Is a low/high BMI really so awful?

[StillMe89]

I know this is an emotive and controversial topic, so I'm trying to be non-specific. But I have been told that my BMI is in the range where my weight could cause me serious health problems.

At the same time, I eat well, I exercise regularly, I sleep well and have good energy, I get regular periods - etc.

Also, I don't think that my BMI has ever been in the "normal" range!

Is it unreasonable to think that some people just have a lower or higher natural weight and that it doesn't necessarily mean that they are unhealthy?

Well it's one of those things where BMI is useful for most people but there are outliers I think.
eg, tiny 5" lady with size 3 feet and a BMI of 18 - probably fine, or 5"10 lady with broad shoulders and a BMI of 26 - probably fine.

Also, there are differences around ethnicity eg, around diabetes risk or low BMI in pregnancy.

Your BMI should be used as part of a general picture of your health, not as a complete image. If your BMI is high but your body fat percentage is within the 'acceptable' range, for instance, then I wouldn't be worried about it.

You should be looking at your BMI, body fat percentage and physical fitness. Your blood pressure and resting heart rate are also very useful metrics for health.

I would also personally factor in dress size, happiness with my body and where my weight is compared to where it was when you were younger.

Told by whom? If you are being told so by medical professionals I would sit up and take notice.

BMI is an excellent predictor of health at a population level. It is very poor at an individual level. So if you are looking at a group of people with a high (or low) BMI, there is a greater chance that more of them will have health problems.

However that does not mean that a person with a high/low BMI is unhealthy or guaranteed to have health problems. "Could" cause problems, not "will".

Health is a complex issue with many contributing factors, weight/BMI is ONE of those, not the only thing that matters. That doesn't mean it has no relevance at all, but it does mean that for an assessment of your individual health, you need to look at all the factors. Trying to simplify the measurement of health to a single number is bullshit...

I think that it’s part of a bigger picture and also context.

A BMI of 27 in someone muscular who exercises a lot is unlikely to be a concern.

Given your phrasing I’m guessing you’ve been told you’re very underweight though and don’t believe it.

I generally think fat women are more realistic about their size than underweight ones though. I don’t know a single fat woman (myself included) who doesn’t have a realistic image of their body and health but I know plenty very thin who maintain they aren’t.

Op

Your BMI is 16 (another thread)

That is loooowwee

If you’ve been told you’re severely underweight and it’s going to cause you health problems then you’re better off listening to the medical professionals as it doesn’t help you to have people on here tell you you’re right and it’s not an issue.

I know what you mean. I am actually fat at the moment which I'm aware of but even when I'm not I'm still heavy. I have a lot of muscle (over 50kg) so I'm never gonna be in normal range of BMI. Finding it incredibly hard to lose the fat tho. My visceral fat is 9 tho and I'm very very active so I suppose as long as your fit and healthy your weight doesn't matter so much?

I think you should take notice if your BMI is above or below a healthy level. It's normal to be in denial about problems when you are told. It's too easy to dismiss the concern as BMI is useless. But unless you have been cleared by a professional saying you are fine with your very low/high BMI, you should really listen.

If it's really 16, then it's very low. I have a BMI of about 19 and it's on the low side. I'm Asian and I believe the healthy range of BMI is lower too.

Health problems don’t manifest immediately. With a very low BMI, long term risks of osteoporosis, organ damage, joint damage all stack up quietly in the background. With a very high BMI, the same thing is happening, but with diabetes, heart disease, increased cancer risk.

I feel ok today is not a great indicator of long term prognosis. I smoked like crazy as a teenager and always felt fucking amazing. Doesn’t mean it won’t kill me.

A BMI of 16 is ridiculously unhealthy. Sounds like your idea of healthy eating and exercise is not what most people and medical professionals would consider healthy.

I was just going to say the same as @enjoyingscience about osteoporosis and organ damage. When my BMI was 16 I had osteopenia. If you’re young a low BMI is and issue as you’re still laying down bone mass. You’ll be at a greater risk of osteoporosis as you get older as bone density peaks at 35 then starts to decline again.

I couldn’t fully see how ill I was when I was underweight. It’s only now looking back on photos that I see how painfully thin I was.

Mine is 18 and I wish it was more, 16 is def very low though

My bmi wasn’t as low as yours when I was an anorexic teenager (diagnosed and had therapy) my periods stopped, I was permanently weak and tired and used to sleep 14 hours straight, my body was giving up on me. I was unhealthy.
You must be very underweight and feel the mental and physical affects of it. I don’t think this thread is a good idea for you op.

