Everyone knows that BMI is, at best, a blunt instrument, and there are much better measurements of whether an individual is carrying too much weight. The entire England rugby team would be classed as obese using BMI. So, if the measurement is stupid, stop using it in your arguments. At the very least, some of those arguing in this thread need to be more precise in their use of language.
Does being overweight mean you're slow on a bike?
- Thread starter screenman
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My exact point which was called ludicrous. Bmi is an indicator that is used in the uk. It is a bad indicator, hence my post re my instructor.
My doctor used it. I told him I have a high muscle body but that wasn't recorded in the notes as to the uk medical profession it doesn't count.
Apparently a better measurement is waist.
KneesUp
Guru
That also sounds a crude measure, but works better for me at least - I weight pretty much the same as I did 20 years ago, but I am nowhere near as fit as I was then - as reflected in going from 28/30 jeans to 32/34. I've lost a chunk of muscle and gained a bigger chunk of fat of the same mass.
Obviously my BMI has not changed at all in that time.
"What are overweight and obesity?
Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health".
The above is what I stated and it comes from the World Health Organisation site. Do you agree with that? if not your views are ludicrous. Sorry if that makes me sound like a "gob*****" but my views tend to be....sorry can't think of right words. I am a bit "slow at the moment as I have had a few epileptic " episodes " (the new politically correct way of describing fits) recently
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KneesUp
Guru
but then you also said:
So you are now saying that it is ludicrous to disagree with the definition of being overweight or obese as having "abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health" whilst also saying that having greater muscle mass can also make you overweight.
This is why you need to be more careful about what you type - perhaps trying to be a bit consistent would help?
KneesUp
Guru
Incidentally @brand, the WHO go on to say
The WHO definition [of 'overweight' and 'obese'] is:
The WHO definition [of 'overweight' and 'obese'] is:
- a BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight
- a BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obesity.
jarlrmai
Veteran
BMI is for populations and indication, there have been a few highly publicised stories of athletes being told they are overweight by uninformed health professionals but as an indicator for the general public it is a simple figure that anyone can work out that gives you an idea that you might be overweight, a lot of people see themselves as normal, because the average person they see looks the same, but they are actually overweight.
If you are so fit that you classify as overweight because you have high muscle mass, you KNOW all about (and probably don't hold back from telling as many people as you can in faux outrage)
If you are so fit that you classify as overweight because you have high muscle mass, you KNOW all about (and probably don't hold back from telling as many people as you can in faux outrage)
Sorry but some surgery do messure body fat. They use a hand held device held by the patient in both hands which sends a small electrical charge round your body. I think the longer it takes to go round the body the more lard you have. 2 surgeries I have used in the past used this devise the rest were incompetent .
Also it was recently reported by the UK medical profession that some children had the correct BMI but were obese. In other words very little muscle.
Also it was recently reported by the UK medical profession that some children had the correct BMI but were obese. In other words very little muscle.
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KneesUp
Guru
The electric fat calculators work on the principle that fat and muscle have a different resistance I think. I would imagine they assume a certain proportion of you is bone and internal organs, and then deduce your body fat percentage from the resistance it measures.
They are reasonably accurate, apparently, but the only real way of knowing is via an autopsy, which is a bit extreme for most purposes
They are reasonably accurate, apparently, but the only real way of knowing is via an autopsy, which is a bit extreme for most purposes
Think I will go with reasonably accurate!They are reasonably accurate, apparently, but the only real way of knowing is via an autopsy, which is a bit extreme for most purposes
jarlrmai
Veteran
It an INDICATION and for POPULATIONS, it's easy in person to see if someone fall outside for a proper reason it ie they look like pro Rugby player or they are a small kid with too much fat but short/light enough that the maths breaks down. Or that they have a strange body shape but are otherwise healthy
But if you have 1 million heights and weights you can get a good population average by working out BMIs or if you are an unsure individual and check it and you see an overweight figure you can go to a professional check it out. Any professional that goes purely on BMI in person should not be a professional.
If you want the most accurate in vivo calculation you need to go on a DEXA scanner configured for fat density.
Uhm not sure if some professional Rugby front rows aren't a little porky?
U
User6179
Guest
That would suggest that it does not matter whether the extra weight is fat or muscle?
