BMI

[sitzlejd 0]

Is it just me, or is this scale ridiculous. According to a BMI calculator I found, I'm almost in the overweight category at 5' 10" and 170lbs (24.4). In order to fall in the middle area (21.5) I'd have to slim down to 150! I'm a fairly skinny dude as it is so I'm calling BS on the BMI.

Any thoughts?

[Darshu 0]

Is it just me, or is this scale ridiculous. According to a BMI calculator I found, I'm almost in the overweight category at 5' 10" and 170lbs (24.4). In order to fall in the middle area (21.5) I'd have to slim down to 150! I'm a fairly skinny dude as it is so I'm calling BS on the BMI.

Any thoughts?

http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/bmiathletes.php

It's different for athletes. If you're trying to gauge your relative fitness level, body fat percentage is a better measure. There are plenty of places online that explain how to measure it.

[lee92 2]

Is it just me, or is this scale ridiculous. According to a BMI calculator I found, I'm almost in the overweight category at 5' 10" and 170lbs (24.4). In order to fall in the middle area (21.5) I'd have to slim down to 150! I'm a fairly skinny dude as it is so I'm calling BS on the BMI.

Any thoughts?

BMI is a joke, and I wouldn't take it into account. It was developed way back by insurance companies to easily assess one's body composition. It doesn't take into account varying tissue densities, such as fat vs muscle. It's just a ratio of your height to weight, and makes no distinction between fat and fat-free masses.

[Leafsrule16 5]

We did it in our class, its stupid. im at 27.4 which is obese or overweight. We were supposed to do a body fat test too but never got around to it. Gym class was hardcore, however according to the bmi there were like 4 people that were at what they were supposed to be. One of my friends who was 6 foot and 180 got overweight. Dont even waste your time on that, if you have any muscle at all your going to be over. Its kinda funny because im 5'8 and about 180, muscular build and pretty big guy like stocky, theres no way i could weigh 135-140 without getting aids or something.

[sitzlejd 0]

Yeah, that's the way I felt. I'd look sickly if I was 5' 10" 150lbs.

[reyno2ac 0]

Yeah, that's the way I felt. I'd look sickly if I was 5' 10" 150lbs.

HEY! I'm only 5'8 and 145lbs and I don't look sickly! :P

EDIT: apparently I'm only 5'8 not 5'9...damn

[Leafsrule16 5]

Its crazy. My girlfriend got worked up because shes 110 and was overweight. People need to stop taking that crap seriosuly, teaching it in schools would be a bit far except for the fact our teacher said about 95% of us are going to get overweight, it was some crap the insurance company used to make sure they made the most money and somehow it slipped into our school systems. Body fat precentage is much better, I plan on having it done at some point. Is it just one area or is it an average of all them or what? I have a bit of belly fat but besides that i have hardly any fat on me at all.

[PH_Hockey2 4]

Well I'm going to school to become a Dietitian and I can tell you first hand that the BMI rating system can be very misleading and it should not be the only factor in determining if somebody is underweight, ideal weight, overweight, or obese. A full body composition test should be administered by a health fitness professional to determine the amount of body fat you really have.

[fatwabbit 93]

i've had my triathelete buddy labelled as obese...

the BMI is just a gauge, you dont have to take it as gospel. In Singapore, anything over 20 and you are obese.... which is BS, it doesnt take into account those that are above average in height, build etc.

I'm 6ft tall, pretty tall for a Singaporean... the average height is about 5" 7

[lee92 2]

Its crazy. My girlfriend got worked up because shes 110 and was overweight. People need to stop taking that crap seriosuly, teaching it in schools would be a bit far except for the fact our teacher said about 95% of us are going to get overweight, it was some crap the insurance company used to make sure they made the most money and somehow it slipped into our school systems. Body fat precentage is much better, I plan on having it done at some point. Is it just one area or is it an average of all them or what? I have a bit of belly fat but besides that i have hardly any fat on me at all.

It should be taught in schools still. It's a non-invasive method to assess body composition. If you had to test a large amount of people's body composition, it'd take helluva lot of time to do skinfold measurements or underwater weighing than to simply do BMI. Plus, not everybody likes stripping down and getting pinched or being submerged in water. You can easily call a number of people and get height and weight measurements, and get a sense of a populations' body composition with little effort and money. It still has its faults, but BMI isn't a complete waste. Not everyone is athletic. A third of the States are overweight, so BMI does accommodate a large portion of the population.

[stickfixchaska 0]

Leafsrule16 "A third of the States are overweight, so BMI does accommodate a large portion of the population."

Here's the question...Was that "Stat" figured out using the BMI? If so, it is already skewed towards being overweight.

BTW, did you know, 78% of all statistics seen on-line are made up?

[Officer Dangle 0]

Just go to your local YMCA and have someone measure you using skin calipers.

[eric42434224 1]

The BMI is useless as it doesnt take into account many important factors like body type, muscularity, etc.

[Jarick 5]

It doesn't take into account muscle mass.

BMI says I'm overweight (27.7) but body fat chart says I'm at the low end of acceptable (20%). If I dropped 15 pounds of fat and put on 10 pounds of muscle, I'd be at 12% body fat, which would be in the athlete range, but BMI would still be overweight.

[chippa13 1844]

Its crazy. My girlfriend got worked up because shes 110 and was overweight. People need to stop taking that crap seriosuly, teaching it in schools would be a bit far except for the fact our teacher said about 95% of us are going to get overweight, it was some crap the insurance company used to make sure they made the most money and somehow it slipped into our school systems. Body fat precentage is much better, I plan on having it done at some point. Is it just one area or is it an average of all them or what? I have a bit of belly fat but besides that i have hardly any fat on me at all.

It should be taught in schools still. It's a non-invasive method to assess body composition. If you had to test a large amount of people's body composition, it'd take helluva lot of time to do skinfold measurements or underwater weighing than to simply do BMI. Plus, not everybody likes stripping down and getting pinched or being submerged in water. You can easily call a number of people and get height and weight measurements, and get a sense of a populations' body composition with little effort and money. It still has its faults, but BMI isn't a complete waste. Not everyone is athletic. A third of the States are overweight, so BMI does accommodate a large portion of the population.

Right, who cares about accuracy as long as you've got a large sample to work with. Bunk.

[Jarick 5]

I can see how it would be a good guideline for the general public, because the general public is not terribly athletic or muscular. You just have to have the asterisk next to it that says if you're very muscular or athletic, it'll probably not be accurate.

[WSjo22 1]

I laugh whenever I hear someone talk about BMI, when I did my testing for football my freshman year of college I was 5'8" 195 with 10% Body Fat and according to the BMI I'm obese...... To be at a "healthy" weight according to that chart I'd have to starve myself and cut off a leg and I'd still probably be overweight according to it.....

Here's a picture of what a healthy person should look like according to BMI