Here.
We got a Wii fit a few months ago, and it tells me that my BMI is high, though within the normal range (23.5), and it’s always encouraging me to set a goal to lose weight, but I don’t think that 170 lbs on a 5’11” frame is overweight, particularly when my waist size is only a couple inches more than it was when I was a kid. We ought to start debunking this.
SlashDot had a recent posting about Being Slightly Overweight May Lead To Longer Life where the value of BMI was hotly debated in the comments. The article it links is a good compliment to your link.
I envy your weight status though. I’m just under 6′, weigh in the 220’s and have a BMI just over 30.0. As a result of some recent health concerns I realize I need to fix this now or follow the not so pleasant health path of my grandparents and mother. My target weight is to get down around 185 or so over the next 6 to 9 months, but going by BMI that would still be considered overweight. My body composition, having broad shoulders, broad rib cage and thick wrists/ankles, makes me question that achieving the recommended 170 is even possible for me without looking and feeling very unhealthy. People are very surprised when I tell them I’m 50 pounds overweight (or at least they tell me they are :-)).
Concerning WII fit, I thought I read recently that it came under criticism lately for telling otherwise fit teenagers that they were overweight as well. The concern being that it could contribute to an unhealthy self-image in healthy kids concerning their weight.
It has the “virtues” of being easy to measure, simple to understand, and easy to demagogue / scold about.
Me: 25 BMI = 175 pounds. At 175 pounds, my body fat is under 15%.
Mind you, I don’t *mind* being muscular enough that the BMI categories for overweight / obese are even more stupid. I just do the pinch test where my body fat accumulates first.
I would describe, but that may be in the TMI category.
Mr. Thompson,
Suggestions for weight loss:
5 small meals daily, separated by about 3 hours each. 20% fat calories, 40-45% complex carbs, 35-40% lean protein. Total caloric intake: 1800 / day.
Lots and lots of water. Then more water.
Regular sleep, to reduce stress hormones that tell your brain to eat sugar.
30 minutes aerobic exercise, 5 times daily.
Walk a total of 2 miles daily, just in the course of doing stuff.
That should let you drop several pounds the first week (about half of it reduced water retention), and 1-2% of your body weight per week thereafter.
MG, thanks for the tips. I’m already doing more than half the things you mention and I’m losing a steady two pounds a week — which is about as rapidly as I want to lose the weight. I’ll look into the other things you mention.
I agree, these charts are much too vague. I am a large boned man, 6’4″ and the “recommended” minimum weight for me is 156 pounds. That’s still considered a “healthy” weight for me. I would look skeletal at that weight, how can that be healthy?
BMI is pretty bullshit. So much information is lost when putting it in BMI form that the only thing you really get out of it is whether or not someone is exceedingly overweight or not. However, this information is not at all difficult to obtain, so the measure is completely useless. Closer to the ideal weight zone BMI is worse than useless, because it misleads perfectly healthy, athletic people into thinking they are overweight and misleads unhealthy inactive people who are overweight into thinking they are not overweight.
It’s dumb and oversimplifies things to a degree that is unhelpful more often than it is helpful.
I saw this link over on Instapundit yesterday. A Pretty good run-down on why BMI is a BS way to judge an individuals obesity.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439
Penn & Teller did a whole episode about this on their Showtime series B.S. Penn laid on a table while Teller measured and marked off lines on his legs. Then Teller pulled out a chainsaw as Penn explained one quick and easy way to make yourself healthy according to the BMI chart.
Apparently, the BMI has its roots back to the 1800’s from some Belgian Mathematician. What some mathematician back in the 1800’s knew about health is beyond me. It does however make for a simple and easy chart that even a politician can understand.
Measuring BMI accurately takes a skilled person with calipers to do it, it’s more like an art form.
If you have just a modest amount of muscle, it will totally skew any calculations based on weight/height.
This problem is even worse for kids. My 7 year old girl stands on it and it asks her what her goal is! She weighs all of 40 lbs! I don’t think she should be worried about too much weight gain at that age. It also gives you a “Wii age” that totally falls on its face when dealing with anyone under puberty. Again my daughter comes out with a 25 year old wii age and it tells her that those additional years may maker her out of shape and unhealthy. They have the network connection why don’t they report scores and age without names… that way you could see how you do compared to similar people. The one other thing I don’t like about the FIT is that there isn’t any way to setup a workout program. You do one minute playing one fun game/exercise then spend 5 minutes finding the next one to play. Cool concept but poorly executed.
I vlogged about the BS of BMI last April.
Whoops, my how time flies. that was three years ago.
Heh, ahead of the curve Ed.
I still recall in college ROTC. A buddy of mine was being told he might not get a contract because he was overweight and outside BMI limits. He finally got a waiver to perform a muscle/fat test, which allowed him to qualify for his contract. The guy was nearly pure muscle and in great shape. He’s a damn good Army Major now and hopefully soon a Lt. Colonel.