AIBU to tell you that BMI doesn't apply to everyone!

[Randomuser456]

Foreword I know it's a blunt tool, etc, etc ,etc... and I DO exercise more than the average person (don't really ift heavy) but I've always thought my clothes size doesn't match my weight.

Anywho according to the Navy Body Fat formula I'm around 27-28%

A BMI extrapolation would put me at 38%. By reversing that calculation someone with my BF% is around 15kg lighter than my current weight.

Anyway just a public service announcement :)

I'm a 14 and nearing obese on the scale. This is right I think as I am pretty fat at the mo.

I’m around the top of my BMI, 24 especially with fluctuations and a size 8-10 with around 27% body fat and I don’t think I need to lose more weight visually but I was obese my whole adult life and it’s caused a lot of confusion it’s so hard to see yourself objectively. Body fat isn’t my enemy I need some of it for body function. I would need less than 20% body fat to have all my abs visible and that’s too far for me I won’t do that.

I naturally have muscular legs and thighs and a small waist (I do have some excess skin from abdominal surgery). I have spent a lot of time bothered about my BMI and thinking it should be less, more in the middle range rather than too close to the top end and it’s hard to keep sight of what’s healthy anymore as it’s so confusing, so much info flying around, bombarded by different body types (many fitness influencers have had BBL’s!). I feel a lot of pressure, and I felt pressure when I was obese but more so now to stay small. Rather than forever dieting I find it easier to just eat well and work out regularly.

I lost weight for health reasons and my blood tests are now better than when I was in my 20’s, so it’s worth it for me, and I am fitter overall but it’s probably caused more internal confusion. I didn’t want to lose weight for other people - but when you do lose weight, it seems to become everyone’s business and everyone comments about you being a ‘skinny Minnie’

I am just under 5’6 and when I was a size 14 I think I was slightly obese but closer to the overweight range. It is slightly depressing I would be in overweight range if I was a size 12 again. Which doesn’t feel that big? I’m only under BMI 25 if I am in a size 10. Hence the pressure on myself!

It's a general guidance which applies to most folk. IMHO. Most folk a few points over are overweight unless they are a body builder or dedicated athlete.

@Randomuser456
28% is not high, it's considered normal/healthy. Anything below 25% is considered athletic/fit.

But shouldn't it be normal to be fit? (Fit not thin!) I find it concerning as someone who exercises (not excessively, most of it is walking) and eats plenty, that I'm considered "athlete" rather than normal/healthy. Especially as I have particularly chunky/fat thighs - I'm not wasting away!

@Snackpocket
if I lose weight it’s for health not vanity reasons and that should be the focus for why people be to lose weight.

Exactly. Health should be the top priority. And people should exercise for health reasons not just see it as a weight loss thing. We've lost sight of health and just see weight=health but it's not that simple.

@Flowersforcharlie
I am a size 10, not overweight, but have a big bust (34 FF) and have often wondered whether this skews my BMI results.

Boobs are still fat, aren't they? Am I missing something here? Sure, it's better to be more hourglass shaped according to health data, but people always say "oh it's my big bust" but not "oh it's my big arse/thighs"! Both could have a small waist to height measurement.
I don't think it skews BMI results as such, but does skew perception of people looking at you. People have told me I'm thin because they only see my top half (I may have got oversensitive and frustrated about these comments!) and not lardy bum/thighs hidden by trousers... but my body fat is there, just less obvious.

Name changed obviously.
I'm overweight according to BMI.
If anyone thinks I am please tell me.

Hoping my dad doesn’t see that one! He’s annoyed he’s heavier than when he was younger.. the doctor said if he was as healthy as him at his age he would be a very happy man
I even showed him the info about being slightly overweight at his age has better health outcomes
He is probably about 1.5 stone overweight but at 76 he looks insanely good and is still doing everything happily including a lot of heavy gardening work and DIY

Swimming 3km a week is not really a flex is it?! 120 lengths? If you did that 3 or 4 times a week I’d expect you to be fit but once a week? No. And it is not impossible to be obese and fit.

