BMI is just the governments way of making you think you are fat or skinny - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - BMI is just the governments way of making you think you are fat or skinny (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 9/30/2014 10:42:11 AM EDT

[#1]

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BMI doesn't handle folks active athletes very well. That's well known. It seems applicable to you. I question whether it's applicable to the majority of internet users who complain about BMI not being a perfect measure.

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Well,, it WAS applicable to me.

I'm still active, but nowhere near as much as I was a few years ago. My job and my kids' activities have made it hard for me to train as much as I used to. I still lift and run but I don't swim or bike anymore and I haven't run more than 10 miles at a clip in the last 3 years.
I'm at about 200lbs now and closer to 16% body fat than 12 now.

Posted: 9/30/2014 10:47:24 AM EDT

[#2]

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Because there might be a lot of variety in people? Different bone densities, muscle densities, legt to body length rations, hat size

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No, I write software in the private sector for private sector clients. What I've learned in this industry is that people will bend over backwards to justify the way they are doing things, even when it's nonsensical.

Near death at 168 and 5'11"? How do you explain the fact that I've lived just fine at 28 pounds lower than your "OMG I'll die" weight while being all of an inch shorter?

Because there might be a lot of variety in people? Different bone densities, muscle densities, legt to body length rations, hat size

What? Not everyone has the same frame to put weight on? Damnit!

I'm about 250 right now at 6'1...I should be around 230 (yes...I'm a little heavier than I'd like to be right now

but no one calls me fat when I'm DLing 405 for reps...)...the gov't wants me down around 190. When I graduated basic in '03, I was 225...with a 34in waist. at 215 people start asking if I'm doing ok

I have a big frame...XXL gloves, wide shoulders, etc...

The BMI is based of an average skeletal/muscle system and no activity. It goes to shit.

Posted: 9/30/2014 10:48:31 AM EDT

[#3]

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Well,, it WAS applicable to me.

I'm still active, but nowhere near as much as I was a few years ago. My job and my kids' activities have made it hard for me to train as much as I used to. I still lift and run but I don't swim or bike anymore and I haven't run more than 10 miles at a clip in the last 3 years.
I'm at about 200lbs now and closer to 16% body fat than 12 now.

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BMI doesn't handle folks active athletes very well. That's well known. It seems applicable to you. I question whether it's applicable to the majority of internet users who complain about BMI not being a perfect measure.

Well,, it WAS applicable to me.

I'm still active, but nowhere near as much as I was a few years ago. My job and my kids' activities have made it hard for me to train as much as I used to. I still lift and run but I don't swim or bike anymore and I haven't run more than 10 miles at a clip in the last 3 years.
I'm at about 200lbs now and closer to 16% body fat than 12 now.

It also sounds like you're in your late 40s now and not making any excuses. Plus, being involved in your kids' lives seems pretty important.

Posted: 9/30/2014 10:52:30 AM EDT

[#4]

I think a lot of people get used to seeing themselves with extra weight and develop a skewed picture in their head of what they would look like at much lower weights.

Many times someone will set a goal weight in mind, reach it and then realize they actually could stand to lose another 15-20 pounds even though they thought they'd be *perfect* at their original goal weight.

Posted: 9/30/2014 11:41:26 AM EDT

[#5]

I can't even imagine the amount of money the .gov would spend to make a new BMI chart.

Posted: 9/30/2014 11:44:38 AM EDT

[#6]

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My BMI says I'm obese.

But dat #summitclub doe.

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Ive won every Cola Warrior while obese.

Posted: 9/30/2014 11:47:40 AM EDT

[#7]

A few years ago I was 195lbs at 5% body fat. I am 5'10", I was obese I guess. But generally most people don't work out to great physical condition so for the couch potatoes BMI might be pretty close.

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Posted: 9/30/2014 11:52:16 AM EDT

[#8]

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Seriously though, the so-called "obesity epidemic" is overblown IMHO. Sure, there are obese people...there always have been. Hell, when I lived in PA in the early 80s, I knew a lot of older people who were obese. Farm kids who would eat like a horse and work like a horse, then go on to play football and then they got out of school and didn't work on the farm or work out with the team but still ate like a horse.

In the high schools where I work, I see a few obese kids, but nowhere near the percentage that's quoted over and over in the news. Even in Wal-Mart, I don't see as many obese people as the news talks about. I think the numbers are, if you'll pardon the pun, inflated.

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Talk to physicians.

Posted: 9/30/2014 11:53:16 AM EDT

[#9]

LOL at the fatties.

Posted: 9/30/2014 11:56:34 AM EDT

[#10]

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I'm 5'10" and about 220. Yeah I could stand to lose a few pounds, but that chart in the doctors office says I should be no more than 168. Just ain't no way. I wasn't even that in High school over 30 years ago. It's BS.

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"A few?" Try sixty.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:01:48 PM EDT

[#11]

Here's some interesting info about BMI-http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

I work in the medical profession and I've never been impressed with the fact that BMI is used to determine insurance, etc.

1:The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a physician. He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources. In other words, it is a 200-year-old hack.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:04:44 PM EDT

[#12]

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Ive won every Cola Warrior while obese.

http://i58.tinypic.com/2mdwfm.jpg

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My BMI says I'm obese.

But dat #summitclub doe.

Ive won every Cola Warrior while obese.

http://i58.tinypic.com/2mdwfm.jpg

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:13:20 PM EDT

[#13]

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No, I write software in the private sector for private sector clients. What I've learned in this industry is that people will bend over backwards to justify the way they are doing things, even when it's nonsensical.

