Size 10-12 but BMI calculator says overweight?!

[MarshmallowX1983]

I was weighed today by the Nurse for the first time in about 2 years. I've never worried too much about my weight but am conscious that I'm petite (5 ft 1) and if I do put on a bit of weight it shows very easily because of my height.

I weighed 59-60kg and I've come home and looked up my BMI for the first time in years and am shocked that it says I'm overweight. I wear a size 10-12 - but mostly size 10. I'm relatively active and my diet is healthy, I did used to drink alot but have cut down a fair bit since I left my (stressful) job. How much does BMI really mean? Should I be actively trying to lose weight? I have felt more body confident in my 30s after 2 kids than I did when I was a size 8 in my 20s!!

BMI is a broad range of weights (my healthy range is over 3 stone between lowest and highest!) and is a decent yardstick for the vast majority of us. The very muscular might come out as overweight, but they will have worked hard to achieve that weight and will not care what the BMI scale says. I think the rest of us would do well to give some serious consideration to whether losing some weight is sensible if we come out as overweight on the BMI scale.

I am 5'10". At BMI 23.6 I am comfortably within the healthy range of BMI (now - used to be obese) and I am still carrying too much fat. Currently I can always fit into a size 16 and sometimes into a 14. I am happy to stay this weight but if I had more muscle and less fat I reckon I'd always fit into a 14 and sometimes into a 12.

With all respect to the tall people, I don’t think you can understand what it’s like to be short. Not “petite” or child like but just short. If you have an “ordinary” frame but short limbs, it makes you overweight while still a size 8-10.

I’m 5ft 7 and not thin at size 12.

I think frame has a lot to do with it when it comes to dress size. If you're small in frame then you can carry a lot more fat while still being physically smaller. My cousin is only 5'1 and is very obese, but in clothes she's only and 18/20 - she looks much larger.

Also you mention ethnicity wrt BMI - I believe that some groups (think it's East and South Asians) are at higher risk of diabetes and heart disease from around BMI 23, whereas for e.g. Caucasians the risk increases at BMI 25. But worth checking that on NHS website.

I'm a similar height to you I'm 5 foot but I'm 13.4 stone or 84 kg. I wear size 18 or 20. My bmi is 37 Wish I was your size!

I'm an 8-10 at 5'2" and very nearly overweight on BMI (think 24.7 or similar). I eat too much, it is not muscle. I am fit and healthy and do an average of 15000 steps a day but I eat too much of the wrong things. It tastes good, it's readily available and I enjoy it.

BMI is an excellent tool and accurate for all but the most muscular atheletes (think Johnny Wilkinson).

It's not a moral judgement, it just fact that at over 25 kg / m2 your risks of certain illnesses increase and you fall outside the ideal weight range. It doesn't make you any less valuable but it does statistically carry some risks.

@Year6dramallama

I think frame has a lot to do with it when it comes to dress size. If you're small in frame then you can carry a lot more fat while still being physically smaller. My cousin is only 5'1 and is very obese, but in clothes she's only and 18/20 - she looks much larger.

Also you mention ethnicity wrt BMI - I believe that some groups (think it's East and South Asians) are at higher risk of diabetes and heart disease from around BMI 23, whereas for e.g. Caucasians the risk increases at BMI 25. But worth checking that on NHS website.

A size 18/20 in clothes is more than chubby though I mean... at even 5ft 6 never mind 1

@MarshmallowX1983

I was weighed today by the Nurse for the first time in about 2 years. I've never worried too much about my weight but am conscious that I'm petite (5 ft 1) and if I do put on a bit of weight it shows very easily because of my height.

I weighed 59-60kg and I've come home and looked up my BMI for the first time in years and am shocked that it says I'm overweight. I wear a size 10-12 - but mostly size 10. I'm relatively active and my diet is healthy, I did used to drink alot but have cut down a fair bit since I left my (stressful) job. How much does BMI really mean? Should I be actively trying to lose weight? I have felt more body confident in my 30s after 2 kids than I did when I was a size 8 in my 20s!!

Absolutely correct. 60kg is within the normal BMI for my height (5ft 6 /7) so of course it’s overweight on someone 6 inches shorter than me. But whether that’s a problem for you depends on how muscular you are (or aren’t).

@museumum

With all respect to the tall people, I don’t think you can understand what it’s like to be short. Not “petite” or child like but just short. If you have an “ordinary” frame but short limbs, it makes you overweight while still a size 8-10.

This is why size 0-6 exists isn’t it? For shorter / petite women. Because it is healthy for them to aim for those sizes. Size 10 should be the aim of people average height or taller.

@museumum

With all respect to the tall people, I don’t think you can understand what it’s like to be short. Not “petite” or child like but just short. If you have an “ordinary” frame but short limbs, it makes you overweight while still a size 8-10.

