How accurate is BMI?

[x__amour]

I'm not huge on BMIs. Pre-pregnancy I usually sit around 17.7-18.1 classifying me as "underweight" but I'm definitely not skin and bones and healthy and happy!

 

[Tasha]

I was morbidly obese this time last year but am now classed as normal. It felt a huge deal to get to that normal bmi because there seems quite a big deal placed on it in the medical world (especially with miscarriages, pregnancies etc).

This is a serious question (even though I am giggling as I type it ) but surely if you have big breasts that can throw it out too? I mean mine weigh a lot and therefore that would push my bmi up.

 

[Erised]

I agree Tasha, at a 38 J there is absolutely no way that my BMI should be the same as someone who is the same height, weight and has a B cup. There's tons of weight in those things.

I'm not skinny, in fact I know I'm fat. I'm normally a size 18ish, but going by BMI charts I should be pretty much dead with how morbidly obese I am.

 

[misspriss]

This is a serious question (even though I am giggling as I type it ) but surely if you have big breasts that can throw it out too? I mean mine weigh a lot and therefore that would push my bmi up.

Oh yes. Those things. They are gigantic, I cups. That definitely has something to do with it!

I remember a documentary I watched (Actually it was a UK show) about big boobs. They had women put bags of sugar in tights and stuff them in their bras and talked about how much boobs weigh.

 

[curiousowl]

I think everyone has a weight their body likes to be and trying to deviate too far is always going to be a struggle. For me the weight my body naturally settles at when I'm working out and eating healthy most the time is a few pounds heavier than how I think I look my best. I can maintain lower but it means no treats and killing myself at the gym. Not really worth it in my opinion. So while I guess BMIs are "accurate" that doesn't tell the whole story.

 

[lovelylaura]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

 

[stephx]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

 

[lindseymw]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

I seriously dislike the Dove-real women campaign. Alot of those ladies were overweight- and I don't think it should be promoted as being ok or acceptable. Obviously if they didn't want to lose weight that is no-one else's business but I don't think it's right to be teaching people to accept their bodies no matter what size they are! Exactly the same as an seriously underweight models but that's a whole other debate

Out of curiosity, what size would you determine as being healthy?

 

[stephx]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

I seriously dislike the Dove-real women campaign. Alot of those ladies were overweight- and I don't think it should be promoted as being ok or acceptable. Obviously if they didn't want to lose weight that is no-one else's business but I don't think it's right to be teaching people to accept their bodies no matter what size they are! Exactly the same as an seriously underweight models but that's a whole other debate

Out of curiosity, what size would you determine as being healthy?

It depends on a lot of things, height, shape, build etc but based on the average person I would say size 8-14 would be within a healthy range for most women.
I know for my height and build (5"7) I would be overweight at size 12/14, but I knew a girl once who was heavy and a size 16, but she was very fit and healthy- not an ounce of fat on her- and I wouldn't class that as overweight

 

[lozzy21]

My trainer at the gym says BMI is a load of shit, go on your body's fat % instead.

 

[BellaBoo0512]

My trainer at the gym says BMI is a load of shit, go on your body's fat % instead.

How do I work that out? I've not got a clue when it comes to things like this

 

[stephx]

You can buy scales that do it x

 

[Rachel_C]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

I seriously dislike the Dove-real women campaign. Alot of those ladies were overweight- and I don't think it should be promoted as being ok or acceptable. Obviously if they didn't want to lose weight that is no-one else's business but I don't think it's right to be teaching people to accept their bodies no matter what size they are! Exactly the same as an seriously underweight models but that's a whole other debate

I don't think Dove have promoted being overweight as being acceptable or okay; what they have said is that you can be beautiful at any size. That's totally different. Saying "You don't need to hate yourself because you think you look revolting" isn't the same as saying, "You are fat but it's fine, go on, have another cake". You can be comfortable with how you look and know you are beautiful while still knowing that to be healthy you need to lose weight. I'll never be beautiful but I know I look okay, even though I need to (and will) lose weight. I'll still never be beautiful and I'll still look okay when I've lost two stone, but I'll be healthier then too. I don't think people are too dumb to know that they're not a healthy weight even if they look okay.

 

[Rachel_C]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

I seriously dislike the Dove-real women campaign. Alot of those ladies were overweight- and I don't think it should be promoted as being ok or acceptable. Obviously if they didn't want to lose weight that is no-one else's business but I don't think it's right to be teaching people to accept their bodies no matter what size they are! Exactly the same as an seriously underweight models but that's a whole other debate

I don't think Dove have promoted being overweight as being acceptable or okay; what they have said is that you can be beautiful at any size. That's totally different. Saying "You don't need to hate yourself because you think you look revolting" isn't the same as saying, "You are fat but it's fine, go on, have another cake". You can be comfortable with how you look and know you are beautiful while still knowing that to be healthy you need to lose weight. I'll never be beautiful but I know I look okay, even though I need to (and will) lose weight. I'll still never be beautiful and I'll still look okay when I've lost two stone, but I'll be healthier then too. I don't think people are too dumb to know that they're not a healthy weight even if they look okay. If people feel ugly while they're overweight, I bet a lot of them will just give up and never lose weight.