Near death at 168 and 5'11"? How do you explain the fact that I've lived just fine at 28 pounds lower than your "OMG I'll die" weight while being all of an inch shorter?

Edit: For comparison, I did one of those impedance body fat tests earlier in the year. 9.7%.

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I'm 5'10" and about 220. Yeah I could stand to lose a few pounds, but that chart in the doctors office says I should be no more than 168. Just ain't no way. I wasn't even that in High school over 30 years ago. It's BS.

Are you built like a weightlifter? Do you have a large amount of muscle? I'm 5'10 and 140lbs. You can easily be 168, even when ripped. My father is ~5'11 and has consistently weighed ~200lbs for most of his life, but that's because he's been lifting weights religiously and has less fat on him than I do.

Let me guess you work for the gov't? You have never seen the guy but you are making assumptions based on what you think you know about muscle mass. I am 5'11 and it would be physically impossible for me to be 168 lbs and healthy. I would be skin and bones and near death.

No, I write software in the private sector for private sector clients. What I've learned in this industry is that people will bend over backwards to justify the way they are doing things, even when it's nonsensical.

Near death at 168 and 5'11"? How do you explain the fact that I've lived just fine at 28 pounds lower than your "OMG I'll die" weight while being all of an inch shorter?

Edit: For comparison, I did one of those impedance body fat tests earlier in the year. 9.7%.

You answered your own question in thinking everything fits into a neat statistical formula failing to account for different body types.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:13:44 PM EDT

[#14]

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This. 5'9" 260. Yeah. Im overweight but looking at me most would guess low 200s tops. A lot of muscle density

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I'm 5'10" and about 220. Yeah I could stand to lose a few pounds, but that chart in the doctors office says I should be no more than 168. Just ain't no way. I wasn't even that in High school over 30 years ago. It's BS.

This. 5'9" 260. Yeah. Im overweight but looking at me most would guess low 200s tops. A lot of muscle density

You might want to rethink that. 5'11 and was 257. Most people would have guessed me around 225. Now after losing 40lbs, people still guess above 200, there's still some chub and I still need to lose weight. I can't see me ever being 168 like the "chart" is supposed to be but, at 260 and 5'9 you are very obese. Don't kid your self with the whole "muscle density" justification. I did for a while and you aren't doing your self any favors.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:24:37 PM EDT

[#15]

Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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Posted: 9/30/2014 12:31:24 PM EDT

[#16]

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Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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I am only at 50".

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:31:27 PM EDT

[#17]

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Here's some interesting info about BMI-http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

I work in the medical profession and I've never been impressed with the fact that BMI is used to determine insurance, etc.

1:The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a physician. He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources. In other words, it is a 200-year-old hack.

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If it hasn't been changed I would bet a good dinner that average bone density has gone up significantly in industrialized nations since the early 19th century.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:33:06 PM EDT

[#18]

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Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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According to the index Im obese. Im 6'5" 260, and maybe about 9-10% body fat. Whenever I dip under this weight I feel frail. Fuck that shit.

Just FYI I run at least 2 miles a day and can shoulder press close to BW. Also eat anywhere from 3k to 4500 cals per day, depending on my workout. BMI is a waste of time. Do what makes you look and feel good!

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:39:34 PM EDT

[#19]

According to that BMI chart that at 6'5", I'm suppose to weigh 175#.
The last time I weighed that was when I was sick in college.
Nope, ain't happening.

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:42:14 PM EDT

[#20]

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Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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Okay. (Not obese, but was considered overweight according to BMI when these pics were taken):

Posted: 9/30/2014 12:43:29 PM EDT

[#21]

What if you're skinny fat?

Posted: 9/30/2014 1:33:51 PM EDT

[#22]

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Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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5'4-3/4" 173lbs. in this pic. #basementfatty

Posted: 9/30/2014 1:49:30 PM EDT

[#23]

according to BMI, 27.2 = overweight

I could stand to lose a few pounds (I've already lost 70!). But I'm not teetering on the line of obesity, like BMI would have you believe.

Posted: 9/30/2014 2:34:47 PM EDT

[#24]

BMI = 30-31 = obese

Posted: 9/30/2014 2:37:08 PM EDT

[#25]

Stairs and mirrors make me feel fat.

Posted: 9/30/2014 4:26:06 PM EDT

[#26]

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Stairs and mirrors make me feel fat.

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Why do you have mirrors on your stairs?

Posted: 9/30/2014 5:00:04 PM EDT

[#27]

BMI used on individuals is pure idiocy.

There are better tools out there now.

Posted: 9/30/2014 5:12:53 PM EDT

[#28]

I'm obese. My jeans are 33s.

I'd have to lose 100% of my body fat and 25lbs of muscle to have a normal BMI.

Society has imposes unrealistic weight requirements for young men.

Posted: 9/30/2014 5:16:01 PM EDT

[#29]

It's useful for measuring changes in populations over time.

As an individual indicator? Not so much. And I say that as somebody for whom the BMI is actually accurate as hell. Evidently, I have the body composition of a 19th century Belgian.

Posted: 9/30/2014 5:19:31 PM EDT

[#30]

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Anybody who claims that the BMI chart calls them obese when they aren't needs to post a picture and let arfcom decide if you're a fatty or not. I predict that we'll get a few dudes with 54" chests, but most of you aren't being honest with yourself.

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I know I should drop 40 lbs. That's why I've cut out all soda, and only caffiene I have is a coffee once a day(and there are days I don't drink coffee at all, and if I don't drink coffee I'll drink tea or water) and I've switched to eating salads when not at home instead of burgers.

Went from 208 to 192.