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.

I'm 6' 4" and 225. That's a 27 and considered overweight. I would have to be 205 to tick into the normal range and I'd be a string bean. Come to think of it, I'd better start losing if I want to fit in the 904...

As I sat in my Doctors office for my first visit with him, he walks in with his head down in my chart and says to me "we need to discuss you BMI", then he looks up at me and says "never mind"...

At 5'10" 185lb and at 10% body fat the BMI chart listed me as overweight.... hahaha stupid chart.

My BMI is 33. I am fat.

I'm also a 27. The chart says I should weigh 169 lbs. Last time I weighed that was 25 years ago when I got divorced. :)

Last Aug I was 235. Now I'm 188. Goal is 175 by spring (up here that might be July so I will make it) :)

BMI = Joke. While I need to lose weight to get to 10% body fat, I'm currently 5' 10" 225# and under 20% body fat. BMI just doesn't work for me. My last good health check at work, which includes fairly comprehensive blood work, said my numbers were all very good except BMI.

Btw, I'm 6'2', and a great weight range for me is 175-185lb.

My BMI is 23.2. Ten years ago it was 23. I'm gaining weight.

What a fat bastard? How do you pee?

^^ Peeing is easy, it's the aim that gets to be a problem.

Maybe you are getting shorter

I'm 6'5" and 216 pounds. My BMI is 25 and considered overweight.

About body fat numbers. There are electronic devices to measure body fat, you may have seen them at your gym, and they are not accurate at all. As a result sometimes people think they have 15% or 18% body fat and they don't.

For a man: 20% body fat looks okay, most would say you look trim and fit. 15% means a distinct six pack. 10% is veins, cording, most muscle groups clearly delineated. Below 10% is body builder or pro road cyclist or top level marathoner or anorexic or guest at concentration camp. Above 20% means you can pinch 1" (or more) at your midsection. If you can grab a handful there, you're over 30%.

I got curious and played around with a Bmi calculator. Right now I'm 27.3 and definitely at my, err, winter weight. At 25.8 (-10 lb) I look nice and trim. My goal corresponds to 24.4 (another -10 lb), I'd be distinctly lean, although still borderline overweight by the standard BMI charts. As an adult, I've never been lower than 23.6. I have a medium build but significant weight in my thighs and butt from cycling.

jyl is correct, it is very hard to get below 15% body fat and especially to maintain it. Most men are above 20+ and don't think that they are.

When I was at 10% I was at the end of a 12 week "cutting diet" (hate the word diet) for a vacation. I had my body fat measured using a BodPod machine which is very accurate. It measures all your bodies tissue and tells you what weights each tissue type represents.

And yes, at 10% I was quite vascular and you could see striations on top of my striations... hahaha

Wife said it was too much and asked me to gain 10 pounds back after vacation... :(