Ha!~ Large Frame BMI! I knew it :O)

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Replies

  • MaureenF1969
    MaureenF1969 Posts: 10 Member
    I love you! :-) I'm only 5'5"...but my wrist is 7inches. :-) Yippee!! I'm a 29 needing to drop to at least a 27 to be considered normal. Very cool. Thank you!

    Maureen
  • lildrmr93
    lildrmr93 Posts: 51
    Thanks for the post...
  • kawinter
    kawinter Posts: 4
    BMI was never meant to be used as anything but for studying populations as a whole. For individuals it can be very misleading to say the least. Better to try and get a reasonable gauge on your % body fat and set your goals by that.

    That said, BMI scales up based on the square of your height. Last time I checked, people were three-dimensional and while the cube of your height probably is too much, the square is too little. So to all the tall folks on here, BMI is stacked against you from the start.

    I'm 6'5" and according to the BMI guidelines (which are also drawn rather arbitrarily), I need to be under ~211# to be in a healthy range. Well, last time I was at 211, I was also at 9% body fat back in college. The low part of the healthy range is under 160, a patently ridiculous number for anybody with even a normal frame.

    So really everybody, but especially if you're tall, big framed (by bone), etc. find a better metric than BMI for setting fitness/weight goals!
  • Jenn152
    Jenn152 Posts: 373 Member
    BMI is a ridiculous scale... But I must admit I was happy to find and calculate this info. And as far as my wrist being "big" for a woman.... Haha,i must laugh at this! I'm just shy of 6' and I wear a size 11 shoe... Apparently you've never been around tall women :o) take a look at the totally tall women of MFP thread... And I bet we would change your opinion of what is and isn't "big" for a woman. End rant:wink:
  • ctalimenti
    ctalimenti Posts: 865 Member
    I think there are other things to consider in health such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
    The only problem with this is that my wrists were huge (like, no separation from my forearm to my hand huge) before I lost weight. Now my wrists are so tiny that my bones are very evident and I can wrap my finger well over my thumb when clutching (I couldn't even touch the tips before I lost weight) now.

    I think it's kind of giving false hope, IMO.

    Long bones don't mean more girth, btw. ;)
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    When I was at my heaviest, my wrists were 'large frame' - now that I've lost 35# they are now small framed! I used my large frame wrists as an excuse to hold onto 10# lbs- i don't go by the wrist measurement anymore
  • AdAstra47
    AdAstra47 Posts: 823 Member
    Thank you so much for posting this! People need to realize that the "BMI calculators" that base it on measurements & weight can only provide the roughest estimates. Genetically, even if you discount height, some people have bones that are more dense than others; some naturally have more muscle mass than others; either of those variables can make you heavier without actually being fatter.

    My doctor has a test that's a little more accurate, and I encourage people to try this if you really want to know your BMI. It's a fancy machine, you grab the handles and it sends an electrical pulse up one arm and down the other. The pulse will travel at a different speed through fat, water, muscle, etc. so it lets the doctor calculate your body mass percentages with a lot more accuracy. When the "official chart" had me at a BMI of 45, my doc's little machine said it was truly more like 40. Still insanely high, I grant you. But when I get down into a lower range, now I know that the chart is likely to have a pretty large margin of error for me.
  • meaganh13
    meaganh13 Posts: 55 Member
    Thank you so much! Instead of being way into the Obese category, I am slightly over the Overweight category. Also, on the LiveStrong site it states that if you're large-framed (I'm 6'5" and a wrist of 7.1"), you simply multiply your BMI by 0.9. Mine was 34.7 (Obese) and now it's 31.2 (Overweight) with this calculation. Instead of feeling more comfortable with this adjustment, it actually makes me more motivated to know that being 140lbs would not only be almost impossible but unhealthy. My real goals seem much more attainable now!
  • fattabby1
    fattabby1 Posts: 25 Member
    woo hoo- that means just one more point off my BMI and i'm 'normal' yippie!!!

    i'm 5'11 too
  • Jenn152
    Jenn152 Posts: 373 Member
    Yeah, I really only posted this for those of us who are abnormally tall for our genders... The low end of Normal for me is like 132 lbs... are you freaking kidding me?!?!?! hahaahh and the high end of Normal was 174... I think I weighed that when I was 17 and RIPPED from being a 3 sport athlete in 2-a-day practices... that is NOT a healthy weight for me as an adult. I am just glad people found the true point of this post and are getting a better more realistic approach to their "goals". Yay for everyone!
  • justle
    justle Posts: 275 Member
    woo hoo- that means just one more point off my BMI and i'm 'normal' yippie!!!

    i'm 5'11 too

    me too! I always knew i was large framed anyway my hands are like saucers! my lovely man-hands :)
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Before you get all excited, make sure that you don't just have FAT wrists!

    I had my BMI measured with a "Bod Pod" with every expectation that I would be found to be "large framed", only to be terribly disappointed that nope-- I was just FAT.
  • spicypepper
    spicypepper Posts: 1,016 Member
    Awesomeness! I'm 5'8 with 7.25" wrist too and I always thought this was slightly skewed towards average sized people. Glad to know I'm moving closer to normal!
  • Jenn152
    Jenn152 Posts: 373 Member
    Before you get all excited, make sure that you don't just have FAT wrists!

