BMI, where are you on the scale?
Poll: BMI, where are you on the scale?
Total Members Polled: 217
Discussion
el stovey said:
Doesn't your doc do a body fat % as well as your weight?
Presumably, your extra weight is "around the middle" and then spread over your body.
It's still possible to be fit and a bit fat. I saw a fat guy running the other day who was clearly overweight, he was going at quite a fast pace, I assumed he was doing intervals but kept going for miles.
Running for 10 hours through the jungle is pretty amazing though.
My legs are where most of my "extra' weight is. As in my legs carry quite a bit more muscle than the average err... leg.Presumably, your extra weight is "around the middle" and then spread over your body.
It's still possible to be fit and a bit fat. I saw a fat guy running the other day who was clearly overweight, he was going at quite a fast pace, I assumed he was doing intervals but kept going for miles.
Running for 10 hours through the jungle is pretty amazing though.
Edit to get back on topic. No, healthcare over here hasn't got as far as appraising body fat percentage, and for fit strong people, BMI is a pile of steaming poo.
Nice little 60km run through the jungle coming up on the 7th February. I was hoping to get back to the UK to do the Jurassic Coast Challenge that I've signed up for. Three marathons along the Dorset Coastal Path over three days. But I as it stands work commitments will likely curtail that activity.
I have never run long distance off road in the UK, I'm assuming the vastly cooler conditions will help me.
Quick to measure and easy to calculate the BMI is a useful tool. It's an indicator for the general population. Two words are important here, indicator and general.
As an aside, I have always found it pretty accurate, When my stomach is firm and there is a slight suggestion of abs coming through then I am about 26 BMI so a smidgen outside of the 'normal' range. But then I would be considered 'very muscular' by most people.
People always drag out the BMI 'obese' athletes as examples but a little digging finds that Jonny Wilkinson was about the same BMI as me and Chris Hoy was about 27. Both of these athletes could arguably be considered athletes that were engineered for high power output as well.
As an aside, I have always found it pretty accurate, When my stomach is firm and there is a slight suggestion of abs coming through then I am about 26 BMI so a smidgen outside of the 'normal' range. But then I would be considered 'very muscular' by most people.
People always drag out the BMI 'obese' athletes as examples but a little digging finds that Jonny Wilkinson was about the same BMI as me and Chris Hoy was about 27. Both of these athletes could arguably be considered athletes that were engineered for high power output as well.
6ft 4, 117kg (last time I weighed myself). BMI of 31, classed as obese.
I need to be between 69.9kg (11 stone) and 14 stone 8lbs. Just over four stone to shift.
Couple of years ago I went from 21 stone 5lbs to 15 stone, I just looked too thin.
If I could shift two stone I would be happy. Working on it slowly.
I need to be between 69.9kg (11 stone) and 14 stone 8lbs. Just over four stone to shift.
Couple of years ago I went from 21 stone 5lbs to 15 stone, I just looked too thin.
If I could shift two stone I would be happy. Working on it slowly.
el stovey said:
Do you obese (muscular or very tall) people who think BMI is b
ks because you "look fine", actually check your % body fat?
There seems to be a lot of very heavy but powerfully built pistonheaders
I was one of those. Thought I looked fine (BMI was 27ish I think from memory, it's 23.8 now), but looking back I was quite fat. 15.5 stone, 6' 1/2" (that half inch is important ks because you "look fine", actually check your % body fat?There seems to be a lot of very heavy but powerfully built pistonheaders
). I'm embarrassed to look at the photos from my wedding in 2013, as I look really chubby compared to now.I lost nearly 3 stone, but have put a little back on, meaning I'm hovering around the 12 stone 10-12 mark. That's without a huge amount of exercise, although I try to do a few weights 2-3 times per week, and will walk to work (8 mile round trip) as fast and as frequently as possible, although at the moment it's only once a week really.
I'm not super slim, still have a 42 inch chest, although have lost a little muscle along with the fat. What's noticeable though is how much better defined my muscle tone is, although I'm still carrying a little excess fat around my waist.
For us average people, BMI is fine. If you're at the extremes of body shape, then possibly it isn't, but I think there's a correlation between people being fat and believing BMI doesn't apply to them. As said, I was one of them, thought I was too 'powerfully built' for it to be relevant.
BMI is bks (sort of) BUT I find a lot of the people who says its bks are in denial about their size and are the muscle weighs more than fat brigade, but also have a gut.
Im in the mid range of my ideal but need to lose weight atm due to Christmas/winter but its not weight that I need to lose its my body shape I need to change.
Weight as a measure of the human body is terrible, shape, size and how you feel are a better metric.
ks (sort of) BUT I find a lot of the people who says its bks are in denial about their size and are the muscle weighs more than fat brigade, but also have a gut.Im in the mid range of my ideal but need to lose weight atm due to Christmas/winter but its not weight that I need to lose its my body shape I need to change.
