...big in the shoulders, arms and legs
    I wonder how much that factors in?
  • cocolo89
    cocolo89 Posts: 1,171 Member
    Options
    yes it's possible. it doesn't consider bone structure or muscle mass. it assumes that everyone has the exact same frame and no one has muscles. lol. my bmi is 21.3 and considered healthy, but i have a bunch of stomach fat, and that is not healthy at all.
  • Marig0ld
    Marig0ld Posts: 671 Member
    Options
    I'm 5'6" and 18 pounds above my "normal" BMI. I call BS on that since my BF% is 20 and getting lower! My doctor thinks BMI is BS for the most part. That's why I like her...she knows me and my body and doesn't give a crap what some stupid chart says.
  • LadyG33
    LadyG33 Posts: 46
    Options
    My BMI is obese =)

    I love it.

    (Smiling) :smile: My doc tells me I need to lose because mine is "overweight"
  • LadyG33
    LadyG33 Posts: 46
    Options
    I'm 5'6" and 18 pounds above my "normal" BMI. I call BS on that since my BF% is 20 and getting lower! My doctor thinks BMI is BS for the most part. That's why I like her...she knows me and my body and doesn't give a crap what some stupid chart says.

    I think I need a new doc then. Send me yours please.....

Categories