Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do you work for an insurance company? They seem to be the biggest proponents of it since it lets them charge more people higher rates.
When I was in the best shape I've ever been in, able to run a 5 minute mile, 4 pack abs (never managed the full 6 pack), working out 6 hours a day - none of it weight lifting - I had a BMI of 25.7, well into the "overweight" range. That convinced me that BMI is BS.
The BMI is actually statistically more appropriately applied to population groups than to individuals. It is used for individuals as a proxy substitute for body fat measurements because the BMI is so easy to calculate, and for the average person, the correlation is pretty good. Most people with a BMI of 40 are truly going to be morbidly obese. Individuals who have more muscle than average are going to be less fat than the BMI would predict. BMI correlates with fatness and says nothing about fitness.
Anyone in your situation who has a problem with higher insurance rates based on BMI should get a true total body fat percentage measured and appeal the rate. There is a fairly tedious way to do this based on certain skin fold measurements, but there are also machines similar to weight scales that can do it. A letter from your doctor explaining that you are not fat and are exceptionally fit should help.
The BMI is actually statistically more appropriately applied to population groups than to individuals. It is used for individuals as a proxy substitute for body fat measurements because the BMI is so easy to calculate, and for the average person, the correlation is pretty good. Most people with a BMI of 40 are truly going to be morbidly obese. Individuals who have more muscle than average are going to be less fat than the BMI would predict. BMI correlates with fatness and says nothing about fitness.
Anyone in your situation who has a problem with higher insurance rates based on BMI should get a true total body fat percentage measured and appeal the rate. There is a fairly tedious way to do this based on certain skin fold measurements, but there are also machines similar to weight scales that can do it. A letter from your doctor explaining that you are not fat and are exceptionally fit should help.
This. I know only one or two extremely fit people whose BMI puts them into the "overweight" category. And individual assessments of body fat content are always better though BMI is a pretty decent fast way to determine that someone is carrying too much weight. When my BMI was 41.4, I was morbidly obese, no argument. Now my BMI is about 19 and I am extremely healthy. I don't know what my exact body fat content is but no doctor has ever expressed concern about it to me.
This. I know only one or two extremely fit people whose BMI puts them into the "overweight" category. And individual assessments of body fat content are always better though BMI is a pretty decent fast way to determine that someone is carrying too much weight. When my BMI was 41.4, I was morbidly obese, no argument. Now my BMI is about 19 and I am extremely healthy. I don't know what my exact body fat content is but no doctor has ever expressed concern about it to me.
Exactly. Just for fun I did BMIs on a few of the guys on the Atlanta Falcons roster. A half dozen of the heaviest came in around 39 to 40.
I do know of a (now retired) college football coach who instructed his players to lose weight when they stopped playing. He knew that once they cut back on the activity, if they stayed the same weight they would be fatter.
Exactly. Just for fun I did BMIs on a few of the guys on the Atlanta Falcons roster. A half dozen of the heaviest came in around 39 to 40.
I do know of a (now retired) college football coach who instructed his players to lose weight when they stopped playing. He knew that once they cut back on the activity, if they stayed the same weight they would be fatter.
Former athletes becoming overweight/obese is actually a fairly big issue in some parts of the US, particularly football players, because they become accustomed to heavy training and consuming a LOT of calories...when they stop playing they don't train nearly as much (if at all) but they tend to eat just as much as they did when training. They don't receive proper instruction in nutrition and they do need it.
My weight loss goal is to get to my weight in high school, 165. I'm 6'1" and I really thought that the 165 would be a thin weight for me. But I calculated my BMI and 18.5 is "normal," which would require me to weigh about 137. That seems really thin to me. What's up with this BMI thing?
TIA
Are you using the weight divided by height, squared equation? May be much easier in metric quantities? Also, one small issue with BMI is the fact that muscles weigh quite a bit more than fat, by volume, obviously! So, if you are very fit or athletic it does through this out of the window a bit.
Forget BMI and start using the hip-to-waist ratio that is a much better indicator for good health. There is plenty of info on the web about this.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
