BMI do you know yours? Are you shocked?

[Sparklelu]

So we had a health fair at work and we were rewarded 25.00 for each
ideal we reached. Non smoker, blood glucose, BP , cholesterol levels and
for me the dreaded BMI. I got 4/5. My BMI is a staggering 33.
This was a shock to me. I knew I needed to lose weight. According to
the chart if i was literally a foot taller my BMI would be fine, since I cannot grow 12
inches I guessing need to lose weight! BMI chart thing says I need to lose
65lbs to be at a BMI that is not considered obese! I have been that weight and I was way to
Thin.
Also at the fair were representatives from gyms, fitness centers as well as Nutri system and MediWeightloss, weight Watchers.
Any one out in PS land care to comment on the mail order food plans?
Good, bad, waste of money?

 

[justginger]

I am shocked by my BMI in the opposite way. It puts me in the underweight category. I most certainly am not, and in fact could stand to lose some fat (not weight, actual fat). It doesn't take into consideration build - I have a very slight build (DH says I have 'bird wrists') and therefore am carrying more weight in the form of fat than it calculates.

We've discussed this a few times now - BMI is a waste of time and provides no realistic health information, as it doesn't take many variables into consideration.

 

[Sparklelu]

JustGinger,
My thoughts exactly. We had a few very fit folks get fairly high BMI and one gal who is a runner and looks amazing but is just a bit over 5 feet was told hers was too high also.
The opposite of your bird wrists, mine are very wide. A Dr once commented upon seeing my weight in the scale,
That I could honestly consider myself big boned! My wrists wear a size 8" bracelet comfortably, and they are not fatty at all.
I know I need to lose weight, but not 65 lbs!

 

[packrat]

Don't worry about your BMI. You need to worry about the amount of fat v muscle on your frame, that's it. Replace fat w/muscle. Muscle weighs more but is more dense so takes up less space. If a person lost 5# fat and replaced it w/5# muscle, that person would weigh the same, but actually be smaller, and the BMI would stay the same. Regardless, I'd rather be X weight and be more muscle than be X weight and it be mostly fat.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Doesn't BMI consider "frame size" (measurement taken on wrist)?

My BMI would be "considered very low" and I am very healthy/athletic. I have no intention of gaining any weight.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Sparklelu]

All it asks is height and weight some calculators ask for sex and DOB, but the result is always the same.

 

[ForteKitty]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

 

[NOYFB]

I am shocked by my BMI in the opposite way. It puts me in the underweight category. I most certainly am not, and in fact could stand to lose some fat (not weight, actual fat). It doesn't take into consideration build - I have a very slight build (DH says I have 'bird wrists') and therefore am carrying more weight in the form of fat than it calculates.

We've discussed this a few times now - BMI is a waste of time and provides no realistic health information, as it doesn't take many variables into consideration.

^ This. My BMI is 18, which is considered underweight. I rely more on body fat %, of which I am trying to lower by a few points.

 

[rosetta]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

Wow! I'm the same height but 30 lb heavier than you and my body fat is close to 20%. That's a big difference indeed. I don't do any weights, I dance for exercise.

I should also add that I have big bones. Same wrist size even when I weighed 96 lbs (I wasn't very healthy at that weight)

 

[ForteKitty]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

Wow! I'm the same height but 30 lb heavier than you and my body fat is close to 20%. That's a big difference indeed. I don't do any weights, I dance for exercise.

I should also add that I have big bones. Same wrist size even when I weighed 96 lbs (I wasn't very healthy at that weight)

My ring finger is size 3 and I wear 5.5" bracelets. Think my actual wrist size is 5.25".

 

[justginger]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

Wow! I'm the same height but 30 lb heavier than you and my body fat is close to 20%. That's a big difference indeed. I don't do any weights, I dance for exercise.

I should also add that I have big bones. Same wrist size even when I weighed 96 lbs (I wasn't very healthy at that weight)

My ring finger is size 3 and I wear 5.5" bracelets. Think my actual wrist size is 5.25".

Our builds are nearly identical, FK, only I am an inch taller and ring size is up to .25 larger. At any given time I weigh between 100-110, my weight varies widely with no effort on my part. I've never had my fat % calculated - not sure if I want to!

