Of course BMI IS BS

fishgutzy

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When the government promotes anything you know it is BS.
That goes for BMI too.
Bit it fits the government demand that one size fits all for everything.

According BMI my "ideal weight" is 165 pounds. I haven't worked 165 pounds as an adult since I stopped committing 5 to 10 times a day. Yes I was bulimic for a decade.
Here's what I like at 165. My friend, next to me, weighed about 135. He was always skinny. When little called me too thin I pointed at him asked said no I'm not.

My current goal weight is about 175. If I lose only fat, I'll be around 10% body fat then.
At least I'm no longer "obese" by bmi.
But I was still "obese" when I swam 11 miles. Ha!
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Even the medical community will tell you it’s BS. Several years ago there was talk of using it for a litmus test as to whether you get jacked up insurance rates. Out HR depot pointed to one of the guys in our dept. that is big into weight lifting and that by their metric he was obese (not). Thankfully the idea got scrapped.
 
BMI is not a useful metric considered in isolation. It can be a useful way to track general trends in populations.

If you have a high BMI, but no other risk factors (waist measurement over 40", high blood pressure, etc) then you're probably fine.

I recommend investing a couple of hours watching these two podcasts:





And watching this BMI question at 29:15 from a seminar Q&A:

 
With the child on the way, my son got life insurance. They gave him a very high rate because his BMI was "too high". They got corrected.
They should have made the case on his lifestyle, he loves going out 2 mi on a kayak to catch sharks.
Dave shark 0.40 - Copy.jpg
 
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With the child on the way, my son got life insurance. They gave him a very high rate because his BMI was "too high". They got corrected.
They should have made the case on his lifestyle, he loves going out 2 mi on a kayak to catch sharks.
View attachment 83253

That is a man who has knelt at the altar of Brodin....
 
Army been doing if for decades and it doesn't work in Special Ops where everyone is very fit. Half the company is over weight by Army standards but everyone can max the PT test.

CD

It's true for most of the military. Well, the combat arms, anyway.

Most docs will only refer to it if you don't pass the eyeball test: do you look overweight? Then they will bring it up. Otherwise, it's a relatively meaningless number for most people in the medical community.

There is a ton of peer-reviewed literature that talks about the inaccuracies of the BMI.
 
You guys put more into BMI than is there. BMI is an initial screening tool at the population, not individual, level. That's it. If you are what Ahr-nuld once was, then you know this tool doesn't apply to you. The same way a poor diet, skinny fat person may be in a higher risk category than first glance. If so many of you all are "currently" in the extremely fit SF guy category then I'll expect you'll know what it means to be "mirin on instagram." A moment of honesty and you'd know before assessing BMI about which risk category you belong.

Just because you don't believe BMI means anything doesn't mean the population level data won't extrapolate to you. You aren't the only person with your body type to ever live. The data has been collected and turned into statistical probabilities (not certainties). But again, you know what you are and about where you stand even without seeing numbers.
 
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I am 5'8" and weigh about 173. My BMI says I should weigh in at 145. Sorry but I am not going to waste good gun money on crack so I can lose that much weight. I don't have a 6 pack but I do ride my bike on average 6,000 miles a year.
 
Army been doing if for decades and it doesn't work in Special Ops where everyone is very fit. Half the company is over weight by Army standards but everyone can max the PT test.

CD
Army and Marines use "taping" to adjust the max weights on an individual basis and calculate BFP. One can be within the normal weight range and still fail for body fat % and sent to remedial fitness training.

When I was in the USAF the doc measured my bicep to see if it would raise my max weight allowance. Ha! It lowered it by 20 pounds! So he started with the standard.
My body fat because is actually much lower now than when I was 22. Sober Swimmer vs couch potato beer guzzling drunk.
 
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You guys put more into BMI than is there. BMI is an initial screening tool at the population, not individual, level. That's it. If you are what Ahr-nuld once was, then you know this tool doesn't apply to you. The same way a poor diet, skinny fat person may be in a higher risk category than first glance. If so many of you all are "currently" in the extremely fit SF guy category then I'll expect you'll know what it means to be "mirin on instagram." A moment of honesty and you'd know before assessing BMI about which risk category you belong.

Just because you don't believe BMI means anything doesn't mean the population level data won't extrapolate to you. You aren't the only person with your body type to ever live. The data has been collected and turned into statistical probabilities (not certainties). But again, you know what you are and about where you stand even without seeing numbers.
The issue is the the government is using it as an individual measure. Gov't demands a one-size-fits-all solution for everything. That why Moochelle didn't care that the plan she forced on schools left many students starving or needing to bring their own food.
Insurance companies want to use BMI on individuals too.
And get this, NIH actually tells people that BMI is more important than actual fitness or body composition because the heart works harder pushing blood through muscle than through fat. Think about that next time someone spouts off about "Medicare for All." Big Gov't wants the population weak.
 
With the child on the way, my son got life insurance. They gave him a very high rate because his BMI was "too high". They got corrected.
They should have made the case on his lifestyle, he loves going out 2 mi on a kayak to catch sharks.
View attachment 83253
I was denied long term disability coverage because I was diagnose with sleep apnea when I was obese. Haven't been retested in over 5 years. But I am 100 pounds lighter than when I got that diagnosis. And I swim a lot farther than I did then too. Between 800 and 1000 miles a year.
 
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