non white BMI moan

[LongTermLongTermness]

Hi everyone, I'm just having a moan this fine Saturday morning 😆

I need to lose a lot of weight and was playing around the NHS BMI calculator to see how much I should be aiming for.

Before the ethnicity element, I knew that 60kg at 156cm is the upper healthy BMI range which felt like a more achievable goal however now (and I know ethnicity update has been a thing for years since but it's new to me) now that we also add ethnicity (I'm middle eastern) my upper BMI weight range is 55kg but I could be as low as 45kg and still be a healthy BMI.

At 56kg (and 156cm) I would be classified overweight according to BMI. This is so disheartening but I get they are saying some ethnicities have higher body fat percentage.

The thing is I'm not an apple shape, I have a natural hourglass body shape and for reference my waist measurement was 29" at size 18, when I go by waist measurements my results are healthier than when I go by my weight which I feel too shy and self conscious to put on here, silly as it might sound.

I have never been 55kg. It feels like an impossible goal to be a healthy BMI and it matters to me because whenever I go to medical care, they are still using BMI and will still bring it up whenever there is any health context so I don't feel like I can ignore BMI because doctors will use it as justification for anything and everything concerning my health. I'd have to eat so bloody little or work out like a Trojan. ughh... I wish I was 'naturally skinny'.

If you're not white are you aiming for BMI 22 and under like they suggest for us or still going by 18 to 25 BMI range?

I feel your pain. I have to aim for a BMI of 23 or less as well. It feels impossible to reach. I’ve only ever got close to it once in my adult life and people were asking me if I had an eating disorder because I looked awful.

My advice, forget BMI and the focus on weight you think you should be. It’s an unsustainable goal so you’ll fail. Just set yourself small targets to begin with e.g drop a dress size etc and then when you get there set your next target. And so on.

I was not impressed with this revelation either. I have to aim for 9st 10 (61kg) to be classed as not overweight now.

This is due to an increase in diabetes rates for people of other ethnic groups (Asians as well as African and Caribbean): -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23143010

One of the scientific papers behind this change -

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8208895/

…the scientific paper shows the increase in diabetes rates for each ethnicity. Quite interesting.

Now I have to go back to dieting. Not having any luck at all.

Hip to waist ratio? That’s a good indication and isn’t embarrassing to post. Also needs to be moderated by ethnicity (Japanese women, for example, are closer to 0.85 and white women should be closer to 0.75).

hip to waist ratio 0.63

29" waist and 46" hips

I understand completely. I'm 43 and bmi 23.3 9st 5.5lbs 59.7kg 5ft 3" and want to hit bmi 23 as I was prediabetic before starting MJ at 13st 1lbs sixe 14-16, and had been for at least 2 years, probably at a size 14 12 stones. I never knew someone could be a size 14 and be prediabetic! Since I was 18 I've been an apple shape so had a big waist. At bmi 23.3 now my waist is 29.5" or 76cm, it used to be 93cm. I have no idea how your waist was so small at a size 18!! I am envious of you.
The last 5lbs or so are more difficult and I really have to eat low carbs and under 1100 cals a day to lose any weight. Yet everyone is telling me I'm too skinny and to stop!

That’s quite the snatched waist! And a very good hip to waist ratio. Meaning probably lower visceral fat and lower risks. Which also means BMI is probably a slightly less realistic tool for you.

BMI is all about averages and population level information. If you are significantly different than the average, and your hip to waist is, it’s a very blunt tool.

I was moaning about this the other day! Due to ethnicity I need to be 10 lbs lighter than I am now to be just in the healthy range. I have been in the middle of a ‘healthy’ range for my height and ethnicity when younger and it was due to significant restriction and I didn’t look well. I’m trying to ignore BMI and go by energy, fat levels, mobility, and general waist and clothes sizing. A size 10 seems ideal for my height and shape so sticking to that! (12 currently)

At 56kg (and 156cm) I would be classified overweight according to BMI.

Are you sure? I’ve just had a play around in the NHS calculator and it’s coming up as a bmi of 23.

