Isn't BMI A Crock of Shit?

[quote] I am a size 30 waist in pants, to put it in perspective.

Porky!

You're ten pounds overweight.

Yes. BMI is something designed to make anyone who's not anorexic go nuts.

OP, You are using the simple BMI calculator. It does not care if the 10 pounds are fat or muscle.

Use the calculators thst consider your waist size.

OP, you certainly don't sound fat, so I'm not sure why your BMI readings would be so close to reading obese. But, as far as whether or not BMI is a crock of shit, I work in Medicare programs, and dialysis facilities are required to code their claims with Value Codes for the patient's weight and height, which are used to calculate the BMI: every claim pays differently based on the patient's BMI. Gain a few pounds, lose a few pounds from month to month, and the reimbursement to the provider changes accordingly. A8 = patient's weight, A9 = patient's height.

I agree with R4.

Thanks R4 and R5

I used the one linked below and went down to a 22.96 BMI, lol

It's a UK-based calculator, I wonder if Brits are supposed to be thinner.

You are just fine. Exercise, eat a balance diet and you will be just fine.

So tell us about your sex life. Are you hung?

BMI takes nothing into account for muscle / fat proportion. Most bodybuilders are de facto obese. If you have any decent amount of muscle mass for a man, you're in overweight territory if not obese. It's insane.

Here's the 'skinny' on the BMI - why it has taken over the medical world the past 30 years is beyond me. It was developed 200 years ago by a Belgian mathematician - so go figure.

I am toned but not jacked-- think George Clooney's body or Rob Lowe's. (Funny, almost all younger actors are super jacked these days)

I agree with you, OP! I'm practically wasting away!

You need to pay attention to the scaling, OP. A 25 BMI is NOT Obese (at least not in the non-gay population.)

25 is Overweight. At your height, you would have to be 175 to reach the tipping point of Overweight.

Obese (a rating of 30) starts for you at about 210 lbs.

r11 warn a brotha! damn!

Also, here's a study from 2016 that indicates that overweight BMI people live longer than either Normal Weight or Obese.

(But I have no idea if this has been refuted, because almost everything is over time.)

The Healthiest Weight Might Actually Be 'Overweight', Massive Study Finds (at link)

Thanks R12-- that explains a lot.

Much appreciated.

The one I've seen does not distinguish between male or female. That can be a big difference.

No, OP. BMI is not a crock of shit.

BM is a crock of shit.

Got it, fatty?

OP=ASCAP

It's but one measurement, not the oracle of measurements.

I measure as obese but had a low score in skin folds (last time it was done professionally). I was never overly muscly, run 10km, doing other weights and cardio. I'm strong and fit and healthy and according to BMI.....obese. 😕

My ribs are actually sticking out. Wtf?

search army body measurement

Don't quit your day job R17

Of course it's a crock. It lacks the ability to figure in lean muscle mass and it's a way for insurance companies to fuck one over even more.

OMG I hate BMI- I have legs thick as tree trunks (even when a skinny kid) so always weighed more...

This thread is no good without a nude photo, OP.

5'8", 212 pounds, 34 inch waist and my BMI is 30, morbidly obese.

How many morbidly obese people go to the gym 3/4 times a week with 50 minutes of cardio?

R25, are you saying you're NOT morbidly obese?!?

BMI is skewed if you're a hardcore bodybuilder. Otherwise, it's pretty accurate.

This is fascinating to me. Over the past year, I have done cardio exercise and very much monitored my food intake, both quantity and quality. As a result, I've lost 90 lbs and now have a BMI of 23. I've worked with a dietician, who has expressed low level concern that I have indicators for anorexia, and told me to only use the scale once a week, and to ignore BMI, which he feels is at least inadequate if not misleading. There is little doubt that the BMI levels are skewed towards thin and undeveloped. If I were to lose enough weight to put me at the low end of the 'normal weight' zone, I'd be sickly thin. By the way, I'm 5'10, 160 lbs, 59 yrs old, and yesterday, I bought new jeans with a 29 inch waist.

Humblebrag much?

O good grief, Mary. That is like saying measuring in degrees or fahrenheit is a crock of shit. It is a way to measure and that is all.

BMI is only a crock of shit to those who can't achieve the number they are suppose to have.

And cholesterol is a crock of shit and seat belts kill more people than they save.

And drinking is harmless as is marijuana .

I've never understood the point of the BMI. Maybe as a measurement of change?

As a diagnostic tool as has been mentioned above it is unreliable.

Make a list of the health problems associated with obesity. These problems don't occur only in the obese. People within the normal range can have the same problems. The flip side is people in the obese range can be perfectly healthy. Even if their body fat percentage is high. In the case of the elderly it can be to their benefit to carry around extra fat. Something to lose if you get sick.

I'm 5'8" and 194lbs. but I have a 33" waist and I'm slender. Even DL's most aggressive Body Nazis wouldn't call me overweight. The BMI is a crock of shit.

r33, you are in no way slender, delusional? ...yes.

Sorry r34 I am. It's all muscle. As I said, 33"waist.

Step away from the buffet!

r33, you may be all muscle and built, but with a 33" waist, you are not slender. Slender 1. (of a person or part of the body) gracefully thin. "her slender neck"

Semantics r37. Slender often means thin.

My BMI is 33, but it can easily pass for 21.

