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Why is BMI a thing?

2,275 Views | 19 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Rudyjax
bagger05
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AG
If I got my body fat percentage down to around 8%, I would still be heavy enough to be considered overweight according to BMI. I'm not THAT big and strong of a guy.

Is it simply because weight has a correlation to lots of health problems? Is it crazy to think that there is a better correlation between body fat percentages and health problems?

Seems the medical field is sticking with BMI. Just wondered why that is.
AggieOO
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b/c it works for most of the population. almost everyone on here is going to be an exception.
Big Cat `93
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AG
I think it's slowly losing importance among physicians. Maybe that's partly wishful thinking, but more docs seem to be ignoring it just from what I've read.

I'm guessing researchers will probably continue to use it in their lab and clinical studies because it's easy to calculate and compare.
bam02
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AG
As stated it is a cheap, easy standard that works for the majority of people. Any more than average muscle mass and it doesn't work.
bagger05
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AG
General population must be weak af.
SJEAg
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AG
Too bad life insurance companies still seem to use it...or did last time I applied anyway.
P.U.T.U
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The BMI statistics fit a bell curve pretty well so insurance companies use it since it is simple. Seeing as over 2/3s of Americans are overfat the numbers work out well. It's what happens when accountants are in control of your health
bigtruckguy3500
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BMI is a really good screening test. Usually screening tests are supposed to be low costs and high sensitivity. Diagnostic tests are then used on positives from the screening tests, and they have higher specificity.
Rudyjax
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AG
BMI is good for the general pop.

If you have less than 15% body fat as a man 20% as a woman, ignore it.
pinkdog
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This. It's seems like a lot of people fail to see it as a screening tool. But the reason BMI is used often in healthcare is because there is actually a lot of research to back it up. The vast majority of people with a BMI of over 25 are too fat. And yes there is a high correlation of comorbidites for people with a BMI of over 25 or below 18.5. That's why the "healthy range" is set between those two numbers; you see a lot more health problems at either extreme.
DannyDuberstein
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AG
It seems to fall apart for taller people (short too, I think). I'm 6'2" and it's pretty shaky at my height. Much taller and it really gets wonky. I think the formula is so simple that it is essentially considering a person 2 dimensional vs 3 dimensional. So for heights above certain ranges, it doesn't keep up. It somewhat accounts for the fact that since I'm taller, my frame is also likely to be wider (broader shoulders, etc), but it doesn't account for the fact that front-to-back will be a little thicker too.
Quinn
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AG
DannyDuberstein said:

It seems to fall apart for taller people (short too, I think). I'm 6'2" and it's pretty shaky at my height. Much taller and it really gets wonky. I think the formula is so simple that it is essentially considering a person 2 dimensional vs 3 dimensional. So for heights above certain ranges, it doesn't keep up.


Totally agree. I'm 6'4" and the healthy weight range is crazy. 155lb is a healthy weight, but 200lb is overweight.
ellebee
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I was around 15% body fat when I had my bmi checked for our wellness program at work. It said I was overweight. Pretty irritating bc I missed out on the extra points (which equates to cash) for having it in the "healthy range".
DannyDuberstein
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AG
ellebee said:

I was around 15% body fat when I had my bmi checked for our wellness program at work. It said I was overweight. Pretty irritating bc I missed out on the extra points (which equates to cash) for having it in the "healthy range".


This is a challenge at my work as well. I'm 6'2" 200 and quite lean as much of that weight is muscle, but that is into the overweight bmi range. Our incentive program at work pays $400 into your HSA if you get a wellness screening and hit a certain "healthy" target on at least 3 out of 4 metrics:
- BMI
- cholesterol (total and ratio)
-blood pressure
-waist size under a certain amount

So I have to make sure I can hit the other 3 to get paid because bmi is not happening. At least they give us an out on that one, but it leaves no margin for error. if you're having a stressful day and that bp has inched up a bit, forget it. $400 (and another $400 if your spouse hits it) isn't exactly chump change. My wife always nails all 4 and ai've managed to hit the 3 so far, but I'm waiting for that off day when my BP is wonky.
Pahdz
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We've got that same thing at work, it's BMI under 30 or waist size under something like 40, which itself is laughable.
pinkdog
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Interesting thoughts on the height thing. I think you're right. Bmi definitely has its limitations. But I wouldn't say it's completely worthless either. Again, screening tool
htxag09
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AG
Don't think anyone said it's worthless. Most have said it works for the vast majority of the population, but not for many on here.
pinkdog
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Oh, didn't mean to imply anyone on here thinks so. I have just heard plenty of people say it is complete bogus because it doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle mass. I used to hate it myself, but now I do see some value in it.
htxag09
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shano0603
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AG
I had mine measured a couple of summers ago. I lift all the time and have some size. I am 5'10" and at the time I think I weighed around 179-181 and 13-15% BF, can't remember exactly. My BMI said I was overweight. The trainer looked at me and looked at the paper, scratched it out and told me not to worry about it. I'm more like 195 now. Which, according to BMI, I'm borderline obese. It's a horrible representation of health and it's dumb that insurance companies use it.
Rudyjax
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Again, just because it's horrible for you doesn't mean it's horrible for the gen pop.
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