AIBU to think that the BMI chart must be wrong?

[INeedToEat]

I shall start of by saying that on New years day i was a size 18/20 and am now a 10/12 (don't know the weight as I never weigh myself). I also went for a health check up and the nurse did weigh me and seems happy with my weight / height ratio.

As I never weigh myself I decided to check out my BMI which tells me I'm in the over weight catogry!

I'm 11stone 13 lb's and am 5' 10.5".

Am I really over weight still ?

That chart is wrong. It shows me as the high end of ok but my actual bmi is 19

Could the chart be from an Asian country by any chance? I say that because there are a few Asian countries that cut BMI healthy range off at 23, due to genetic differences in build/body shape and higher occurrence of heart disease in their populations.

Your BMI is perfectly fine under NHS and other western BMI standards! And very well done on your weight loss.

Stepaway, to be honest I just googled height and weight .. and it came up with that.

Hohum I will get that done - thank you !

Ktown - I'm off to search for a tape measure!!

The chart is so wrong it's dangerous. I'd trust the NHS website over something off a commercial weight loss website.

That chart says if I go over 8 stone I'm overweight. I'm quite short but that's crazy!

I am overweight, and working on it, and this is exactly why I don't bother with weighing myself or BMI.

When I was at a healthy weight, the width of my hips and muscles meant that I absolutely couldn't fit into anything smaller than 14 in jeans, even though I had a 28" waist and you could see my abs. I was really fit as well - a resting heart rate of 56. To put it crudely, I was a fucking FOX, though my BMI would have said differently even then. (Of course, being a stupid self conscious teenager, I didn't have a clue. Now I look back and am like, damn!).

I'm tall, muscled and broad in frame. When you add fat on top, it makes BMI a nightmare for evaluating what I REALLY need to lose.

Set yourself goals in measurements/dress sizes/fitness ability, whatever. BMI can be a right snake in the grass.

www.nhs.uk/tools/pages/healthyweightcalculator.aspx?WT.mc_id=101007

www.weightlossresources.co.uk/logout/news_features/idealweight_w.htm

Link.was this one.

Waist is 29.5

It has been "optimised for women" methinks this site is pulling a fast one to attract as many potential clients as possible...

That chart puts the overweight category at less than BMI 25 - about 22 from a quick calculation, so not the usual 'over 25'.

At just under 12 stone at 5'10' you are a slim and healthy weight. Well done on the weight loss and don't worry about the chart you saw - where did it come from? I can't see all the very small writing.

Thecats - I did excatly that- I haven't weighed myself (until the nurse did this week) through out losing the weight. Mainly because its counter productive but also because i dont own scales. I totally go by clothes sizing.

But I was curious so googled. Very reassuring to know the NHS doesn't agree with the chart I found. I'm fairly big framed in the hips too.

Healthy waist measurement upper limit is half your height, so you're well under for that too.

Now I've seen the WLR link, it seems that they want to encourage people to think they're overweight to sign up with their commercial service.

Flipping 'eck OP, you've lost 5 dress sizes. That is an AMAZING achievement and something to be seriously proud of. Your BMI is perfect, and I'd throw that chart in the bin where it belongs. Well done you

Ignore that chart and believe the NHS one. It’s a huge achievement and you should feel so proud of yourself.

Look at the source of that chart. It's from a weight loss site. One that makes money by persuading them they need to lose weight.
It's a good site to be fair, I used it for a while, but it's hardly the best source for an unbiased opinion.

Stick with the NHS one others have posted - you've done a great job OP! The nurse is happy and you should be too

Totally bonkers. My BMI is 23.3 (159cm/59kg). My lowest weight I get to is about 57kg (which is about 22.5 BMI). At this weight I can get the odd person saying "Don't lose any more"

That chart wants me to be 55kg to be at the higher end "normal" or 47kg to be at the lower end of normal. 55kg I would be just about OK with but OMG I would look and feel awful at 47kg.

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

And well done on your weight loss.

That chart is totally not a BMI chart... it says overweight for my height just under what is the exact middle of the healthy BMI range.

OP, your linked chart actually states, 'ideal weight' which could be the chart compilers subjective opinion of ideal (and it seems like a very narrow band). Whereas, the NHS chart deals with 'healthy weight' which is a much broader area which you are well within.

BMI was not designed for this. It was a mathematical hack to see how under/overweight populations of people were. Not individuals. You can tell it is meaningless because of how you calculate it. The mass of the person divided by the square of their height? It's just a short cut.

Ahh those sneaky weight loss companies - how dangerous is that !!

I shall ignore !

This is also the reason I never wanted to know my weight !!

Thanks everyone who sent their congratulations. For the curious (if there are any) it was a low carb normal fat way of eating (which I mostly still follow). When I tried the high fat part it sent my cholesterol sky high, I also didn't cut out alcohol (red wine) 😁

What changes have you made to lose the weight op, are you following a strict diet or exercise regime? Has it been hard? Well done anyway, you've done brilliantly!

That chart is not only bonkers but dangerous. It could lead to people developing eating disorders because that chart says that they are overweight when in fact they are normal weight.

Forgot to say well done on the weight loss.

@hohumherewego those biometric impedance things are the absolute worst. They are affected by how hydrated you are so are completely useless in measuring fat. Calipres are a much better (but still very flawed) measure. Ideally a dexa scan will show you what you need to know, but please don't think you are skinny fat on the basis of the thing your PT gave you.