 

[misspriss]

A lot of people say they aren't but for the average person with not all that much muscle mass they're pretty accurate, yeah. I think we have a slightly skewed perception of what is considered overweight and obese nowadays because we see lots of people who really are huge, but actually obese by medical standards isn't what we'd often consider obese to look at someone. This is interesting because it shows what 'obese' can really look like, as well as the other weight categories:https://www.flickr.com/photos/77367764@N00/sets/72157602199008819/

The problem with these photos, is that "obese", "overweight", "morbidly obese" are all defined by BMI. Thus, if BMI is flawed, those pictures are flawed definitions.

Actually, upon reading, that flicker collection was made to show how flawed the BMI system is, LOL! Guess I misinterpreted the way it was posted!

A much better way to determine if your weight is dangerous is by body fat percentage. Body fat percentage looks about the same on everyone, no matter your height. Check out these pictures:

https://www.healthygrad.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/body-fat-percentage-men-women.png

 

[misspriss]

And another thought, why is the BMI the same for women and men? Aren't women supposed to have more fat (for childbearing and stuff)? Thus, shouldn't we be allowed a bit more weight/height? The healthy body fat percentages are different...

Women are statistically shorter, and should have more fat...why should we have to fit in the same ratios as men?

 

[Purpular]

BMI is pretty much accurate if your an average person. If your a body builder then obviously not. People's views on being over weight has been warped over time. I'm a 12-14 and im over weight only slightly but yes i am. People refer to it as having 'curves' but its really not its over weight and can cause health issues. The problem is people are in denial about it and refuse to think that a size 14 woman is over weight/ obese but yes they are. So yes BMI is mostly accurate for the average person.

I totally agree, don't know how many times I have seen "....but the UK average size is 16?" It just doesn't make it ok! That is overweight, people should strive to be healthy.. not trying to swerve societies opinions that "fat" or "curvy" is now normal.

I seriously dislike the Dove-real women campaign. Alot of those ladies were overweight- and I don't think it should be promoted as being ok or acceptable. Obviously if they didn't want to lose weight that is no-one else's business but I don't think it's right to be teaching people to accept their bodies no matter what size they are! Exactly the same as an seriously underweight models but that's a whole other debate

Perhaps you have a point buried somewhere in there but the way your post comes across is pretty awful! For a start the word normal is taken from the mathematical average so by its very definition "fat" and "curvy" are normal.

As for the fact you don't think it's right to teach people that it's okay to accept you body the way it is, why on Earth not? Would you rather people just locked themselves indoors until they were easier on your eyes? Accepting yourself the way you are doesn't automatically exclude wanting to get healthier or lose weight just as much as if you're happy with your body you don't automatically rule out changing the colour of your hair! Perhaps you've never struggled with your weight or perhaps you've flogged yourself into being thin but don't impute your aversion to the overweight on everybody.

The BMI chart was also invented in the 1800s. Since then diet has improved and people have gotten taller. It surely follows that the stature of people has changed. Especially given that the chart is at its weakest for extremes of height and the average height of a man in 1840 was 5'5" so today's extremes of height are even more out of range. I am also sure that no device that doesn't take account of frame can be accurate. What if you're just in the normal range but have a small frame? How is that better than someone who is just 'overweight' but has a large frame?

 

[Lina]

And another thought, why is the BMI the same for women and men? Aren't women supposed to have more fat (for childbearing and stuff)? Thus, shouldn't we be allowed a bit more weight/height? The healthy body fat percentages are different...

Women are statistically shorter, and should have more fat...why should we have to fit in the same ratios as men?

That's why body fat % is a more accurate indicator of health. It allows for these biological differences.

 

[minties]

If you need a graph, chart or calculator to tell you that you are overweight, then you need a new mirror! I don't need to know my BMI to know that I'm obese.

My OH is obsessed with BMI, he's very fit (can run up mountains, does heavy weight lifting yadda yadda) but because his BMI is slightly above where it should be, he's always raving on and on about it. Blerk.

 

[emyandpotato]

If you need a graph, chart or calculator to tell you that you are overweight, then you need a new mirror! I don't need to know my BMI to know that I'm obese.

My OH is obsessed with BMI, he's very fit (can run up mountains, does heavy weight lifting yadda yadda) but because his BMI is slightly above where it should be, he's always raving on and on about it. Blerk.

I think a lot of people do need it actually. Like when I was 10.5 stone I was pushing overweight (I'm 5'5) but I felt and thought I looked exactly the same as how I was at 9.5, or 8.5, or 8.... Looking back I can see I was fat but at the time I felt the same as I feel now and it's so easy to kid yourself, or if you already have a crappy view of yourself as so many women do it's easy just to see your fatter body as the same as your 'normal' body which you thought was fat anyway. Am I even making any sense?!?! Without a BMI saying I was overweight I probably would have thought I was normal, is what I'm trying to say. And without a BMI chart telling me that my normal weight of 9 stone is healthy, I'd probably truly consider myself now to be overweight, like I did as a teenager.