To think the NHS BMI is a load of s#!t

[babyarz]

I gave birth to my beautiful DS 4 months ago.

Although I am losing weight as ebf I thought it would be good - after Christmas - to cut down on the chocolates and eat healthier.

I am fitting into all my size 10 clothes pre pregnancy and thought I'd weigh myself today to see what I am. Once I did this I looked my bmi score at it states I'm overweight!!

I'm totally ready for being told I'm BU but at 5"3, 10st 5 and size 10 I honestly didn't think I'd be classified as overweight!

What's your thoughts?

Ur heavier than me although I'm 5" taller (& no skinny minnie).
If you're happy in your own skin & size, then what do you care about a statistic?

Some people weigh heavy, are you very muscular? Size ten at your height and weight is quite unusual but not unheard of. I'd have assumed more a fourteen.

I agree that BMI is not accurate for all body types. I'm an inch shorter than you and at 10 stone 5 I'm definitely overweight but I'm a 14 not a 10. I'm an apple shape, if you're a pear you can get away with being heavier.

BMI wasn’t invented by the NHS.

I'm 5ft 5, 9 stone and a size 10 so maybe you have morr muscle or something?

Well there is size 10, and there is vanity sized 10. It would probably help to take note of your waist measurement, but you only gave birth 16 weeks ago. Just concentrate on your health, you're still recovering and your body is still returning to it's pre-pregnancy state. Are you breastfeeding? Your body can hold on to fat stores in places to aid milk production I think. I wouldn't worry too much about BMI for now, just concentrate on you and your baby's health

I'm a pear shape!! I presume my boobs weigh a lot.. haha

Just didn't think I'd be classified as overweight. Just a bit of a shock really.

Everyone knows bmi is pointless and out of date though. Right? I literally know no people who go by or care for it.

I'm surprised you are a size 10 tbh... I'm 5 ft 7 and 9 stone 7 and my size 10 jeans are uncomfortably tight.. they fit properly at about 9 stone 2. At 10 stone 5 I am at least a size 12!

BMI doesn't work for athletes but it's a good guide for most people.

I’m 5ft 2, 8 stone and a size 10. I’ve lost a stone and a half as I felt overweight.

Yes, BMI is a pile of shit. There are many, many measures of health including body fat percentage & vo2. I’m 5’3 9 stone and a size 8-10 so you could easily be a size 10, particularly if you are carrying more muscle.

BMI was designed to measure obesity across populations, so the cutoffs don't map exactly to every person.

If you're bothered by it, have your body fat measured - far more accurate.

Where are you shopping to be able to wear a size 10? I was still wearing a size 12 when I dropped just below 10 stone and I'm 5 ft 2.

The BMI underestimates overweightness for shorter people and overestimates it for taller people so actually at 5’3 you’re probably even fatter than the BMI indicates.

We’re all misled by the prevelance of overweight and obesity to thinking it’s more “normal” than it really is.

A healthy BMI at that height is up to 10st1lb, and you are only 1 unit into the overweight range. Given that most of the population is now overweight I'm not surprised you don't feel exceptional. You are still post partum and you only need to lose a small amount to be back in the healthy range. Why so antagonistic to the NHS? BMI is not their invention anyway. I imagine any NHS professional would say cut yourself some slack but keep making small change so to lose a few pounds.

BMI is a useful measure unless you’re very muscular. A 10 now is much bigger than it was 40 or even 20 years ago so dress sizes don’t mean much, everyone has got fatter so our perception of average and overweight has changed.

Judging by comments I must have a lot of muscle! I bought 2 size 12 tops 3 weeks after given birth as still had a tummy but now they are baggy and I wear them for cleaning the house. All my clothes are size 10 and mostly from new look, boohoo etc?

I am 5ft 2 and 9st 5 and while I can squish into size 10 clothes from some places I generally accept that I am pretty much a 12.

When I had given birth to dd2 I sat around the 10st 7 mark for a while and I definitely felt heavier than comfortable - going up and down the stairs was hard work, I felt a bit breathless and so on. I would use those things as markers of your actual health and well-being rather than BMI if you are not convinced.

If you are younger and generally fitter than I you may have greater expanse of firm muscle. I am essentially a wee jelly fish

New look boohoo etc come up small I think, so you must be very muscular. Unless you carry your weight on your bum/thighs and buy styles that are loose in that area.

Unfortunately our perception of what is overweight these days is very skewed.

And a size 10 these days is very different from a size 10 twenty years ago. It's not called vanity sizing for nothing.

BMI is an average way of measuring relative weight. I'm sorry if you've been offended by it, but at that weight, at only 5ft 3in, then you are overweight.

I guess a size 10 pear makes OP... 34-27-38? Size 6 if OP was 34-25-34.

I'm 5 ft 5, 8 stone 12 and a size 10. I also have a low body fat percentage. I am surprised your also a size 10 at your weight/height.

The BMI formula has been acknowledged to be flawed - my gastro team haven't used it for several years. Google 'BMI flawed' for some proper hardcore mathematical take downs!

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

I'm 10stone 4 and a size 10 top / 12 bottom at 5ft6 so also struggling to see how you're a size 10 unless you're buying very stretchy clothes or like then particularly close fitted. That aside, you've only recently had a baby so cut yourself some slack and don't worry about the charts right now.

Er.. I also am pear shaped and consistantly wear 10s and 12s at New Look and Boohoo. Wear a 14/16 bottom everywhere else though.