Yes, I am. Because my entire Asian family is full of skinny diabetics. Asians get diabetes at a BMI of 24 even. I am aiming for about 23, which is tough in menopause 😪
It is what it is. I am genetically predisposed to carry weight on my stomach, so I have to work harder.

@Catonafreezingfridge if you use the NHS BMI calculator on their website, you have to enter your ethnicity, and for any ethnicity other than white on their list, a BMI of 23 is classified as Overweight. Right on the border of overweight and healthy, but the point is that you would need to have a weight of less than 56kg to be considered in the healthy weight range.

Yes its a statistical truth apparently, however, while not wishing to minimise the research, my understanding is that it is ethnicities within the south east Asian and Africa/Caribbean communities rather than ME/Arabic. Is that right? Not trying to give you a get out clause as such but I wonder if there is a difference in body composition across those groups?

I’m not white (black Caribbean) and according to BMI I’m obese.
now I admit I’m no supermodel and I would accept overweight and I’m trying to slim, but obese is ridiculous.
I wear a size 10 top, and size 12 bottom (sometimes I can get into roomy size 10 bottoms). I’m not perceivably “fat”, (no belly fat) I’m just built solid and curvy like many in my race and heritage.

there are many medical experts now saying that BMI is not a good tool for all races equally and that it is actually inherently racist.

Its not used for all races equally, that is the whole point of it having different levels of obsity and overweight for different ethnicities?

The research indicates that those from certain ethnicities are at a higher risk of weigh related conditions at lower weights. So it is accounting for that. How is that 'racist'

It would be racist to not take account of that, not alert people of those ethnicities of that higher risk, expose those people to a lack of knowledge and understanding about their own health needs and suffer the consequences of being overweight.

The prejudice and discrimination of lower expectations,

'well you're black, you're overweight, you're at higher risk but we wont amend any of our health tools or guidance and practice to inform and support you with that. '

Apologies! - I have just scrolled down and seen where it says that this is classed as overweight. I’m going to be honest, I doubted it because I couldn’t believe that it would be classed as overweight. It’s very unfair OP and you have every right to have a moan!

It doesn't mean you have to get to BMI 22 though. It will say you are healthy weight at 22.9!
My medical notes only give categories like 20-24 or whatever as healthy, but I know from playing around on the NHS site that 24.9 would still be considered healthy weight as it's 'under 25'. Some of the 'tick box' software can't cope with non-integers, so it makes it seem like you have to get to 24 (or in your case, 22), but the range is really up to the next number and it only tips into the 'overweight' category at that point (officially - obviously of course it's a continuous scale!)
I was aiming for just under 23, because I have hypertension and other risk factors, so I figured that would be a good goal.

Added to which, I there is a larger diversity in body types in Black African people. I mean the Dinka people (South Sudan) and the Mbuti people (Congo) live in countries that border each other and are almost two feet apart in average height. White European people are not half as diverse in comparison. And that’s without talking about the Black diasporas. You can’t tell me that the enormous diversity in Black people can be captured by such a blunt tool, especially knowing that medical tools are always worse for women and Black people.

Healthcare for Black people has to improve massively before I’ll believe that just changing the BMI number to reflect relative diabetes risk is remotely useful.

Im a dietitian and used to work in a clinic with many African patients. Admittedly, many were overweight. However, when weighing African women and calculating BMI I was always struck that the same silhouette on a white woman would have been significantly lighter. Africans have a higher muscle mass and denser bones. On paper the weight can look bad whereas the person does not look overweight or obese. I’d say roughly up to BMI 27 can look totally normal on an African woman.

I’ve decided to go by waist, it’s a better predictor of health. I’m 5ft 2 10st 10lbs with 28 inch waist, both height to waist and hip to waist are fine. Still want to lose some weight and get some exercise in but no longer freaking about BMI.

I think that as long as your waist is less than half your height and your blood work is OK that you're fine. BMI doesn't take into account individual differences in muscle mass/fat distribution. It's a blunt tool and relies on statistical averages.