I'd never heard of the Navy Body Fat formula, I tried it and it said 21.5, my bmi is 21.4

But I imagine there are variations or anomalies around that as well, so unless you had a full analysis you wouldn't know exact figures.
My sister had a medical check recently and apparently her body fat was 3%

@Fizbosshoes - minimum essential body fat to stay alive is around 10%

You must have that wrong - competitive female body builders will reduce body fat to around 10-12% or a bit below for short periods. 3% is nonsense.

@TheBunnyLover - you’re obviously stretching up, which distorts your body. But either way, scales plus waist measurements are probably a better indicator than a photo 🙄

Agreed there must be anomolies. I'm sure the Navy formula isn't accurate for me.

Whatever formula came up with 3% is definitely off too!

@DownWhichOfLate @Kuretake
I actually didn't think it sounded feasible at the time, hence saying "apparently" ....so who knows how you find out out if even a medical check isn't accurate! 😂

Nope, @TheBunnyLover is not overweight! I mean, she may seem to be by some arbitrary formula but any twit can see she's slender and shapely.

I'm not overweight by any known formula¹ but neither am I fit. However much I stretched for a photo, I'd still look twice this size! Stop negging her.

¹[BMI 24, US Navy 30%, waist/height 0.49, waist/hip 0.85]

Unless it was a DEXA scan I'd take that with a ton of salt

@GarlicStyle - so a photo is a more accurate indicator than actual measurements? 😂

@TheBunnyLoverinteresting. What is your height and weight if you are classed as overweight?

Body frame must have a lot to do with it. I could gain over two stone and have a bmi of 25 but would look far too big
. I looked visibly big with a BMI of 23 after having my second baby.
But my frame is very small naturally, people on here with high BMI I presume have naturally much bigger bone structure.

BMI is probably a good starting point but expect a doctor isn’t going to tell a visibly muscular person to lose weight because their bmi is high.

Well no, of course it doesn't, its a guide. Unfortunately its a guide that's used by insurance companies for health/employment etc etc insurance, which means that I've got to keep going with the weight loss in order to get affordable insurance, as I'm still technically obese. (I'm a size 14 now) Its frustrating but there has to be some generic tool and it seems to be this one.

It's pretty bloody obvious is someone is in the tiny minority it doesn't work for. You, and anyone with eyes, will know if you are an elite athlete with lots of muscle. Most people who think it doesn't work for them are just delusional. Or they have a bit of muscle and think it should cancel out the fat. The healthy weight ranges are so broad they capture almost everyone.

Not for a woman it’s not. Also dress size has little to with body fat percentage. Hence terms like skinny fat.

Lol even if she’s stretching up, she is in no way overweight is she? She has a small waist and there is no visible excess fat on her body. If she said she had a BMI of 22, everyone would believe it.

28% body fat is fine for a woman and healthy. It’s ok to have fat but like someone else said, it depends where it is. If it’s on your bum it’s not as detrimental as if it’s all on your abdomen, as it’s closer to your organs there. The BMI doesn’t account for weight distribution or muscle mass

I’m 5’5” and a size 10. My BMI is only just in the healthy range. If I put in a few lbs I’d be in the overweight category. Yet if I drop
more than about 4lbs from this weight I look far too thin - stick-like legs, gaunt face, hip bones jutting out. People ask me if I’m ill at that weight yet my BMI would be 24.

I think it’s because I’m medium height but have a large frame - big shoulders, hips, hands and feet. And therefore there is more skin, muscle, tissue etc on my frame than many other people of my height. I had an ED in my teens and my GP made me get on the scales and was shocked when my BMI turned out to be 21. She thought it was going to be under 18 and that I’d be going to hospital. I just weigh more than I appear to and always have done.