In my experience the NHS loves to preach about how much a high BMI will cause health issues but then fails spectacularly to deal with it. Eating disorder services are designed for the underweight rather than the overweight, even down to the initial assessment forms where most of the questions wouldn't apply to BED or bulimia sufferers and make them feel excluded from the get go. Oh but it's ok because here is some leaflets on healthy eating and a single group session to discuss the best type of salad dressng.

For obese people who don't have eating disorders it seems that paying for a weight watchers membership is the best the NHS can offer, it's shockingly poor.

So I have a hard time believing that it really is that bad to be overweight because surely from a cost-benefit analysis they would invest more into helping people tackle their disordered eating in order to save money on all these extra operations we will supposedly need? Surely it's a lot cheaper to prevent rather than cure...so I wonder if the evidence doesn't stack up to a particularly good saving which is why we're left with a rubbish halfway house of shaming and blaming rather than actually treating people.

As others have said - osteoporosis, organ damage, infertility (I was anorexic for a few years and am very sadly going through early menopause as a result in my mid-30s).

I know you're after validation, but honestly, it's not healthy to weigh so little. I had all the comebacks, all the "yeah buts" but in the end I have crap bones, potential heart damage (not sure yet) and infertility. Don't be me, get help.

If your BMI is 16, that's definitely not a healthy weight. Textbooks usually use 18.5 - 25. Some use 20-25. Either way, it would be a good idea to gradually increase your portion sizes, making sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats.

If you are concerned about having a distorted view of your weight, ask your GP about referral to a dietician, or to an eating disorder service which should also offer input from dieticians. If you have lost significant weight without knowing why, also contact your GP.

(yours, a doctor)

Imagine of someone came on a thread from overweight OL and moaned about underweight issues Mrs...

Op, as pps said, some common sense ought to be applied around BMI, as with anything, however, 16 is low. You are healthy now, but long term efrects can show any time. I was fine as overweight, saying how I am fine and healthy and then "bam". It started showing. Same goes for underweight. It's better and easier to try to sort problems, including weight, before the "bam".

The natural weight range is pretty wide on the BMI system tbh. I think for me it is something between 55kg and 65kg so it caters for very different shapes of me.

I do find that over 65kg (I am 70kg at the mo, so BMI about 25) I am more sluggish, less energetic. While I have never and possibly never been under 60kg as an adult, I can see the healthy BMI weight range formula is not that bad or restrictive.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Imagine of someone came on a thread from overweight OL and moaned about underweight issues Mrs...

Op, as pps said, some common sense ought to be applied around BMI, as with anything, however, 16 is low. You are healthy now, but long term efrects can show any time. I was fine as overweight, saying how I am fine and healthy and then "bam". It started showing. Same goes for underweight. It's better and easier to try to sort problems, including weight, before the "bam".

The OP was asking about people's views on being both under or overweight and whether it really can cause health issues. I answered the question based on the one have experience of. The OP deliberately omitted her weight in the original post so as to gain a general view. If the OP isn't interested in perspectives about being overweight then fair enough. But why ask for them in the introduction then?

You can turn your little police siren off now. The thread police have no business here.

@AnneLovesGilbert

If you’ve been told you’re severely underweight and it’s going to cause you health problems then you’re better off listening to the medical professionals as it doesn’t help you to have people on here tell you you’re right and it’s not an issue.

Where does OP say she is underweight? Sorry I'm confused as to why everyone in the thread seems to know more than me about OP, have I missed a deleted post or something?

In real life no not always. Particularly re high bmi it depnds where weight is and activity levels. On mumsnet its the worst thing ever.

Being just slightly high is much better than being too low.

Looking for reassurance that your very, very low BMI is fine when (reading between the lines) you’ve been told that medical professionals have told you it isn’t is a bit ED type behaviour.

The thing about higher BMIs is that they can be accounted for by muscle.

At a BMI of 27, I tend to have lots of chunky muscle, big boobs but otherwise low enough body fat to have a 28" waist at 5'9. (currently 29 and working on it)

But at low BMIs, you're starting to see loss of vital muscle, fat and bone mass. There's no good way to lose those things. And if you get ill, your body is already under strain.

A long time ago, a doctor said to me that the best weight to be is where you can lose or stone or gain a stone and still be in the healthy range.

@MrsMigginsMate the search function.