Anybody using Smart Body Mass Index instead of BMI?

Options
2»

Replies

  • xfc1
    xfc1 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    It doesn't ask a fundamental question: how muscular are you? Compare myself to my brother. Almost the same height, but goal weights are 10 kilograms different. My brother is more muscular than the general male population (by say 5kg) and I am less muscular by about 5 kg.

    Why don't indexes ask how muscular a person is?
  • xfc1
    xfc1 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    janalo55 wrote: »
    I have just always found it odd that BMI charts don't take sex into consideration, when commonly men have a higher muscle mass.

    I was always under the impression that the additional male muscle weight roughly equalled what breasts weigh.
  • tbright1965
    tbright1965 Posts: 852 Member
    Options
    I found the name misleading.

    I guess I was expecting a BMI type calculation that took into consideration age, as it does, but also some additional measurements.

    I.E. if you are 225#, 5'11" tall, have a 50" chest and a 35" waist, you probably don't have the body that typically corresponds to a BMI of 31.

    I guess I was expecting it to add more than just one variable to the calculation. Doesn't really seem so smart to me. But what do I know?
  • xfc1
    xfc1 Posts: 69 Member
    Options
    The more variables the better. I've seen distance from shoulder to hips used in one index. Some necks are longer than others but don't really contribute to fatness / thinness.
  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    Options
    Well, according to traditional BMI, I'm overweight. According to SBMI, I'm in the optimal range, so I guess it made a difference. I still have fat to lose, but I would say now that when I look in the mirror, I do think I'm at a pretty healthy weight for my age and height. I doubt my current weight, despite being "overweight" by traditional BMI standards, puts me at greater risk for disease.

    I don't know my BF%, but I have a solid estimate that I'm at the upper end of normal/average. I'm 5' even and 131lbs.
  • verneycarino
    verneycarino Posts: 1 Member
    edited February 2022
    Options
    After reading your story, I wondered how to calculate the mass index correctly. I don't usually watch my weight, but now I've decided that I should. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make any professional measurements since I have only a bathroom scale, and it seems it's doesn't show enough data to draw any conclusions. However, I can just make an appointment with a nutritionist or a doctor and "see what condition my condition is in" (c) because this is important, and my health depends on it. Your example spurred me to action. Thank you, and good luck to you!
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 2,926 Member
    Options
    My current goal is to lose 7-8 pounds for bmi = 24.99. Not that I think there's any magic in bmi, just an arbitrary goal when I was at least 60 pounds overweight.
    Smart bmi says it won't do me any good to lose that 7-8 pounds cause I'm already as healthy as weight is gonna make me. Good to know. But I'm barely getting into a size 10, bubbling over on both ends, so I think I'll keep losing for a while. Better to shrink into a 10 than gain into a 12.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,974 Member
    Options
    All of the generalized BMI type charts (smart or not) say I'm at a healthy weight. I am NOT. Each individual really is vastly different.
    As an apple-shaped female, where the vast majority of my fat stores center around my mid section and spread out from there (the most unhealthy way to carry excess fat), for optimal health, I actually have to be pretty trim. The last fat stores to go are around my mid section, especially the "saddle bags" as I call them.
    Healthy for me would be at least 20 pounds lighter than I am, maybe more like 25-30 based on historical weight. Weight lifting/muscle mass may have raised that a bit, but I was plenty strong before, just wasn't doing focused lifting like I have (on and off) the past 5 or so years. Regardless, I am a very long ways from a "picture of optimal health" LOL.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
    Options
    I have the same BMI with both calculators: 20/healthy. With the Smart BMI I am on the low end and at my age I shouldn't lose any more. I knew that already. When you get to a certain age, the risk of illness that causes serious weight loss is greater and your ability to recover is less. I still have large thighs and a bit of a belly, but that's at least partly due to genetics. My upper body is all bones, so I have no desire to lose more.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,394 Member
    Options
    In the country I live currently bmi tends to have a correction for age. Meaning a higher bmi is still considered normal when you're older. It's a bit odd, but ho hum. Just thought I mention it.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,637 Member
    Options
    Being at a healthy BMI does not make me magically healthy.

    If I happen to be magically healthy, it is very much more likely than not that my weight happens to be somewhere in the healthy BMI range for my height.

    As I get older there seems to be convincing enough evidence that this extends into the low overweight range. This is taken into consideration by the smartbmi algorithm

    BMI is a quick screening tool. Not a health judgment.

    It can still serve as a useful guide especially for mes like me who spent a lifetime above that range and maybe even for others
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,081 Member
    Options
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    BMI is a quick screening tool. Not a health judgment.

    I'll believe that when my health insurance premiums stop referencing BMI in determining what rate to charge me.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,921 Member
    Options
    Nope. The only thing that interests me is visceral fat and if I'm going to allow anything to influence my thinking it will be how big my waist is in relationship to my height. Anything close to 50% is probably something you want to put in your sights and take more seriously. If your waist is much higher percentage wise then you don't need a guideline to tell you you need to lose weight. A mirror works too. imo.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,514 Member
    Options
    yirara wrote: »
    In the country I live currently bmi tends to have a correction for age. Meaning a higher bmi is still considered normal when you're older. It's a bit odd, but ho hum. Just thought I mention it.
    I wonder how much of that adjustment is due to correcting for the reality of what the majority of the population is, versus whether it's actually healthy.

Categories