Thilesha's Journal, 11 Feb 21

I don’t think BMI should be your main concern or goal. There are so many other ways to see where your body should be healthy. Sure, BMI is a good start but it doesn’t work for most body types. It can be very inaccurate. The man who thought up BMI - Adolph Quetelet - was actually a mathematician. Not a physician. He also only used European white men in his discovery. So it’s definitely not inclusive for most body types. So if you feel your BMI doesn’t seem to suit how you’re feeling, it’s because you are like almost everybody else. I know it’s a mission, but getting your body fat percentage measured would be the best option in my opinion. But I’m not a specialist, just here to give my perspective💕 

I think BMI is fine as a rough measure of whether your weight is an OK range for the average person. Yes, it will overestimate body fatness (the thing that causes all the metabolic and other problems) in people with a higher than average muscle mass, and yes, it can underestimate fatness in some populations (women, Asians, some other ethnic groups) who have a higher than expected BF % despite being normal weight. I'd say that it shouldn't be the only marker you go by. Maybe get some lab work (lipid panel, fasting glucose, maybe HbA1c) and get a snapshot of your actual metabolic health. BMI is a predictor, but you may as well see what the situation in fact is before you decide whether it would be beneficial to lose more weight. Basically, my answer is that BMI has taken a lot of criticism this last decade, but for the average person, it's not a bad predictor of health risk. Get other tests if you want a more accurate idea of your individual health. 

Also, getting an accurate measure of body fat percentage is not easy at all.  

mmm.. I've been having some similar thoughts. My BMI says I should be 53-69kg. I'm aiming for something in the middle and judging based on weight I was before children and physical very active. I certainly don't think 69 in my case is 'overweight' I wear a size 12. And I was last 53 kg when I was 12 years old. I certainly don't think I should at 40 weigh what I did as a skinny sporty 12 year old. 

I actually read one article (after someone posted here) of using your waist circumference at half your height in cm as a better base as it accounts for where your fat is stored as midsection fat is the unhealthiest kind of fat, as well as mitigating the inaccuracies in using BMI such as different races, sexes, muscle mass etc. Unfortunately insurance and medical aid companies still use outdated and inaccurate BMI as a base 

BMI is a lie, it only takes into consideration your height versus you bodyweight. According to my BMI I am overweight, being a bodybuilder I frequently test my body fat % and I currently stand on 10-12% which is definitely not overweight. Best way to check is with a body fat caliper or a fat body scan which also takes into account your bone structure and density. I only rely on body measurements, the scale can also be misleading. Weight can stay the same for days even if you lost some fat and gained some muscle due to exercise  

I don't believe in BMI. it doesn't consider you bone structure. I am big boned. I look at my best around 76 kg. but according to bmi calculations i need to weigh 67. I've been at 67 before and i look anorexic. if you hace a denser bone structure dont believe BMI. also muscle weighs more than fat. so if you're muscular BMI also doesn't count  

even now people guess that i weigh 98 when in actuality i weigh 108. dense bones do that. 

Whichever method you end up choosing, there will be some inaccuracy - underwater weighing is the gold standard for BF% measurement, not DEXA or calipers, neither of which is accurate. I'd say it's cheaper to get lab work and gives you the information you really need - the current state of your metabolic health. Think about your goals. Are you aiming to be a model or fitness competitor who needs to get a very low body fat percentage? Or are you just trying to be in decent health? If it's just trying to be in good health, knowing your blood work is more reliable than using BMI OR body fat as a predictor of risk of CVD, diabetes and other conditions you don't want. 

Same with me...My whole family, male and female are very tall people..im the only small one :) Im 167cm and according to my BMI I have to weigh 65kg, and I am big boned...by then I will look like someone who is on drugs....I gave up on my BMI...August I weighed 122kg...my weight now is 108.2kg...I stick to my healthy eating and exercise I can even run now which is still a shock to me.....my blood pressure came down ....I feel healthier I feel fabulous lol. 

BMI was created in the 1800s by a white man who was not a doctor and used European white men as the standard of good health, he also believed that poc were a different species. 

I made the mistake of looking at my body fat % using a measuring tape. I’m at 37% body fat. Not sure if that’s accurate either? Tips and thoughts would be appreciated. According to BMI my ideal weight is around 65kgs but anything below 70kgs and I look ill or anorexic. So really not sure how to properly determine what my “ideal” weight is. At this point I’m aiming for 74kgs and I’m 174cm tall. That feels right to me 🤷‍♀️ 

I honestly think it's crap. It works under the assumption that one's body is mainly composed of fat. If you start weight lifting you should be fine. BMI drove me insane the last time I lost weight and I ended up gaining 40 kg because of binge eating and the stress of not being able to get to that maximum healthy weight that is recommended by the body mass index.  

Thank you all for your valuable input and suggestions. I was a little hesitant on the BMI, makes me feel a little more comfortable when others tell me that they aren’t too keen on it either. THANK YOU AGAIN. 🙏🏼🥳 

It’s probably the worst 

The methode is rubbish. If you go according to your BMI you ending up being a skeleton.