BMI Calculator?
So I am 23 5'3" and weigh 150... the BMI calculator says I am overweight... The problem here is I am not overweight lol. I have always had a broad curvy frame even as a girl. I currently do yoga M,W,F and run on T,Thr,Sat and do weights on cardio days. I eat a healthy preservative free vegetarian diet and drink plenty of water. When I tell people my weight they are usually surprised and say I look about 130. I know muscle weighs more than fat... So my question is what constitutes the accuracy of a BMI calculator... Perhaps if I didnt have a healthy lifestyle I would be genuinly overweight but I am not... And then... what is the best way for me to figure my body fat percentage? Thanks! *Commical side note* My weight is a sucky illusion too - I can never enter in Jell-o wrestling or fight night type situations at bars... because I weigh too much!
Public Comments
- The BMI calculator is not supposed to be used as a "bible", but as a tool. Athletes, or people with a wide bone structure, will usually have a higher BMI than other people. For an athlete, muscles will be a big part of their weight. There are healthy bodybuilders with a BMI over 30, with barely no fat on their body. For a person with a wide bone structure, a wider body will increase the need of food, which will also increase the weight. Therefore athletes and people with a larger bone structure can have a higher BMI without being unhealthy.
- BMI does not account for any lean body mass (muscle) in the numbers. Body builders can have a body fat of 7% (that's low) and still be over on their BMI as obese. In fact most are. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a BMI of 38 and that is approaching morbid obesity. As long as you are strong and happy with your body what does it matter? Too many people look at the scale and don't go by how their clothes fit.
- You only have a BMI of 26 so technically you are not considered overweight until you are a 32 BMI. I work for a bariatric (weightloss) doctor
- It sounds like you have the one thing that flaws the BMI calculator. You have more muscle tissue or dense muscle tissue. In your case, it does not apply because of your muscle tissue. You dont live a sedentary lifestyle, you have built on your lean muscle frame. It was designed to set up a national height to weight ratio chart of sedentary adults, not active adults. As to your body fat, you can purchase a monitor for around $60. Get one that uses the Bioelectrical Impedance method. It is very accurate. Keep doing what you are doing.
- body mass indicators are ment to tell you just you mass if you are coming up over weight it usually has nothing to do with fat.. you may just merely have a a large muscle mass. i would not use this type of calculation if you are truly interested use you fat percentage to determine a more realistic mass index.
