My percent Body fat is Great, but my weight is obese- What does this mean?
I went in and got my body fat measured and I am in the Healthy range. Yet my BMI puts me at level 1 obese. If I were to weight the highest for a healthy BMI, an online calculator says that I would be dramatically underweight. Ummm, this makes no sense to me. note: I realize that BMI isn't exact, but my original goal weight was 147 and on http://www.freeweightloss.com/calculator.html it says that would put me below my essential bodyfat. Now I'm sure that is off too- but it seems to be off by a TON! I'm not an athelete or anything.
Public Comments
- Too many factors tie in to BMI to make it more than a rough guide for weight. For example- My body fat % is right in the middle of healthy, but my BMI indicates I'm over weight and borderline obese. The reason? Large boobies. They throw my BMI off in a major way. Also, I workout regularly and do weight training. Because I have moderate muscle tone, it makes me weigh heavier than I look. Moral of the story- Go with body fat % rather than BMI. And over them all, go with what your doctor tells you. If he/she says you're fine, you're fine.
- Measure your waistline. If you are under 35 inches, and I am sure that you are, your bodyfat is okay.
- the body fat % is a more accurate indicator of the current health status than the BMI. the BMI is useless for those that are not severely overweight/obese, it does not work for everyone while the body fat % does. the sole purpose of the BMI is to address the health complications that are associated with central obesity. if you do not fall into that category then forget that you ever heard of the BMI and track your body fat
- That's how it is sometimes. I'm within healthy range and pretty darn close to ideal and my BMI is 29. The BMI is very unreliable. I bet it'll be switched over to body fat percentage within the next ten years. Body fat monitors are so reasonable and accurate now, it makes no sense to grade everyone by the same guideline.
