What BMI do you consider to be fat, slim or skinny?

[waschunky]

Nc for this. Inspired by a family chat about size and what is considered the ideal now compared to when I was a teen in the 90s. Teenage Dd was saying how big bums and very chunky thighs are the ideal whereas I'm mentally in the idealised thigh gap era and an arse that's not got its own postcode.

It's obvious from reading threads on here that what is considered obese, overweight, slim, skinny, underweight varies and doesn't necessarily follow the BMI scale. What classes as fat now? When I was a teen fat was probably actually obese and now those obese are often deemed a little chunky or stocky. Normal bmi is seen as skinny by some. I never hear the word plump anymore. Pleasantly plump was how my sister referred to herself and she was at the top end of a healthy bmi maybe half a stone over the top end.

I'm not sure if I could accurately assess someone's size and weight against clinical parameters. There was a programme on tv yonks ago where participants were asked to say which outline they thought was theirs and they always chose the one that was one to two sizes bigger.

Views are probably skewed by the media but to me obese is still very fat, overweight is a little chunky, normal weight I've no idea, slim would be thigh gap, collar bones and cheek bones visible, skinny would be something I'll never be 😁 and probably in my mind is actually clinically underweight.

As a clinician, we really don’t take a lot of notice of BMI. It’s just to tick a box really. It doesn’t account for different body types and was designed in the 50’s and hasn’t been updated. My BMI for example is overweight. However, I am built like a fucking shed, not fat.

Honestly, the very idea of having this conversation with my teenager seems a bit dysfunctional to me.

Apart from anything else, is it not just exhausting to be so preoccupied with the nuances of weight and scrutinising other peoples’ bodies? Why would you want to do that?

I’m officially overweight, I think my BMI is 25.3 or something. But I don’t feel fat. I’m a size 12, 5’10, fit and healthy and while I’ve got a bit of jiggle I don’t have a spare tyre or anything. I think I look ok. Like a normal 30something mum of 2.

BMI means nothing regarding how visually fat someone appears..
It can mean little about health as well..
Many professional athletes have BMIs which would class them as obese..

It really depends how much muscle you have and your body shape and frame.

I've pretty much always been overweight according to BMI
Now pushing 40 with 3 kids you'd definitely notice I was overweight.
But in my early 20s I was a UK size 8 and 5ft 7.. but my BMI still had me as slightly overweight. When my BMI was 30 it was classed as obese but I was a UK size 12.

It can really vary due to your body shape. I'm pear shaped. Big thighs but small waist and upper body.
I know people who have healthy BMI but appear chubby... some people have to keep themselves right on the lower end of healthy range in order to appear slender.

Really BMI isn't a great measure of anything either visual or internal health wise. Wish they'd come up with something better and more individually tailored.

@SoYouThinkYouCanPrance she was asking me what the beauty ideals were when I was her age and comparing them to now.Nothing dysfunctional about it, just general chat.

I don't really understand BMI.

I'm right in the middle of 'normal BMI' and I'm a size 10. When I was just about normal BMI but veering towards underweight end, was still a size 10. I do feel out of shape though and that I could lose a few lbs, probably peri related!

If you want a simple measure to use then the much better one is the waist-to-height ratio. Simply divide your waist circumference by your height, using the same unit for both.

Ideally you want this to be under 0.5 - i.e your waist measurement should be half or less than your height. So an average man is 5'10", 70", should measure a 35" waist or less. The average woman is about 4" shorter, so should have a waist 2" smaller.

I didn't want to debate the bmi scale itself but rather peoples perceptions of size. 63.8% of adults in England were overweight or obese in 2021 according to government statistics. Other nations stats can be found here along with childhood stats researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03336/SN03336.pdf

Do these figures skew our perception of what is a normal weight?

It's about more than BMI - body shape, fat versus muscle, how fit you are etc.

My bmi is 24, so nearly overweight, but I'm a size 6 to 8, body fat is less than 20%. Working out is my main hobby.

Bmi is bullshit.

I don't think you can tell. The top end of my BMI is 12.5 stone, but I went straight to 14 stone when I went through puberty and looked great (as I now realise). At the time I was obsessed with the numbers, but the reality is that I build muscle very easily and have a classic hourglass figure - the boobs and bum alone probably account for significant extra weight that the BMI measure doesn't make room for. I'm losing weight at the moment and my goal weight still puts me just shy of obese but I'll be around a size 14.

My BMI is still just above 40 after losing 5 stone.

Am I slim? No.

But I absolutely don't look anywhere near as massive as I did 5 stone ago. I ignore my BMI because it tells me I need to be 7-9 stone.