Weight as a measure of the human body is terrible, shape, size and how you feel are a better metric.
5 ft 10 and 13stone 13
It claims I'm a fat st 
However, this is the lightest I have been since I was 16. I played pro rugby and was 16 stone at my fittest with low percentage bodyfat (winger and centre) and then I was injured and became an 18 stone blob
At my last GP checkup the doctor suggested my ideal weight would be about 10 stone to 11 stone, but I highly doubt that I have that much to lose as I am down to the last bits of fat to drop off
It claims I'm a fat s
t However, this is the lightest I have been since I was 16. I played pro rugby and was 16 stone at my fittest with low percentage bodyfat (winger and centre) and then I was injured and became an 18 stone blob
At my last GP checkup the doctor suggested my ideal weight would be about 10 stone to 11 stone, but I highly doubt that I have that much to lose as I am down to the last bits of fat to drop off
I'm 29 6'3" and at Christmas I was 16st6Ibs that meant I was overweight and a BMI of 28.9.
I'm now after 4 weeks of no drinking, smoking and tracking and lowering my food intake with myfitnesspal 15st13Ibs and a BMI of 28.0.
Apparently I need to be 14st3Ibs to be considered healthy with a BMI of 25.0 so I need to shift nearly 2 stone which I'd like to try and achieve by my 30th in 3months but I think it will be a long struggle.
I'm now after 4 weeks of no drinking, smoking and tracking and lowering my food intake with myfitnesspal 15st13Ibs and a BMI of 28.0.
Apparently I need to be 14st3Ibs to be considered healthy with a BMI of 25.0 so I need to shift nearly 2 stone which I'd like to try and achieve by my 30th in 3months but I think it will be a long struggle.
Super Slo Mo said:
For us average people, BMI is fine. If you're at the extremes of body shape, then possibly it isn't, but I think there's a correlation between people being fat and believing BMI doesn't apply to them. As said, I was one of them, thought I was too 'powerfully built' for it to be relevant.
Exactly, anyone who thinks BMI doesn't apply to them should measure their body fat. That works for everyone. FWIW mine is around 16%, which I'm fairly happy with, since I'm really not dedicated enough to get it much lower.Do you really skinny malnourished blokes with pigeon chests think BMI is fine because it fits your skeletal frame sizes?
Re athletes bmis - I mentuoned Chris Hoy earlier without bothering to check his stats having just tried to think of someone muscly off the top of my head. Turns out he didn't work too well and needs to eat more pies.
Let's try someone else then as another example: Paul O'Connell, British and Irish Lions rugby captain. 6 foot 6, 18st 12', body fat 9.2 %.
BMI? 30.5 and "obese". The big, fat....
Re athletes bmis - I mentuoned Chris Hoy earlier without bothering to check his stats having just tried to think of someone muscly off the top of my head. Turns out he didn't work too well and needs to eat more pies.
Let's try someone else then as another example: Paul O'Connell, British and Irish Lions rugby captain. 6 foot 6, 18st 12', body fat 9.2 %.
BMI? 30.5 and "obese". The big, fat....
FBP1 said:
Do you really skinny malnourished blokes with pigeon chests think BMI is fine because it fits your skeletal frame sizes?
Re athletes bmis - I mentuoned Chris Hoy earlier without bothering to check his stats having just tried to think of someone muscly off the top of my head. Turns out he didn't work too well and needs to eat more pies.
Let's try someone else then as another example: Paul O'Connell, British and Irish Lions rugby captain. 6 foot 6, 18st 12', body fat 9.2 %.
BMI? 30.5 and "obese". The big, fat....
It's already been said, it doesn't work for athletes. Do you play rugby at a national level? If not then your point isn't really applicable.Re athletes bmis - I mentuoned Chris Hoy earlier without bothering to check his stats having just tried to think of someone muscly off the top of my head. Turns out he didn't work too well and needs to eat more pies.
Let's try someone else then as another example: Paul O'Connell, British and Irish Lions rugby captain. 6 foot 6, 18st 12', body fat 9.2 %.
BMI? 30.5 and "obese". The big, fat....
Body fat is a more accurate measure, his 9.5% says he is fine, and yet all the posters above who badmouth BMI are curiously silent on their body fat measurements...
Excluding power athletes, I don't know of any athletes that are 'obese' on the BMI scale.
Also, I was always of the opinion that BMI was a great indicator for the Army, I don't care if the extra weight was fat or muscle, when you have to run 10 mile or more importantly, if your mates have to run 10 mile carrying you then the extra weight does not help.