R33 You're about 80 lbs overweight. Jesus, fuck. Tubby. In highschool, I sat next to a fat chick and in the space of one year she broke three plastic/metal chairs. Poor thing. No shame.

But you still fucked her r40. Chubby chaser.

BMI is a guideline. You, your doctor, or anyone else evaluating or just looking at you knows that if you're 5'9 and 195lbs if your BMI is high due to muscle or because you're a fat fuck. The number of people who are fat that go on line to fight BMI discrimination is way higher than those built of pure muscle, so that would be another guideline. Not always true, but quite likely.

And the fat fucks go to the front of the line for vaccination.

I just thought it was odd that there's no differentiation between fat and muscle on any of these BMI charts. If I lost 30lbs. I would look like an Auschwitz survivor. I think they need to clarify things a bit better.

I’m a size 27 snd still heavy. I have a metabolic problem.

[quote] 5'8", 212 pounds, 34 inch waist and my BMI is 30, morbidly obese.

THICC

listen to r20.

You know if you're fat, out of shape, or if you aren't. Stop bothering the rest of us with your bullshit.

r20's link to the US army requirements is more accurate. According to that chart I'm only 12%, which is just over 1/3rd of the maximum percentage. Much better!

r48 you can choke on my 7.5" cock. I shoot heavy, so remember to swallow fast when I blow my load.

BMI was created as a tool to gather statistics on populations. It was never meant to be used as a measurement of individual health.

25 is overweight not obese. I think underweight people are the healthiest and you should aim for a bmi between 15-18.

You might want to enter the real world and realize someone with a fit body is way more uncommon than a 7.5" cock, and way more desirable. It isn't just about looks.

I've got both r53. Now choke on it!

Sure R54. When you are fat, the fat converts to estrogen so it basically turns men into flabby flaccid bitches. Which you have in spades by the sounds of it.

Yes BMI is complete and utter bullshit. Nobody fits into it because of all the different body shapes. It was industry created like the Food Pyramid was created by the USDA based on grain industry lobbyist demands.

Total bullshit. The bottom line is that you know best about your ideal weight which suits the type of body and lifestyle you have.

OP, you type nearly fat.

OP - here's a feeder/gainer forum where you can find the support you need as you embark on your gainer journey

To be useful, BMI and Body Fat percentages have to be assessed jointly.

If your BMI is 28 (“overweight) but your body fat is only 14% (near athletic), due to muscle mass, not to worry. On the other hand if your body fat is 33% and your BMI is a slender 23 (“normal”), go see your doctor, pronto.

At least use a high BMI to your advantage and use it to get a COVID vaccine

r55 it's thin and muscular. Sorry to bust your narrative.

My blood type is gravy.

🙀

Don’t people who are extremely muscular have to eat a lot of extra protein and calories to maintain that bulk? It still might not be as healthy as losing the weight.

Some are just naturally muscular through exercise, there's no special diet.

R44

Most people have too little muscle for their BMI, so it's an irrelevant point for most people who are overweight or obese.

That said, if you're so worried about it, get your body fat percentage measured and use that to assess your own personal health. Odds are, you're not as muscular as you think.

I just went to the doctor and he said I'm fine, r65. And yes, it is muscle. I'm not Ryan Phillippe (we're close in age) but my body isn't too far from his.

Yes, it is. A far more accurate measure of obesity is waist-to-height ratio.

r67 that's a better way to measure.

R58, absolutely. Someone can have a shitty BMI because they have a lot of muscle mass but their waist-to-height ratio will be good.

BMI isnt a crock of shit for sedentary people, but is a rough indicator. And it is inevitably skewed by muscle mass (muscle is heavier than fat.)

Someone who has a BMI of 26 but does 2 hours of exercise a day isnt going to be overweight. Someone with a BMI of 46 is absolutely obese.

The waist to height ratio thing R67 posted is much more accurate (mines 0.43)

BMI means nothing. Body fat percentage is the real measurement.

I have really narrow hips (27" ) and am short waisted (30.5") and am 5.3" tall and weigh 109.

My BMI is 19.3

My waist to hip ratio puts me in the danger zone at 1.13

And my waist to height ratio puts me just barely inside the healthy range at .48

I'm 64 years old, I don't think I should drop any weight to shrink my belly fat. I guess I will die soon.

BMI is for the population overall. Giving the few examples of when BMI may not hold is silly because that's not the point.

It's not BMI that's a crock, it's the way it's often interpreted. Reagan's surgeon general C. Everett Koop had a website where BMI recommendations for people who were in the overweight (not obese) zone was "don't gain any more weight," and now it's usually more like "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE A HORRIBLE EARLY DEATH IF YOU DON'T GET DOWN TO AN 18-24.9 BMI IMMEDIATELY."

R44 Almost no one has enough muscle to worry about BMI being off, only bodybuilders and powerlifters need different parameters. The explanation of the BMI tells you this if you read it.

[quote] It's not BMI that's a crock, it's the way it's often interpreted. Reagan's surgeon general C. Everett Koop had a website where BMI recommendations for people who were in the overweight (not obese) zone was "don't gain any more weight," and now it's usually more like "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE A HORRIBLE EARLY DEATH IF YOU DON'T GET DOWN TO AN 18-24.9 BMI IMMEDIATELY."

The more current freak out is more accurate, actually.