AIBU about estimating bmi?

[bmi]

Just received this letter and it's made me a bit.. meh
History of disordered eating which he would know if he had asked
My BMI is 35... are we just looking at people and estimating it now?!

Presumably it is obvious from your appearance that you’re very overweight, though, and your doctor can make an educated guess about likely BMI based on appearance. Your weight is relevant when it comes to medical treatment, the doctor isn’t making a value judgement, they’re recording relevant medical information.

Well I'm a size 16...

My BMI isn't 40

And BMI over 40 could affect my treatment so you would think they would calculate it at least

I’d expect if your weight/bmi is relevant then they’d weigh you.

And yes I am overweight before anyone piles on me, I KNOW. I exercise a lot and I'm working on it

I think medics can be a bit judgey when you are overweight. Like everything is caused by those extra pounds. Obviously obesity can cause lots of issues but I’d imagine things get missed in obese people as symptoms attributed to weight whereas someone thin would get an investigation.

Super cheeky to bump you up by 5 bmi
points. I’ve been losing weight and have lost 2.8 off my bmi which for me is 9kg. I’d be unimpressed if someone guesstimated my weight up by 15kg.

It’s actually really hard to estimate BMI, as everyone’s body composition is different. As your BMI could affect the treatment offered they should have calculated it properly rather than estimating it.

YANBU, this sucks. I am sorry ☹️ I would put in a complaint as clearly there is a difference between (especially slightly under) 35 and 40 when it comes to treatments etc.

Yeah that's my point really
Don't type up an estimate in a letter that's wrong, it's like saying I'm 5ft 5 instead of 5ft 10!

It’s not ‘medical information’ though, it’s a guess at medical information. You’re right, BMI is relevant when it comes to medical treatment. That’s why they should weigh/measure you (and record actual medical information), and not just guess.

I think that’s really unprofessional. They could have stated that the patient is overweight if they couldn’t be bothered to take an exact measurement.

I would have been fine with that

I already stress about fitting in an MRI, if a chair is ok for me etc etc without having to get them to correct wrong info

It would have taken ten seconds to weigh you and calculate your BMI. This is laziness on their part. I agree that BMI is a stat and not a judgment, but if it’s important enough to be noted it’s important enough to be assessed correctly I’d have thought.

I've just emailed them that I need weighing at my next appointment as I don't want this affecting my treatment when it's estimated incorrectly, and my BMI needs to be recorded right. Also added that it's 35 if this affects further steps

I think once you get in the obesity range it gets harder to estimate. A bmi of 35 vs 40 would only be 15st vs 17st at 5ft 5, not as big a difference as between a bmi of 20 and 25.

They could have said 'appears morbidly obese' but maybe felt using an estimated BMI was more factual & medical & less likely to offend or be seen as a judgement.

Surely you weigh then?
If someone can have a laparoscopy with a BMI of 35 but not if over 40 then you weigh them

It's not great, but whether it's a big deal depends what the next step is and the full context of the letter. It looks like the doctor is recommending investigations? which presumably would be done anyway? Once that's done they can weigh you and use accurate information to make treatment choices.

Would the difference between obese class 2 vs class 3 impact on diagnosis?

I'm sure they will get an accurate weight once it affects treatment.

It would affect the treatment I believe so basically there would be no point continuing with investigation

It's stage 4 endometriosis, I need an MRI, medical menopause and a lap

I don't mean to laugh OP but this is so ridiculous that I can't help it! He literally measured your BMI by eyeballing you 🙄.

Of course it's unacceptable and you should be weighed correctly. A BMI difference of 5 is alot too!!

A BMI difference of 5 is alot too!!

It's 14% higher. It's like the difference between a bmi of 20 and 23. I agree that accurate will be necessary for treatment. Perhaps the estimation was to indicate that bmi was possibly borderline categories and should therefore be checked.

Still pretty high can you try to lose some weight. Also I've apparently lost an inch and a half in height, probably back problems (I assume collapsed discs), which push up my BMI, should they use my original height?

I do my absolute best. I eat well and I exercise as much as I can within the limits of my health conditions. Mostly spin and weight
I look like this

It must be very hard to estimate a BMI - you definitely don't look like you have a bmi of 40!

You look fine to me, were you wearing baggy clothes that made you look heavy?