do you think the BMI index for men is very "ambitious"?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by jyl

Well, high BMI just says you have a lot of mass for your height.

In that case I just need to get taller.

[944Larry]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

in that case i just need to get taller.

+100

[Head416]

When I graduated high school I was 6'1" and 185lbs. According to the BMI chart that was at the highest edge of Healthy, and 5 lbs more would have been Overweight. I was skin and bones. I had hardly any fat, and some decent muscle, not a lot.

I think the BMI is simplistic and doesn't account for if you have a heavy boned frame, and whether your weight is muscle or fat, which is obviously a huge difference.

I'm fat now. At least the BMI got that part right.

[widebody911]

I'm 6'2" 255lbs - I'm completely off the chart.

[flipper35]

At my previous place of employment I got docked on my health insurance reimbursment because of my BMI score. According to the BMI I should weigh in at 1.5 pounds over what my doctor had determined my lean body mass was. I think I would be dead at that point.

A freind of mine was told she was obese because of her BMI. She went to state in both gymnastics (floor and uneven bars) and cross country that year.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Head416

I think the BMI is simplistic and doesn't account for if you have a heavy boned frame,

But, if the BMI says that 6'1" and 190 is "overweight," I'd have to say that's a little out of whack.

[Head416]

Yes, I knew I was setting myself up with the big boned comment. I just know that I USED TO BE really skinny and BMI was on the border of calling me overweight. No, I didn't look like a body builder. I have large wrists, wide shoulders, etc, so big boned was my story and I'm stickin to it. Of course now I'm fat so it's not really an issue anymore. I have to desire to weigh 185 again. Too skinny... for me, at least.

[Slider79SC]

At my last physical my new Dr. walked in with his head down reading my chart and said, "we need to work on your BMI, you are in the overweight category". He then looked up and said, "OH, never mind"....

I am 5'11" 205 with a 31" waist. An hour a day in the gym and not eating horribly instead of watching TV for that 1 hour a day over the last 2 years has changed my life dramatically.

BMI is only 1 measure of good health, if you are active and exercising and can change your diet just a bit, you can change a lot in a short period of time.

[skunked]

6'4" 205 lbs at my last physical, doc told me I needed to lose 10lbs.

[Erakad]

Yes, BMI is crap. Do a quick search of the literature and you'll find that BMI is no longer considered a useful tool for measuring obesity.

"The medical establishment has acknowledged major shortcomings of BMI.[19] Because the BMI formula depends only upon weight and height, its assumptions about the distribution between lean mass and adipose tissue are inexact. BMI generally overestimates adiposity on those with more lean body mass (e.g., athletes) and under-estimates excess adiposity on those with less lean body mass.

BMI is particularly inaccurate for people who are fit or athletic, as the higher muscle mass tends to put them in the "overweight" category by BMI, even though their body fat percentages frequently fall in the 10-15% category, which is below that of a more sedentary person of average build who has a "healthy" BMI number."

What is better? Hip circumference-height:

"It turned out that hip circumference and height were more correlated with percentage body fat than anything else, including waist circumference and weight. So we designed an equation that could take both of these into account. We call this the Body Adiposity Index."

Check out the literature....revealing

[Tobra]

BMI is a nonsense metric. If you are remotely fit and muscular, it lists you as obese.

[jyl]

$40 will get you a set of body fat calipers that will remove all uncertainty.

[targa911S]

I'm on the spot with the index. 6' 2" and 183 lbs. I think i look over weight though. I weighed 170 lbs all my life until I quit smoking. Gained 13 lbs in 6 mos. so I feel fat now.

[Tobra]

percent body fat is a far better metric, but can be a bit more difficult to estimate

[redstrosekNic]

According to my Wii, I have a great BMI...

Everybody thinks I am too skinny.