So true!! I’m short because of my mixed ethnicity - Asian/white. I got my height from the Asian side (Dad’s) but I still got my (white) mother’s curves! Def not one of those child like frames.

I think this post has nicely reminded me that we are all different and yes, I will try to eat healthier and not allow myself to go any further up the BMI scale, but, i’m not going to weight myself repeatedly or let myself get worried about it because I am who I am.

I can't explain the maths but BMI is actually harsher on tall people than short people. The thing about muscle mass applies to v few people indeed.

@Plotato

I can't explain the maths but BMI is actually harsher on tall people than short people. The thing about muscle mass applies to v few people indeed.

I am interested in this. Are you able to explain a little bit more?

@Rkyii55 oh yes, I just mean that lookingbat her you'd think she was a size 26 or more, but she's 'only' an 18/20 and that is because she is small boned.

The BMI calculation dividesan adult's weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared. For example, A BMI of 25 means 25kg/m2.

Does that not mean a taller person will have a larger number on the denominator and therefore it will lower the BMI score?

@Stellaris22

BMI is a tool I personally have no faith in as it ignores things like muscle mass. You can be incredibly fit from weight training and your BMI can read as overweight or obese.

I hear this sort of thing often.

Yes, for a theoretical highly muscled woman, BMI might not be accurate. Do you know how muscly that woman would need to be though? Think of a muscly female athlete. Serena Williams? Her stats are publicly available and her BMI is 'healthy'. Name another muscly female athlete and you'll likely find similar.

I wish people would stop pushing the idea that BMI is nonsense. For 99% of women, it is a sensible yardstick for establishing whether your weight is healthy. It's not the be all and end all, but it's more useful than you claim.

Exactly ! More woman are obese ( FAT!) than so muscly than it's valid for

Posted by a fat woman 🤣 my BMI is obese and sadly I am despite training 3 times a week .. my issue is all dietary

@dementedpixie

The BMI calculation dividesan adult's weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared. For example, A BMI of 25 means 25kg/m2.

Does that not mean a taller person will have a larger number on the denominator and therefore it will lower the BMI score?

They do, but squaring the height doesn't quite compensate correctly for the impact of it - see here: people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi.html.

As this maths professor notes: "As a consequence of this ill-founded definition, millions of short people think they are thinner than they are, and millions of tall people think they are fatter."

In general I think shorter women are often a bit in denial about just how much of a difference height makes, i.e. that being a size 10 at 5'1 really, really isn't the same thing as being one at 5'10 and so put too much faith in the idea that they must be a healthy weight really because I'm 'only a size 10'.

* In general I think shorter women are often a bit in denial about just how much of a difference height makes, i.e. that being a size 10 at 5'1 really, really isn't the same thing as being one at 5'10 and so put too much faith in the idea that they must be a healthy weight really because I'm 'only a size 10'.*

This with bells on.

When I lived in Asia many doctors across a number of countries I lived in had adjusted BMI down for anyone under 5ft 4 (and certain races). So only BMI 18-22 was classed as a healthy BMI. 23 was borderline and overweight started at 24. It apparently caught a lot of health problems earlier in middle age than previously and is credited to being the reason why places like China and Japan now have an increasing average life expectancy.

So only BMI 18-22 was classed as a healthy BMI. 23 was borderline and overweight started at 24

In Singapore the height of the average woman is (surprising to me) the same as the UK, yet the recommended ideal BMI range is 18.5 to 22.9. 23 and up is overweight.

I weight train and have way more muscle than i did 5 years ago but I'm rhe same bmi and weight.
I wear smaller sizes than I did 5 years ago.

I've seen the new BMI calculator before and whilst I don't pretend to understand the maths at all it makes sense that it should be updated. It's also given me more motivation to lose a few pounds. I have (lockdown acquired) foot pain and I'm sure losing weight will help!

People please don't forget that OP is mixed Asian and as such will have an adjusted BMI range that takes into account the lower bone density associated with race. So OP your result of overweight is my most likely right.

At 5'1" and size 10-12 it makes sense that you'd count as overweight tbh. I'm overweight with the same dress size except I'm 6" taller so I'd expect you to have a smaller frame and smaller "base" size to go with it.

@Coogee it's not just height, it's bone density as well - that's why BMI calculators ask what race you are

OP I had the same realisation recently. I was a size 8-10 at 5'4 and smaller than a lot of people I know but when I weighed myself for the first time in about 6 years I was bordering on overweight. I was pretty shocked. Lost 4kg so far and in about the middle of healthy. Now trying to lose another couple to be on the safe side of healthy weight. Fortunately they did come off pretty easily with small changes (1 slice of toast instead of two, less wine etc), let's hope the next few do as well!