I've been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. My eating disorder developed when I was morbidly obese. By BMI 27 I had already lost my period. By BMI 19 I was experiencing severe health issues, and looking extremely boney. By the time I actually was in clinic and diagnosed, I only avoided inpatient treatment by agreeing to start eating in accordance to plan, have blood tests every week and to go in if no improvement to bloods. And that was a fight, as I was extremely unwell. My BMI at the time was barely underweight. During treatment, they gave me a target BMI of 27 before I would be discharged. My period only returned at BMI 26, but they were happy to discharge me then.

I think everyone's body is different, and what is too thin, normal or too fat is different for everyone. That's what the eating disorder clinic said too, when I flipped my shit over them giving me an "overweight" BMI target to reach. They said BMI meant nothing, except as a measuring or tracking tool.

I’d say I’m pretty classic bmi er. Currently a 27 and chubby. Was getting on for properly fat at a bmi of 30. I’d look slim at 25 and below. Skinny for me would kick in at 20 and below.

As PP say, it varies. My BMI is 20.1 but I feel healthier at 19.2 as I’ve got slim arms and legs but weight goes straight on my stomach.

DH will be classed as overweight. He’s stocky and muscular.

I’m apple shaped sadly… if I gain any weight it goes on my middle. I have skinny legs and absolutely no arse at all.

My bmi is 22. I weigh 9s 7lb. Depending on shop I can be a size 10/12.

But I don’t think I look particularly slim, unless I dress very carefully.

The skinny jeans/knee high boots, jumper style (that’s no longer fashionable), looked good on me as it highlighted skinny thighs/arse.

My bMI is 23. I carry weight on my stomach, I am decidedly flabby at the moment and could do with shifting half a stone

As has been said it's too personally dependent. Biggest I've gotten is 24.9 and I felt chunky then, fat on my face, puffy. I tend to sit around 23 which is fine, still obsess about love handles etc but face is slim, need to be around 22 to start feeling slim. No idea what the line is for skinny ha.

For me it’s a good indicator of fat or thin.

My BMI at its highest was 29, and I was very fat. It’s now a healthier 23 but I would like to be slimmer and could definitely lose another 7 pounds or so.

I'd say the very opposite of dysfunction. Recognising that 'ideal' has changed over the eras helps you to understand that this is changeable.

It's what worries me about the non reversible options some people take to try and achieve a look that in a decade's time might be the very opposite of 'ideal'.

Having these conversations is excellent

Bmi is a load of rubbish for most people.

I'm short at 5ft , am clinically obese but extremely fit, can run a 3.5hr marathon and am a size 6-8.

Make it make sense!

I’m not overweight and started lifting heavy in the gym a year ago. I’ve dropped a dress size and have guns and an arse to be proud of but my weight hasn’t changed.

To illustrate how bonkers BMI is. DD is BMI is 25. She is actually yrying to put weight on! Her waist is 25", she is a size 6, she has visible chest ribs and has lost her boobs. She is power lifting, so has a big bum and legs. She is short though, so this pushes up the BMI. She is just a super fit, strong, young lady.

I'm mentally in the idealised thigh gap era and an arse that's not got its own postcode.

I have never understood the desire for thigh gaps and didn’t even know it was a thing until the last few years. I wouldn’t describe a bum as having its own postcode but I definitely prefer curvier rounded bums as opposed to flat ones. Eg. Beyoncé’s as opposed to the typical one of say 90s models.

Glad most on this thread appear realise how problematic BMI is, but regarding your question of what’s considered fat it just depends.

When I’m at a BMI of say 24 people don’t think I’m too skinny. They think I’m average/slim.

If I get to closer down the range like 21, I do start to look skinny and i think most would agree. It depends on each person.

Then you do get some people who are within a healthy BMI but still look chubby to others.

My BMI is currently 26 (overweight I know) but one guy described me as plus size which was a bit OTT IMO considering I’m a size 10-12 lol so I don’t know.

I still think we have unrealistic expectations of size when it comes to grown women and many men in particular are quick to view someone slightly overweight or even at the top end of the BMI range as huge.

Fat isn’t as normalised or celebrated as some on MN would have you think. I have a friend who was a stone or so overweight and some older woman randomly called her chubby in the middle of the day in south London.

I think my expectations previously would be skinny 18-19, slim 20-22, healthy looking but not super slim 23-24, ever so slightly plump but healthy looking 25-26, could do with losing a little weight 27-28 but not masses, clearly overweight 29+.

I'm an apple shape and short. At my biggest BMI of 32 I was fat all over and clearly so. At 21 BMI I'm slim with a thigh gap but boobs despite shrinking are an e cup and stomach reduced but definitely not near flat and whilst i finally have a healthy waist to height ratio (what I was aiming for due to health reasons rather than a specific BMI) it's not as small as you'd probably expect for my weight. I also have friends who have highish BMIs but naturally carry their weight well, I think it's easier to dress a bigger bottom or chunkier thighs than it is a stomach. I look great until I turn to the side