never mind income... what's your BMI?

[butterflymommy]

((To calculate BMI go here:

 

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ ))

 

I know BMI is not appreciated by some but I'm curious how the hive measures up. Personally I feel the range definitions are too strict, as I know people in the "overweight" range who look fantastic.

 

A relative recently returned from two weeks in France-- one week in Paris and a second in the Loire Valley-- and he said he did not see a single obese person in France. Not one. I was puzzled by this as I thought "French women don't get fat" was a myth as obesity is a rising problem globally (even in China). I looked it up and indeed the average BMI of French women is lower than elsewhere in the world. But seriously? Not a single overweight person?

 

I'll try not to mess up the poll. :001_unsure:

[Soror]

When not pregnant I range between 20.1-20.9. Fwiw though BMI isn't the most reliable indicator of fatness.

[MIch elle]

30 or greater is a HUGE range! I'm at 30 and wear a size 12 women's pants.

[Night Elf]

I lost weight with Weight Watchers, mostly because I wanted to get out of the overweight category. I got tired of my doctors predicting gloom and doom. I was 24 lbs. above the top end of the normal weight range, but I lost more than that to make sure I was well within the range and will stay there. I feel better and I hope that losing weight really did lower my chances for some of their more dire predictions.

[blessed3x]

30 or greater is a HUGE range! I'm at 30 and wear a size 12 women's pants.

 

Me too!

I came in at 30 :confused:, but wear either a size 12 or 14 depending on the cut. I know I need to tone and build more muscle but have felt good where I am at. I have never been on the small size. ;)

[Melissa in Australia]

I have a BMI of 23.5

I have lost 8 kg in the last 4 weeks, and am in my healthy weight range. To get down to 18.5 BMI I would need to be seriously underweight.

[elegantlion]

My BMI always runs high. At my ideal weight, which I am not right now, I wear a size 8-10 pants, size 6 top and my BMI has me just on the edge of overweight.

 

I am a stockily built dense muscle person.

[kristi26]

I came in just inside the normal weight at 24.6.

[butterflymommy]

This is interesting-- breakdown of average BMI in Europe:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6148456.stm

 

Malta - 26.6

Greece - 25.9

Finland - 25.8

Luxembourg - 25.7

Hungary - 25.6

Cyprus - 25.6

Lithuania - 25.5

Slovenia - 25.5

Denmark - 25.5

UK - 25.4

Italy - 24.3

France - 24.5

Austria - 24.8

Poland - 24.8

Netherlands - 24.9

Slovakia - 25.0

Belgium - 25.1

Latvia - 25.1

Estonia - 25.2

Czech Rep - 25.2

 

Average US BMI is 28.7.

[Soror]

I have a BMI of 23.5

I have lost 8 kg in the last 4 weeks, and am in my healthy weight range. To get down to 18.5 BMI I would need to be seriously underweight.

 

Fwiw though 18.5 is the bottom of the healthy range though at the edge of underweight, I'm sure it is underweight for a fair amount of people. I just figured for me it would put me at 10 lbs under my small weight range, the one that lots of people told me I was too skinny. I'm fairly small boned as well. 20-21% feels like a good percent to me.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I voted what mine really is and it probably is right in my case.

However....There is a woman who did BeachBody videos and got down to a size 4/6, was sweet looking, just what I would want. I was surprised she still weighed 150 pounds. However, muscle is heavy. Her body fat was actually quite low. But BMI doesn't care about any of that. By that, she'd be at the upper end of normal weight. But she was in better condition than the great majority of people.

 

Anyway, so if I were healthy, I wouldn't want to go based on straight BMI at all.

 

Here is a better one:

 

http://www.skinbodyfitness.com/bmr_bmi_bfp.htm

 

Even the Navy one is questionable though. We now have better methods than BMI.

 

But again, when you are where I am, you know that they all are screaming "unhealthy!"

[butterflymommy]

Me too!

I came in at 30 :confused:, but wear either a size 12 or 14 depending on the cut. I know I need to tone and build more muscle but have felt good where I am at. I have never been on the small size. ;)

 

As I mentioned in the OP my opinion is that the ranges are too strict. This is an interesting site where you can put in height and weight criteria for pictures women submitted of themselves:

 

http://www.mybodygallery.com/

 

Many in the "overweight" category look great!

