BMI for African Americans/Blacks/Browns

So such a useful tool can be immediately over-ruled by a doctor simply eyeballing his patient... ok:noway:

I agree that BMI calculations suck, it doesn't account for a lot of things, but honestly, I feel like a lot of women of color like to use our uniquely shaped/proportioned bodies as excuses to remain overweight and unhealthy. *Don't pull out your guns and pitch forks nah!* Yes, Black women are more curvy and volumptuous than other women but that line between healthy-curvy and unhealthy-curvy is very thin! I think that we need to find a way to maintain our culturally defined curves without sacrificing/neglecting our health. And yes, there are a lot of Black men who like thicker women but sadly, those are the same women who are suffering with hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes, heart problems, and a shortened lifespan. We need to stop being complacent with these socially acceptable standards for our health and well-being when they bear harmful and costly consequences.

~Tasha~

BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.

BMI is crap. Find out your body fat percentage, because regardless of what race you are, too much body fat is unhealthy.

What if you're a healthy bf% with pretty much no muscle? I guess being at risk for osteoporosis is healthy now.

I'm pretty sure race doesn't have anything to do with it. BMI is just an indicator of health.

Personally, I don't like BMI, I prefer body fat percentage. Regardless of race, having an elevated level of body fat will cause health issues in the long run.

I'm surprised that BMI is still used so widely to measure health since its such a flawed equation.

I go by:
waist circumference
BP/RHR
Blood sugar
Cholesterol
BF%
muscle mass

BMI can make an perfectly fit person seem unhealthy, but none of these numbers lie.

I agree, you've listed many relevant indicators of health. BMI, which was not intended to be a weight loss tool for individuals, can at times be misleading. But oddly enough, almost every person on this site I hear complaining about the inaccuracy of the BMI is actually, indubitably obese.

"And my point is the doctor is not going to go in there and throw ray lewis on the bmi scale because he doesn't even apply. "

But that doesn't stop the schools from sending home notes to kids saying they are overweight based on the obviously flawed BMI scale....when their ribs are visable and any reasonable person standards would say 'obviously, that kid is not fat in any way shape or form'.

BMI was not created to be used the way it is.

Agreeing with all that BMI isn't the best indicator of whether you're healthy and fit or not. There are studies that show that different races have different BMIs but have the same body fat percentage, which is a better indicator.

http://www.halls.md/bmi/race.htm

So from this study, it does seem like Black people have a higher healthy BMI than white people, which I believe what most BMI standards are based on.

Oh yeah we didn't even consider the fact that body fat testing isn't even exact. Most doctors offices are not outfitted with DXA scanners or underwater weighing capabilities.

mfpcopine, thanks for sharing that article. Definitely a lot of point in it are true.

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

While I am not a huge fan of the BMI scale, it exists for a reason and should not be totally discounted. The average person should fall within (or very close to) the ranges given.

I look at it like this: So many of us on MFP have been fighting a battle with our weight for a very long time. Now that we are here, we want to succeed. If there is some tool that tells you that you are are overweight, use another tool for a second opinion. If they both say you are overweight, lose the weight. That's why we are here.

In my experience, writing off the standard figures because I am black has left me with an even more serious weight problem. I had great blood work and everything else, and then one day, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss goals :-)

Yup this. It sucks that everyone keeps throwing around the "Ignore ___ measurement because its garbage!" yet they don't want to admit that many people just need to get healthy. I know there is an exception to every rule but its dangerous to throw around misinformation. Especially when it come to early intervention methods for better health. Of course BMI scales don't apply to a select few, but the majority of people hugely tipping the BMI scales are indeed overweight or obese.

Who said what now? Must be reading a different thread I guess... Please point me to any comment where anyone said anything remotely like that...

Just about everyone in this thread said to ignore BMI its useless...