BMI- do you follow the BMI guidelines or do you think it rubbish?.

[cherrypiepie]

I had to get my BMI to below 30 for Medical reasons. BMI is also used in pregnancy to guide how you are cared for.

I'm pretty happy that BMI is an accurate representation for me; over 30 and it's not good. Under 30 I feel and look better (obviously a gradual shift. I have never been lower than 27 so can't imagine if I got to BMI 25! )

Lots of people think BMI is rubbish and pointless. They think its not accurate and they totally ignore. A few get annoyed that medical care is sometimes governed by BMI.

I understand it not accurate for those with high muscle mass (elite sport or weight trainers).

But are these other people right an I have got the wrong end of the stick? Are these other people correct and I am in cloud cuckoo land for wanting a BMI below 25?

Should I ignore the BMI?

As I'm not overly muscular I think it's good for me, I'm definitely unnecessarily big and unhealthy if I creep towards 25.

My DH is very muscular, an avid runner so has really chunky thighs, his BMI comes up quite high but his body fat is actually very low so I don't think it works for him terribly well.

(By quite high I mean right at the top end of healthy, I don't think he actually went into overweight from memory)

Mixed opinion. I think it is a good tool for the vast majority of the population. However for us - I'm BMI 21 (smack bang middle of green) but absolutely need to lose some weight, its not "healthy" to have a tum/thighs like mine. So for me, I probably need to be closer BMI 18/19. For DH, his BMI is about 30 and he is most definitely fitter than me, toned, muscly, sporty. Wrong way round for us..

I do think it works well in most cases. As others have said, it doesn't work well for those with a high muscle mass.

It works for me, I am small boned and when my BMI is 26 I have proper big rolls of fat. I look ok and can wear jeans when my BMI is 21 tops.

DH is a rugby build, very fit. He is always in the over weight BMI.

I think waist measurement is a good indicator from a health point of view.

A few years ago I was very very thin, family were worried and I went to see the doctor. Because my bmi was at the lowest end but still in the bracket I was told I was fine and doing a good job!!

Those InBody machines which can determine your body fat percentage and distribution are good. I have a healthy BMI but I tend to carry too much visceral fat which is the dangerous kind. If you saw me out and about you wouldn’t think it, but I have a stubbornly high waist measurement which I have to try so hard to lose fat from.

BMI covers a wide range, but it wasn’t devised by a health professional and it is probably outdated.

Yes, BMI is fine for the absolute vast majority of people.

A big set of knockers is not going to take you from healthy weight into overweight territory!

My BMI is 22, near enough the middle of the green territory, and I’m definitely none of the things that people who deride it say they would be, if they were a healthy BMI - ‘gaunt’, ‘fading away’, ‘skeletal’, etc, etc. Not even close!

I've s healthy bmi at the moment, but my big boobs definitely mean my bmi sits higher! (And they're big regardless of wether I'm lighter or heavier)

BMI covers a wide range, but it wasn’t devised by a health professional and it is probably outdated.

it's not outdated, if anything the higher end of the 'healthy' bmi is set too high for many populations and should be even lower.

but I agree that bmi together with other measurements is best.

have a listen to bbc health check on bmi

I just look in the mirror and know that I'm fat...there's really no denying it 🤷‍♀️ At 5'4 and 14 stone, it's hard to kid myself really! I'm fat...I don't need to know anything else! I'll just shift the weight until I look in the mirror and think...you look ok girl 👍 and the scales tell me that I'm around 10 stone, which is when I know I look and feel my best. That's all I do.

I think bmi is harsher on shorter women. Even when my bmi was 23 and i felt there wasnt a pick on me, my bmi was much nearer the top end of normal. Im carrying a stone more now :-/

@MySocalledLoaf

It seems like everyone who disagrees with BMI has a BMI above 25 themselves.

Definitely.

Also the same people who say if they were the suggested healthy BMI they'd be unhealthily thin/look unwell.

It's sort of ironic.

I'm still not in a healthy BMI. Only a few pounds to go now. And my BMI has been 39 in the past.

It's amusing how family members who are tell me I can't possibly lose anymore. There will be nothing of me. Etc etc.

Trust me Pam. There's plenty of me.

The percentage of women with enough muscle to negate BMI (who are not taking testosterone or other bodybuilding drugs) is absolutely neglible.

@miltonj

I've s healthy bmi at the moment, but my big boobs definitely mean my bmi sits higher! (And they're big regardless of wether I'm lighter or heavier)

Weight them. They don't make THAT big difference. Mine were always big and no, they didn't make as much difference as some may think

I find it is best to combine BMI with waist measurement (which reminds me I really need to weigh myself...).
You also want a waist measurement that is less than half your height (W/H < 0.5)
My last known BMI was 28.6 but I have big arms and massive thighs - my waist is currently 73 cm which give me a ratio of 0.46.

I am aiming to reduce the amount of super processed food and snacks but I don't look too bad now - my goal BMI is 26.

Yeah I agree. For health it absolutely is the best to combine bmi, waist measurement and I would add a ocommon sense.
Any measurement JUST by itself doesn't give full picture. They are all factors needing to be put together.

@purplesequins

BMI covers a wide range, but it wasn’t devised by a health professional and it is probably outdated.

it's not outdated, if anything the higher end of the 'healthy' bmi is set too high for many populations and should be even lower.

but I agree that bmi together with other measurements is best.

Surely that means it IS outdated?

It’s good at what it was designed for, which is catching a general sense of populations as a whole. It’s a decent guide for most individuals but either end of the scale isn’t going to work for everyobe

Seriously, the people who fall outside BMI norms are minimal. Massive knockers and All Black stature aside - they really don’t apply to anyone outside Dolly Parton and Richie McCaw. If you are neither of those people, you can relax.

@ConstanceMarkievicz

I think bmi is harsher on shorter women. Even when my bmi was 23 and i felt there wasnt a pick on me, my bmi was much nearer the top end of normal. Im carrying a stone more now :-/

Same. I joined a weight loss group and noticed that I can have smaller measurements (waist, hips, arms) than a taller women and still have a higher bmi.

My bmi is top end of healthy but I'd say I need to lose at least a stone as I'm still flabby round the middle.

As a rough guide it's fine but common sense tells you if you're overweight or not.

@CoronaBanana

My bmi is top end of healthy but I'd say I need to lose at least a stone as I'm still flabby round the middle.

As a rough guide it's fine but common sense tells you if you're overweight or not.

A lot of my older relatives got diabetes at a BMI of 25ish. Mind you, we are Arabs so maybe 23 is the top of healthy. For sure we all have thin limbs and any weight gain goes directly to the middle. I don't know if I believe in 'heavy bones' or whatever but I remember comparing my wrists and fingers with a White friend of the same height and and its quite clear that her skeleton is generally bigger than mine. If I put my thumb and index finger around my wrist, they touch, but hers didn't.

I think it is fairly accurate. I am size 10-12 with big boobs, 5'2" and 9st 6 so at the top end of what is healthy, bordering on overweight and it shows. I am far too squidgy around the middle!