Also, I was always of the opinion that BMI was a great indicator for the Army, I don't care if the extra weight was fat or muscle, when you have to run 10 mile or more importantly, if your mates have to run 10 mile carrying you then the extra weight does not help.
BMI is not bks. Like any measure like this, it's applicability is roughly a Gaussian distribution, so it doesn't work at extreme ends of the scale (athletes, the very tall, the very short etc), but for most of us, it's an extremely good indicator. Perhaps take a bit off if you work out a lot or do a lot of sport, or add a bit if you're especially sendentary, but it's pretty damm good. Bear in mind even muscle man Usain Bolt's BMI is just under 24.5, so don't think that doing a bit of sport in your time off work is going to add that much. Body fat is of course a better measure, but the whole reason BMI exists is that measuring body fat accurately is notoriously difficult and you really need proper and expensive equipment to do it right.
ks. Like any measure like this, it's applicability is roughly a Gaussian distribution, so it doesn't work at extreme ends of the scale (athletes, the very tall, the very short etc), but for most of us, it's an extremely good indicator. Perhaps take a bit off if you work out a lot or do a lot of sport, or add a bit if you're especially sendentary, but it's pretty damm good. Bear in mind even muscle man Usain Bolt's BMI is just under 24.5, so don't think that doing a bit of sport in your time off work is going to add that much. Body fat is of course a better measure, but the whole reason BMI exists is that measuring body fat accurately is notoriously difficult and you really need proper and expensive equipment to do it right.Seeing this reminded me of my thread about my weight that I posted back in September last year... currently sitting at a BMI of 17.4 up from a low of 14.9 
North3rn Monk3y said:
BMI is a poor measure of obesity.
Waist to hip ratio is a better indicator. I'm obese according to the BMI, ideal according to WHR (Mountain biker, ex rugby player. 6ft 2 and pretty solid).
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/Appleo...
Working out the risk to your health is simple. Using a tape measure, take the following steps:
1) Measure your hips
2) Measure your waist
3) Divide the waist number by the hip number
A ratio of 1.0 or more in men or 0.85 or more in women indicates that you are carrying too much weight around your middle. This puts you at increased risk of diseases that are linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
On your test I scored 0.76, my BMI is 23.9 and I am 6ft 3inches and 87kg. This seems healthy on both tests however I think the main thing with people is diet & exercise. I hardly did any but now I attend the gym four times a week. I also eat a lot healthier. My weight has only reduced by roughly 5 kg however my body will be in a lot healthier state due to my diet and exercise change. Waist to hip ratio is a better indicator. I'm obese according to the BMI, ideal according to WHR (Mountain biker, ex rugby player. 6ft 2 and pretty solid).
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/Appleo...
Working out the risk to your health is simple. Using a tape measure, take the following steps:
1) Measure your hips
2) Measure your waist
3) Divide the waist number by the hip number
A ratio of 1.0 or more in men or 0.85 or more in women indicates that you are carrying too much weight around your middle. This puts you at increased risk of diseases that are linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The NHS need to put a lot more in to educating people about how vital keeping fit is. If there where pictures of obese people on the backs of Chocolate bars and pictures of clogged arteries people would think twice like there are pictures of lung cancer on the back of cigarettes.
North3rn Monk3y said:
BMI is a poor measure of obesity.
Waist to hip ratio is a better indicator. I'm obese according to the BMI, ideal according to WHR (Mountain biker, ex rugby player. 6ft 2 and pretty solid).
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/Appleo...
Working out the risk to your health is simple. Using a tape measure, take the following steps:
1) Measure your hips
2) Measure your waist
3) Divide the waist number by the hip number
A ratio of 1.0 or more in men or 0.85 or more in women indicates that you are carrying too much weight around your middle. This puts you at increased risk of diseases that are linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
On your test I scored 0.76, my BMI is 23.9 and I am 6ft 3inches and 87kg. This seems healthy on both tests however I think the main thing with people is diet & exercise. I hardly did any but now I attend the gym four times a week. I also eat a lot healthier. My weight has only reduced by roughly 5 kg however my body will be in a lot healthier state due to my diet and exercise change. Waist to hip ratio is a better indicator. I'm obese according to the BMI, ideal according to WHR (Mountain biker, ex rugby player. 6ft 2 and pretty solid).
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/Appleo...
Working out the risk to your health is simple. Using a tape measure, take the following steps:
1) Measure your hips
2) Measure your waist
3) Divide the waist number by the hip number
A ratio of 1.0 or more in men or 0.85 or more in women indicates that you are carrying too much weight around your middle. This puts you at increased risk of diseases that are linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The NHS need to put a lot more in to educating people about how vital keeping fit is. If there where pictures of obese people on the backs of Chocolate bars and pictures of clogged arteries people would think twice like there are pictures of lung cancer on the back of cigarettes.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff