BMI - Does it have any relevance in real terms

[Big H]

I have a real issue with BMI recomendations

When I was 15 and a half stone people used to call me "Bones" but my BMI was over 30

A guy I know at the gym has 10% Bodyfat but is BMI 34 and therefore he is supposedly class1 Obese. He is a ball of muscle!

To be a BMI of 25 I would have to be 12 stone 10 - I would be dead - seriously

It takes no consideration of Body fat percentage or muscle. It's unlikely that I can get below 29 BMI, never mind 25.

I use my body measurements and my body fat as a much better measure.

What about you guys

 

[Debz]

Its only really a relevent guage for the average person out there. It's hopeless for body builders and people who have a lot of muscle.

For Mrs Average like me, yes it does work. It's a way of me knowing what level to reduce my weight to so I can reduce my risk factors associated with all the illnesses in my family.

Unfortunately scales will weigh water retention too, so they aren't a great way of measuring progress.

But these two things are the only simple way of measuring progress other than with a tape measure.

I've got a fat % gadget. But it's not viable to use that model for every person I see because it's fiddly to set up. And I expect you have to pay serious money to get one that's accurate.

So really the way we measure and weigh people and advise with BMIs is the only practical option currently available in widespread form.

 

[Sambucca]

Im struggling with this too at the moment. Im still just a smidge over BMI 30, so still technically obese - yet I am comfortably wearing a size 14. OK so I dont have supermodel proportions but at 5ft 7, I think anything less than a size 12 will be too slim. Another stone or so should take me to size 12, but I will still have a BMi of 28 - 29 at that weight.

 

[sazzy34]

I also find this confusing, I would looooove to be 10 stone yet I would still be overweight and would need to be about 9 stone 3lb to have a healthy bmi.
I am only 5ft

 

[Russiandoll]

I also have an issue with the BMI system. I don't see how one figure can fit ALL people: it doesn't take into account so many other factors. At 12st 7lb, I was far from slim (still obese according to my BMI) but because of the way my fat is distributed (mainly around my middle) my face was already looking quite thin, as were my hips and thighs. To achieve a BMI of 25 - just bordering overweight - I needed to lose another 2.5st.

I want to lose weight; I want to be healthier ... I do NOT want to look like the wicked witch of the West to achieve it. I've seen too many women taking on the 'Sharpei' look in order to doggedly reach that magical BMI figure.
Because of this, I've revised my goal UP to 11st. When I get there, I'll still be overweight with a BMI of 28 but if I'm happy with what I see in the mirror then THAT'S where I'll stop.

I'll use a guide as a guide - but I refuse to be a slave to it.

 

[Debz]

It is seriously just a guide designed to assess a persons risk factors. All it seems to mean is that with a BMI between 20 and 25 a persons risk of developing weight related illnesses are average, rather than being an increased risk with a BMI over 25. Being a BMI over 25 doesn't mean that someone is definitely going to develop those illnesses, it just means that from the research the bods have done, they reckon someone increases their risk of getting certain illneses.

Same thing with the apple shape thing. They reckon people who hold body fat round the middle have an increased risk of developing heart conditions. It doesn't mean to say they will definitely become ill, it's just the studies show the risk is increased.

My BMI is bang on 25 at the moment. I am 5'5. I can wear a size 12 in most things, but to be able to wear size 12 in anything, I need to lose more weight. So buying clothes is still awkward, but if my weight goes much higher than it is, forget clothes buying, my joints start hurting more. That to me is more important than what the numbers say.

 

[SteveM]

I deffo base what I do on what my Body Fat %age is as measured with callipers at my gym. I am lighter now than I was when I was at school, so I think I have done well, but I still have a high BMI. I work out quite a lot, and have quite a bit of muscle, though I would never say that I was necessarily "muscular". I still have some blubber around the middle that I want to sort out, and that is what I am trying to shift. My last BF% measurement came in at 24%, which is too high for me - I used to be at 16% give or take, and that is where I want to be again. My ticker is set to the weight that my CDC has put on my sheet, but if I hit 16% BF before that, then I will stop and stabilise where I am.