[Pawz4me]

According to my BMI I'm in the overweight range. But pre-hysterectomy anytime I got into what is considered the normal range my periods would stop. And refuse to start again until I gained weight. My very wise doctor, who was known to be a stickler about weight, said "Your body knows better than any scale or chart."

[Rhonda in TX]

Mine is 27.3, but I know it was above 30 back before I lost almost 40 pounds. I'm hoping for that to be even lower by the time I finish losing (another 15 pounds or so). I really don't worry about BMI too much, but I do like seeing a lower number.

[Negin]

Personally I feel the range definitions are too strict, as I know people in the "overweight" range who look fantastic.

 

:iagree:

 

he did not see a single obese person in France.

We were there for a week last year and the only obese person we saw was someone who worked at McD's. That's it. Other than tourists. There were some overweight, but obese ... only one and tourists.

 

I love this blog by a friend of mine. In this post, she writes lots of interesting stuff, but here's just something that I find to be very true:

 

French women don’t get fat because their surrounding environment immediately lets them know if they’ve gained an ounce. Gain weight and they immediately become ungainly and ungraceful in a society that worships grace and elegance.

 

The French do with obesity what we’ve done to smoking in this country; they use social pressure to make obesity a social embarrassment. Gain weight and you literally won’t fit in. Anywhere.

[whitestavern]

I'm at 24 now but I gained weight over the summer :( Before I was 22.3.

[Rhonda in TX]

French women don’t get fat because their surrounding environment immediately lets them know if they’ve gained an ounce. Gain weight and they immediately become ungainly and ungraceful in a society that worships grace and elegance.

 

The French do with obesity what we’ve done to smoking in this country; they use social pressure to make obesity a social embarrassment. Gain weight and you literally won’t fit in. Anywhere.

 

You got me curious, so I went and looked up some statistics real quick. 27% of people in France are daily smokers. It's 17.5% here in the U.S. I found it here, and there may be better statistics elsewhere.

[amy g.]

25.3

 

May I suggest a beauty pageant next.

[ailysh]

Mine was 19.5, but I rounded up and chose 20. I've always been small. In college it was 17, but I was still having regular periods and eating normally. People are just different sizes naturally. I'm glad there's a range of healthy and not just one number.

[GailV]

You got me curious, so I went and looked up some statistics real quick. 27% of people in France are daily smokers. It's 17.5% here in the U.S. I found it here, and there may be better statistics elsewhere.

 

Yes, I was under the impression that smoking is much more common in France. And part of the appeal is that it helps keep weight down. Some women will reach for a cigarette instead of a snack.

 

I've also heard that there's much "skinny fat" -- people who are thin but flabby. I think I fall in that category myself -- it rated me less than 21, but I'm a mass of jiggle.

[Kathryn]

17.4 :glare: BMI is stupid. We had to pay more for our health insurance a few years ago because they increased the price and then gave discounts for being "healthy." According to the BMI tables, I'm underweight and DH is close to obese. It's ridiculous.

[The Girls' Mom]

Yep...I'm on the obese end. I do need to lose about 40lbs. Stress has been unkind to me the past year :glare:

 

However, if I ever got down to what they consider the healthy range...I would look sick. I think my dry bones weigh more than that :lol: Seriously though, I'm a big girl. "Sturdy" as my dh puts it. I have a big frame. So, although I know I have a lot of weight to lose, it would be unhealthy for me to shoot for a BMI below 24. It just wouldn't happen without some serious muscle loss.

[Annie G]

 

Here is a better one:

 

http://www.skinbodyfitness.com/bmr_bmi_bfp.htm

 

 

 

This one was weird with me. 5'4" and 125 pounds, and it's telling me I'm obese and I need to lose 20 pounds. My doctor is thrilled with my weight - and my waist size is a little pudgy but I'm in my 50's, gave birth 4 times, and my exercise is cycling- which doesn't tone my waist.

