Discussion
ewenm said:
fatboy b said:
BMI is a crap way to establish how fat you are. Modern hospital practices now use waist size compared to height & build.
No one has mentioned BMI 
Why don't you google Body Mass Index, and see what it measures.
Edited by fatboy b on Tuesday 28th October 14:19
fatboy b said:
ewenm said:
fatboy b said:
BMI is a crap way to establish how fat you are. Modern hospital practices now use waist size compared to height & build.
No one has mentioned BMI Why don't you google Body Mass Index, and see what it measures.
Edited by fatboy b on Tuesday 28th October 14:19
Calipers are the best way to measure body fat percentage. The electronic scales that measure resistivity (IIRC) of the body are over-dependent on hydration and can produce erroneous readings.
BMI isn't necessarily crap. Yes, it slots body builders and the clinically obese in the same category, but come on, you have to be pretty thick to think that despite eating 5 kebabs a day and the only exercise you do involves walking to the fridge from the sofa your excuse for having a high BMI is that you're a world class body builder. In other words, for 95% of the human race, BMI is a good indicator (the other 5% being world class body builders).
Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 28th October 14:33
However, if you're working hard in the gym so burning fat AND building muscle your BMI won't change much, so it just gives an indication of height vs weight. If weight loss is the target then you need to work at a lower intensity to burn the fat but NOT break down the muscle fibres as much.
shadowninja said:
BMI isn't necessarily crap. Yes, it slots body builders and the clinically obese in the same category, but come on, you have to be pretty thick to think that despite eating 5 kebabs a day and the only exercise you do involves walking to the fridge from the sofa your excuse for having a high BMI is that you're a world class body builder. In other words, for 95% of the human race, BMI is a good indicator (the other 5% being world class body builders).
Agreed.Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 28th October 14:33
BMI is easier to measure for health professionals, -even waist measurement takes some skill to get right.
Its flawed in a range of ways, but is a fair indicator most of the time. Its not the be all and end all of clinical risk assessment but most health professionals worth their salt don't take it to be.
shadowninja said:
In other words, for 95% of the human race, BMI is a good indicator (the other 5% being world class body builders).
What poo! I had my BMI measured earlier this year as part of a medical (registering at a new surgery) and it was approx. 25%. The nurse said 'You're bordering on being obese! When I pointed out that 5'9" and 12st 4 clearly wasn't obese in my case the nurse said the same thing.Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 28th October 14:33
I'm not a bodybuilder of any class, but I am active and BMI makes no allowance for individuals with even slightly increased muscle mass.
Back on topic, I'd say anything from 12-20% would be reasonable, but as has been stated before it's only one factor. Do you feel healthy? Do you look fat? Do you get tired/out of breath easily? Do you eat well? Are you happy? These are more useful indicators of your wellbeing than bodyfat.
Cheers,
Animal
Edited by Animal on Tuesday 28th October 14:46
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