 

[Mayk]

Our scale does Body Fat %, I also think it's more reliable.

I'm 5'11" and most people consider me thin... I have a very small bone structure so at 145 (pre Mono) and 19% body fat that's pretty good/fit for me.. right now after two weeks of feeling like yuck I'm down to 139 but my body fat is up to 20-21% depending on the day. It really tells you how quickly the fat will convert to flab.

 

[athenaworth]

I'm 5'11" and weigh 164. I work out 5-8 hours a week and my body fat is still 27.7%. Kinda makes a girl wanna quit it all and just sit on the couch all day eating bonbons

P.s. Mayk - tall girl high five!

 

[iLander]

IMHO, BMI is totally inaccurate. It doesn't take into account bone structure or build.

My DH was the "ideal weight" of a man his height when we met. In real life, he looked like a starvation victim. His bones are huge and very heavy, and he looked downright scrawny. His knees are huge and his head is in the 98th percentile. He can't find hats, and it's a family trait because his ancestors came to this country to . . . make hats. His rings are ginourmous and fall off my thumbs (my fingers are size 7)

Now, 30 lbs (and 30 years) later, he looks like a normal person.


I am so tired of all this weight nonsense. It's just the insurance companies again. The actuaries figured out that they can pay out less $$ on diabetes if the population was thinner. Then the "weight loss" industry kicked in, and if they let you think you were a normal weight for your build, they would lose billion$. I'd say over half the people that think they are "fat" are just not taking into account their frame.

Didn't read any other posts, sorry if this has been covered.

 

[Mayk]

I'm 5'11" and weigh 164. I work out 5-8 hours a week and my body fat is still 27.7%. Kinda makes a girl wanna quit it all and just sit on the couch all day eating bonbons

P.s. Mayk - tall girl high five!

totally... I have to hunt like crazy to find slacks long enough. I'm sure it's the same for you!

 

[anne_h]

Yes, I know mine. No, I was not shocked but was pleasantly surprised. Mine came in at 20.8, which is in the lower half of normal. I'm 5'5 and 125 pounds.

But like some others have mentioned, BMI does not show much of one's picture of health. Key variables are missing.

I did find one BMI calculator with an interesting add-on, which is a calculation to show what percentile one's BMI is at, based on age range and sex. I was calculated to be in the 13th percentile. That calculator is here: http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm

I dug further and the percentile calculation is apparently based on "NHANES III. Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 1988-1994 data from USA", which sounds reputable but I did not verify.

I am guessing I have a fairly high percentage of body fat. I am fairly active, but do like my junk food off and on. I work to maintain my weight and size, but I'm not ready to exercise more or change my diet. lol

Anne

 

[kenny]

I'm in shape.
Round's a shape.

 

[minousbijoux]

Mine was really high when I was in shape and almost all muscle...now that I'm out of shape, it would be interesting to see if it changed by the huge margin it should. I don't have a lot of faith in it as a metric for all the reasons listed already.

 

[nkarma]

Here's a good article on why the BMI is bogus http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

Makes sense since they don't account for gender. Women have wider hips and weight in the chest area. And professional athletes usually will score an obese in their BMI.

From what I read, doctors care more about where you carry the weight (belly area near vital organs isn't good), genetics, blood pressure, etc...

 

[Hospatogi]

I am less than thrilled with my weight right now. I don't have any real excuses but truthfully I am a less than stellar cook and take out just tastes better! However my husband and I are trying to get healthy so I am committed to at least making one cooked healthy meal, dinner! I am doing the Herbalife shakes for breakfast and lunch with a healthy snack like fruit n cheese or Greek yogurt n between. So far it's working for me but not sure how long I can stay on it but my friend getting married in may has been doing it since oct and lost 25 lbs so far! She is 5'4 and wants to get down to 130 and is def well on her way to making that a reality.

 

[rosetta]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

Wow! I'm the same height but 30 lb heavier than you and my body fat is close to 20%. That's a big difference indeed. I don't do any weights, I dance for exercise.

I should also add that I have big bones. Same wrist size even when I weighed 96 lbs (I wasn't very healthy at that weight)

My ring finger is size 3 and I wear 5.5" bracelets. Think my actual wrist size is 5.25".

Well, my finger size is 4.75 and wrist size has always been 7" so yup, my bones really are bigger! I have the same wrist size as my husband!! I'm trying to lose 10 pounds though, but it's really slow as I know im replacing fat with muscle. I'm one of those girls who get really big arms if I lift weights.

 

[rosetta]

Here's a good article on why the BMI is bogus http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

Makes sense since they don't account for gender. Women have wider hips and weight in the chest area. And professional athletes usually will score an obese in their BMI.

From what I read, doctors care more about where you carry the weight (belly area near vital organs isn't good), genetics, blood pressure, etc...

Yes, central obesity is linked with heart disease. Far better to be pear than apple shaped. My husband was apple shaped, he has now lost 25 pounds and almost all of it off his mid section. I tell my patients to get their waist size down.

 

[lknvrb4]

Mine is 20.4 and I am 5'7 and 130lbs. I am a runner though and ride bikes and lift on the days I don't run. I figure I am excatly where I need to be.

 

[pregcurious]

I was surprised at my low BMI, but I know that my percent body fat is not in the low range (it is healthy-average.)

 

[purplesparklies]

BMI isn't accurate. Find out what your body fat percentage is. I'm 5'1 and weigh 107, but my body fat is 30%. That's right, I'm nearly a third fat and it's really unhealthy, but I have a very hard time building muscles so I'm basically bones and fat. My doctors couldn't believe it but I was measured multiple times/days and on several different machines. It's terrible, health-wise, and I'm trying hard to change that.

eta: my bones are tiny and my blood panel is good, so the only issue is the muscles. If I do a lot of weights the % drops down to 28%, but if I don't work out for 3 weeks it's back up. I eat healthy, my body just doesn't retain muscle.

Holy smokes! You are a tiny one! I have recently lost quite a bit of weight (100+ lbs.) and I think I have 30 or so lbs. to go. I am focusing on a body fat % goal, not a scale weight so I keep a close eye on my lean body mass vs. percent of body fat. I'm 5'1" and my lean body mass is 99lbs. It's amazing how similar, yet different our bodies can be.

 

[JaneSmith]

Wow purplesparklies! Way to go!

I think BMI is one measurement to be used as part of an overall picture of weight and health. It is not helpful in children or muscular people, but is helpful for a great majority of the general public; along with body fat percentage, weight, waist circumference, health history, BP, activity levels, etc.

I'm in shape.
Round's a shape.

I love that one. I think I first saw it in a Garfield comic.

 

[Dee*Jay]

According to the link that anne_h provided my BMI is 24.8. I used the ideal weight calculator and it gave me a number that I have only achieved once since I graduated from high school... and at that weight I got these comments from three separate people:

- You're so thin you're gaunt.

- Are you <insert awkward concerned pause here> *well*?

- Your head is too big for your body. (This was from my best friend, who followed up with, "Remember that cartoon Skelator? Well babe, you lose one more ounce and you're there.") <Insert milkshake here.>

So my take on this is Kenny's infamous "people vary." I'm sure there IS a number that applies to everyone, but I just don't think it's the SAME number.

 

[LibbyLA]

I'm 5'11" and weigh a little under 200. Definitely need to lose some weight, and have shed 20 lb., but need to do more. Have been sick a good bit of the last month, though, so wasn't able to exercise.

I have a HUGE frame. Even when I was much younger and much slimmer, I'd wear a men's large shirt just to fit my shoulders. I wear a size 10 or 11 shoe, bracelets have to be at least 8", and ring size is 8, give or take.

I went to a large high school and, at 5'11" and 150 lb. give or take, I was larger than most of the offensive players on the football team. My poor younger brother didn't grow until he hit college. The high school football coach took one look at me and said, "You're xxx's sister??? Have you been pushing him out of the feed trough?"

liz

 

[jaysonsmom]

My BMI is in the middle of the normal range, when I look in the mirror I see a normal physique, according to wrist measurements i have a medium frame, and I think my fat to muscle ratio is also normal (no muscle definition, no flabbiness either). I think I'm one of the few people where the BMI kinda makes sense, so not shocked either way.

 

[kenny]

Good timing.
BBC has an article on the pitfalls of BMI.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21229387