[Paige]

As I mentioned in the OP my opinion is that the ranges are too strict. This is an interesting site where you can put in height and weight criteria for pictures women submitted of themselves:

 

http://www.mybodygallery.com/

 

Many in the "overweight" category look great!

 

I looked for people like me on that site. As PP said, BMI is stupid. I saw people of the same height and close to the same weight as me who look vastly different from me and from each other. People with the same stats ranged from looking dangerously skinny to healthy, and others were fuller figured. It's definitely about more than height and weight. I wish the insurance companies wouldn't rely on it so much and would take a doctor's note describing the health of the person instead.

[KungFuPanda]

I actually lose weight when I do nothing and get out of shape. Right now I'm in the midst of summer slacking. In two weeks, when everything resumes, I'll be back up to dancing 8-10 hours a week. Generally, my weight creeps up a bit.

 

My BMI is lower than all of the country averages listed, so I can't complain. This is actually the first time in my life be ever had a number to answer that question, so it's good that you provided a link. :001_smile: I'm generally smaller than most folks, so I can't imagine it's a very forgiving chart.

[TravelingChris]

I did another test where it said how likely you are to die in the next few years based on height, weight and waist measurement. I was 20% less likely to die than average even though my BMI is always hovering between overweight and slightly obese.

[Halcyon]

I accidentally clicked 18. I am 20. Sorry for that!

[Annie]

A relative recently returned from two weeks in France-- one week in Paris and a second in the Loire Valley-- and he said he did not see a single obese person in France. Not one. ... I looked it up and indeed the average BMI of French women is lower than elsewhere in the world. But seriously? Not a single overweight person?

 

 

I've lived in a very residential (no tourists) area of Paris for about two months now, and I promise you, there are overweight people. It is very clearly, however, not nearly at the levels it is in the US. I'm not surprised that people who are here for a week or two do not *see* overweight people, but I don't think it's because they don't exist, I think it's because what we are otherwise used to seeing is so skewed. For my first few weeks here, I thought everyone was thin. I wasn't used to seeing nearly so many thin people, and my eyes were drawn there.

 

A couple of weeks ago I read something (probably here) about weight in Europe, and I decided to really keep my eyes open for a few days. What I found when I really looked was many people who are probably 15-20 lbs outside of the "normal" weight range for their height. I probably see an average of one obese person a day. If the site saying the average BMI of France is 24.5 is accurate, there must be overweight people because "overweight" starts at a BMI of 25. Don't get my wrong, the vast majority of people here seem to be at a very healthy weight, but it's not like there are no overweight people to be found.

 

I will say that I have seen virtually no overweight children. I frequent a lot of parks, and the only kids I've seen who look like they may have any weight to spare have been a few girls at about 10-12 years old who are probably gearing up to go through puberty at any time and will be as thin as ever in a year or so. As a general rule, French children don't snack much at all. I have know a couple of ladies who have been here for much longer, and they say that many French parents are very strict about the amount of food they allow their children.

 

I love this blog by a friend of mine. In this post, she writes lots of interesting stuff, but here's just something that I find to be very true:

 

French women don’t get fat because their surrounding environment immediately lets them know if they’ve gained an ounce. Gain weight and they immediately become ungainly and ungraceful in a society that worships grace and elegance.

 

The French do with obesity what we’ve done to smoking in this country; they use social pressure to make obesity a social embarrassment. Gain weight and you literally won’t fit in. Anywhere.

 

I think I pretty much agree with your friend. There seems to be a lot of pressure to be thin. But there also seems to be a lot of pressure to be tan, fashionable, have great shoes, and to have kids that are thin, tan, fashionable, and with great shoes. Honestly, I'm ready to go back home where my size 12 self will happily wear my Birkenstocks and send my kid to the park with a stain from lunch on his shirt without thinking that people are giving me the side eye for it.

 

I will say that I've found the vast majority of Parisians to be friendly, polite, and helpful even though I speak virtually no French and am neither thin nor fashionable.

 

 

And yes, I have lost weight since I've been here. :tongue_smilie:

[AdventureMoms]

I'm 30, but just barely now. I'm headed down, lol!

[TXMomof4]

I voted what mine really is and it probably is right in my case.

