Body fat and BMI numbers
 

Well this is interesting...I'm 5'6" 154 lbs. My BMI is 27 and states that I'm overweight. I really don't think I am overweight. So whats the deal with this BMI number? Anyone know?

You can be skinny fat, I see it all the time. BMI isn't the answer to everything btw.

BMI doesn't tell the whole story, obviously. NFL running backs generally have BMIs in the "obese" range. BMI is simply your mass in kg divided by your height in meters squared. It doesn't factor in muscle mass, etc.

Take heart in the fact that people with BMIs in the 25-30 range tend to live the longest. :)

BMI is a stupid metric. If you are in remotely decent shape, it is misleading.

To get to a healthy BMI I would have to weigh less than my lean body mass, yet our insurance uses it as a way to judge the discount you get. We opted out of the program this year because it is such a farce.

I could crush someone with the "ideal" BMI or whatever with one of my farts.

That might actually stop a charging Rhino.:eek:

The charts were pulled together with WWII armed forces induction data.

This thread prompted me to do the calculation. :D Very interesting.

Of course you have to take the BMI with a grain of salt. Athletes often have high BMI and low body fat.

BUT!

Every fat guy out there cites the football player's BMI and counts themselves in the same population. Rrrrrright. If you are in doubt, look at yourself in the mirror or if you are still in denial, get your body fat checked. People are getting fatter and fatter and it is becoming the new normal. Especially guys are in denial and I can see marketing companies adjust to it already. Have a look at an outdoors magazine for example. A commercial for a new ATV, shotgun etc.? Fat guy in it ...
I used to buy XL shirts, now I have gone to L, soon it will be M, I am not kidding. Especially hunting clothing, it is hilarious what counts as an XL these days.

If BMI data says that over 1/3 of the people in Mississippi are obese, you can assume that most of them are not athletes. Travel there if you are in doubt. :) Or change planes in Atlanta. ;)

One thing that is concerning is if you are an athlete and your health insurance sets premiums by your BMI. I am sure you can find a better insurance that will allow a body fat measurement to achieve a reading.

G

BMI doesn't conclusively say anything about an individual. You could have a 27 BMI but a good amount of muscle and low/normal body fat. But if you have a high BMI, that should at least motivate you to check your body fat percentage. Which you can do, easily and reasonably accurately, using a body fat caliper (aka skin fold caliper) which costs $15 Amazon.com: Slim Guide Skinfold Caliper: Sports & Outdoors

Haha. This made the entire thread awesome.

At 5'10", 170 lb. and a BMI of 25, Kaiser said I was overweight. Had my body fat measured at 19% & never paid attention to the BMI again. Why do these kinds of stupid things always develop legs and continue?

It is because stupid people are stupid.

Ha! Too funny! But too true.

Ignoring genetic factors I will go out on a limb and be a contrarian. Not a doc but it would make sense that if a person is overweight versus having less fat then the heart has to work harder if a person is overweight.
Signing off your resident PITA.
Guy

Whenever watching some show on discovery two things stand out, a lot of people are quite overweight and a lot of people have bad teeth. It might be a socio economic thing but I can also remember some pics of pelicans at the racetrack where most would have had a bmi >30, not being caused by muscle. It is not that apparent over here, but we will probably have the same in a few decades.

To me the joke is the recommended weight ranges. I'm 6', 180 lbs, so at the top of the "normal" range. The bottom of the range 136 lbs! I'm a lean, athletic build (48" chest, 30" waist) - shaving almost 45 lbs off would look nuts. When I marathoned, I weighed 165 and had that knobby look you get.

The first fitness book I read, back in the 1970s, said at 5'6" a fit guy should weigh 150 (girls were 5' and 100 lbs), and add ~5 lbs for each additional inch, subtract maybe 10lbs overall if you were an ectomorph, add 10 if you were a mesomorph. That always seemed to work better for me.

I'm 6' 2" with a small frame.

I can be fine on BMI but hang out over the belt line.

Its a guideline really...

Sort of like Power/Weight doesn't tell you everything about a car alone, but it is a datapoint still.

LOOSE WEIGHT NOW.

Don't kid yourselves. Most of us could loose a few pounds and we would only benefit from it.
Meanwhile... Have you noticed even soldiers are getting FAT?

The whole situation is getting ridiculous and diabetes would have to be one of the fastest growing illnesses today.