B M I (Body Mass Index)

Question

I was checking a BMI calculator today, and I decided to enter Michael Jordan's (the basketball player) figures, just for fun. His BMI was 25, making him officially overweight (please, check it yourself using Wikipedia or something).

I personally wouldn't like to be as fat and unfit as someone like Michael, with a BMI of 25. Who would? If the governments say that a BMI of 25 is overweight, Michael should definitely lose... bones? muscles? Whatever.

A picture of the obese basketball player being fat & lazy:

• Do you mean Body Mass Index? A formula we use all the time for drug administration /blood flow prior to Open heart surgery. - 0043ad50 Sep 10, 2011
• The Index is based on height and weight as you described? - 0043ad50 Sep 10, 2011
• That's just awesome...I'm with you Laz and have been for years...take it with a grain of salt... :) - Jason7R Sep 10, 2011
• Just look at those rolls.. pfff - dewclaw Dec 2, 2011

Answer 1

I worked in a warehouse a few years ago. It was tough physical labour: each day I had to lift and stack up to 20 tonnes of goods by hand. After 6 months my weight had dropped to about 9 stones (126 lbs - I'm 5'8" tall - sorry I can't do metric). I looked quite gaunt and my mother wanted me to see a doctor.

One day, in the canteen, there was a nurse there who was offering to check people's BMI. After some poking and fiddling she returned my test score.

"Well done!" she smiled "if you lose another 7lbs you'll be in the "ideal" category!"

Gimme a break...

• L O L!!! - Jason7R Sep 10, 2011
• :) - Yeser007 Sep 10, 2011
• With 173 cm & 58 kg, I'd advise you to gain some weight. - lazarus1907 Sep 11, 2011

Answer 2

I learned about this. It's because he is very muscle-y.

Many athletes, according to a BMI calculator, are overweight.

BMI calculators are all over the place. Some have this being underweight, some have that being overweight...

• The thing is it was never designed to be used the way people use it. It's supposed to give you an idea of the population as a whole, individuals were never supposed to even know their results as it said nothing about them. - rabbitwho Sep 10, 2011

Answer 3

Yes, this index is way too constrictive. One can be healthy and have some weight and enjoyment in eating! BMI = BS.

Answer 4

It seems to be a common mistake in modern society. The focus on weight and losing it side tracks people from the more holistic goal of improving their health.

Answer 5

The heck with the BMI. I believe that we simply need to use a visual interpretation. Catherine Zeta Jones has kindly allowed me to share this content and the concept with all of my friends here on SD.

Left.....ideal
Right....not so much.

Lets call this the Zeta_Jones index.

• One on the right gives much better hugs. - rabbitwho Sep 10, 2011
• I'm picky" the one on the left is a bit "skinny" the one on the right is "fat" - no pleasing some people. :) - ian-hill Sep 10, 2011

Answer 6

When I was in the service I had to go through a caliper test every year to prove my true body mass.

Answer 7

Are you talking about Body Mass Index?

Walt Disney World actually pays us if we can keep our BMI below a certain amount.

I don't remember the number, but 25 rings a bell.

• My spelling suffers after a few wines, hehe. - lazarus1907 Sep 11, 2011
• Describe tu pregunta con detalle. (Recibirás respuestas mejores.) ¿Cómo formateo mi consulta? - lovesuzyson 2 hrs ago

Answer 8

Muscle weighs more than fat. That's part of why the BMI is rubbish. I one of those stupid TV programs once where they make people lose weight through "tough love" and this one girl was so good for 2 weeks and ate only healthy food and exercised like crazy so of COURSE she put on weight, her muscles had been wasting away before. Then they abused her when she stepped onto the scales and weighed bit extra. I was shouting at the television, they drove her to tears! You could see she looked healthier already and she had gone there all happy feeling like she'd done a good job. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

• Muscle actually doesn't weigh more than fat. It's a myth. - SonrisaDelSo Sep 10, 2011
• Really!? But I saw it on Sally Jesse Raphiell! - rabbitwho Sep 10, 2011
• Right, but muscle is more dense than fat... so 10lbs of fat takes up a lot more space than 10lbs of muscle. - Tosh Sep 10, 2011

Answer 9

I'm pretty convinced that BMI is b/s. It doesn't take into account a lot of factors such as body shape.

For instance, I'm 5'6" and 155 lbs, and curvy (which means I'm likely to weigh more anyway). I'm also fairly athletic and healthy.

My BMI is 25.

BMI calculators can shove it as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 10

Anyone that has a Wii Fit can check their body mass index just by standing on the board and doing a few simple tests.