    I had my BMI measured with a "Bod Pod" with every expectation that I would be found to be "large framed", only to be terribly disappointed that nope-- I was just FAT.

    this is a very good point! and should be taken into account. i had mis-measured my wrist (at work with a cord and ruler, not a tape), so when i got home i remeasured and my wrist is really 6.75 (which is still large framed) and my wrists are bony... so that is not currently a problem for me. but if you carry weight at your wrists it could definitely skew the numbers! i will say again, i really think this applies more for people are super tall...
  • kneesee80
    kneesee80 Posts: 10
    You have no idea how happy you've made me! I decided my goal weight was 180, 185 regardless of the fact that that weight still placed me in the overweight category according to the standard BMI charts. With this adjusted one, my goal is spot on! Awesome! I'm a big girl! My family would commit me for an eating disorder if I got down to 150-160 (what the standard BMI chart says it should be)!
  • kneesee80
    kneesee80 Posts: 10
    Oh, and I'm 5'10 with a size 11-12 shoe!
  • carriem29
    carriem29 Posts: 28
    I'm borderline. I'm 5'5.5" and my wrist is 6.25. A lot of the time I either have to round down to 5'5'' or round up to 5'6" when I enter my height into forms. If I take the 5'5'', I am big boned but if I take 5'6'' then I'm medium.............Oh well, thanks for the information:)
  • MissSharkattack
    MissSharkattack Posts: 323 Member
    bump for later (:
  • ahsongbird
    ahsongbird Posts: 712 Member
    I'm 5'1 and have a large frame, i always knew that tho lol
  • ahsongbird
    ahsongbird Posts: 712 Member
    I'm 5'1 my wrist size is almost 6.5 inches (all bone) and my BMI is 29.2, now I don't feel so bad about that lol and I'm a lot closer to a healthy BMI than I thought so thats great :)
  • ahsongbird
    ahsongbird Posts: 712 Member
    Also, if you know you have excess fat around your wrists, this is probably not the tool for you, my wrists have always been the same size so I know that this is a good tool for me. When I was 12 the doctor was confused bc he said I was "overweight" at 117 lbs but I was all bones. There is no one size fits all , just get healthy and you will achieve your goals :)
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    Here is why I love this post...because it stresses the need for other measurements besides the scale. I wish that accurate body fat measurements were more accessible to more people...
  • fitness4meAU
    fitness4meAU Posts: 23 Member
    Wow, just wow and Thank you, thank you, thank you! Not only have I found out that I am (according to both sites) in the large body frame, that I am just into the Obese category (not dropped off the edge of the great abyss of no return) but I also can see that there are other women out there just like me. Not all of you look like your from The Real Housewives OC (Thank GOD & what a joke)

    Thank you for posting this and thank you other ladies for repsonding and showing me that there are others women out there that look like me and are still amazing too.

    Has done SO much for myself esteem :) Thanks.
  • newdaynewme
    newdaynewme Posts: 77 Member
    finally a meaningful post!!!! thanks for posting, it's credible, good information w/o adults arguing and bickering over nonsense. I found out I am large framed and my bmi is better than it was using the old calculations. thanks for posting!!
  • Jennieam
    Jennieam Posts: 300 Member
    As a result of this post, I am now considering changing my approach to weight loss, health & fitness.

    As well as focusing on losing weight, I am also considering growing taller too. :laugh:
  • copykatnjesus
    copykatnjesus Posts: 82 Member
    This is awesome news! I've always doubted all the weight charts out
    there. I've always been big boned & muscular. I'll be checking
    these BMI charts now. I'm 5'7" 7" wrist!! Thanx for the info!
    God Bless!!
  • CJK1959
    CJK1959 Posts: 279 Member
    Great post! Iam 6" tall and have always, always, always had big bones and large frame, even when thin. And even now, my wrist bones are "right there" not covered in the fat that seems to be sticking to the rest of my body! Thanks!!!!!!
  • Jenn152
    Jenn152 Posts: 373 Member
    I am so glad everyone is reaping the benefits of this post! We are all different and thats what makes this site great! Your goals should be realistic and fit your body. No one measurement will tell you that. We should all go by how we feel! Keep on truckin through your weight loss journey! :O)
  • bear_nakey
    bear_nakey Posts: 340 Member
    I am a jewelry repair technician, and coming from my years of experience, anything below a 6.5 is small, 6.5-7.25 is average and anything above 7.25 is large. Not saying that whatever medical science this is, is a lie, I have just been in the business for 11 years, and worked for several stores, plus went to school for this. I don't think they would order the 'average' size if it wasn't average. Plus, the larger or small sizes are generally special ordered. Aside from that, my wrist is a 5.25 @ 5'7" which is small, but not that uncommon. Someone who is big-boned to us, would be a 7.25+ and those are really rare. . . . Just a thought mfp'ers.
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