However....There is a woman who did BeachBody videos and got down to a size 4/6, was sweet looking, just what I would want. I was surprised she still weighed 150 pounds. However, muscle is heavy. Her body fat was actually quite low. But BMI doesn't care about any of that. By that, she'd be at the upper end of normal weight. But she was in better condition than the great majority of people.

 

 

!"

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

It is the most frustrating thing for dh - he's not tall, about average, but is really, really built. He works out every.single.day. P90X or Insanity on top of his regular army PT every morning. As a result he is always borderline on his BMI (height/weight) because - hello, muscle weighs more than fat. It is almost insulting that a string bean would pass without a question even if he never did a drop of exercise while dh is questionable. Irks me every time I think about it.

[Dinsfamily]

Mine was 23.8. I do need to lose "10-12 lbs" of baby/Cancun weight. However, I doubt I'll lose more than 7 when I get to my idea weight because I'm Crossfitting now and plan to build more muscle while losing the fat.

 

This one was weird with me. 5'4" and 125 pounds, and it's telling me I'm obese and I need to lose 20 pounds. My doctor is thrilled with my weight - and my waist size is a little pudgy but I'm in my 50's, gave birth 4 times, and my exercise is cycling- which doesn't tone my waist.

 

I can't imagine being anywhere close to 105 lbs and I'm 5'1". I had my body fat tested at the beginning of the summer in an immersion tank and they recommended I get to 122 at my then-muscle levels. He said that any muscle I gain would push up my ideal weight. I hadn't been working out for months so while I tend to carry more muscle than average, my muscle mass was low for me. My sister is the opposite and struggles to stay within military regs at 5'4" and 105. It's impossible for these calculators to take so many body types into account even when taking measurements.

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

Mine is high - too too high. BUT it is 4 points LOWER than it was six months ago, so at least I'm headed in the right direction!

[SailorMom]

I think BMI is a joke. It doesn't take into account muscle mass or body type.

I'm at 19, which is supposedly almost underweight, but I think I look pretty normal. The poster who was calculated as obese at 5'4" and 125 is a perfect example of why BMI is messed up, lol.

[Entropymama]

:glare:I agree that these are skewed. I'm a 21.5 but truthfully I need to lose some fat and gain some muscle. Somebody mentioned 'skinny fat' people - that's me.

[GailV]

 

I love this blog by a friend of mine. In this post, she writes lots of interesting stuff

 

I've been spending my morning free-time reading her blog. I'm not sure to thank you for pointing me to a fun, new read, or curse you for luring me into yet another rabbit hole. Gah! I need to just subscribe on my reader and move on with life ... maybe after reading just a little bit more ....

[SKL]

Ha ha, according to this I'm slim! 21 BMI, and I'm heavier than my usual.

[Dory]

I'm sitting at the low end of my usual weight fluctuations right now. I'm 5'9" and 120lbs. By mid winter I'll probably be higher again.

[BigMamaBird]

I'm WAY higher on the BMI scale than I want to be, but I'm actively working on losing the baby weight. My goal is to be back in the "normal" BMI range by Thanksgiving, I am optimistic that it will happen.

[Nestof3]

22

[Ferdie]

That was pretty accurate. I had a medical procedure last month and my BMI was 21.6 per the paperwork. Just recalculated with your link and came out to 22.1.

 

I'm not sure about the ranges though. In Jan. when I started WW, my BMI was 24.5. According to the link that is in the normal weight range, but I felt uncomfortably overweight when I started. Maybe it depends on where you carry your weight because mine was all in my hips/waist. Anyway, I feel so much better after losing 20 lbs.

 

I do agree with some of you that the BMI calculation in muscular people will be skewed. It will show them having more fat than they do. I really don't understand the skinny fat comments. BMI is estimating the composition of body fat. If your BMI is under 18 then it indicates that you have low body fat. You still need exercise and may want to be more toned, but you are not in danger from carrying too much fat. Ab fat is really dangerous as it can lead to stroke and heart problems. I think there are many facets when it comes to health. BMI is an important piece, but certainly not the whole picture.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Ferdie

[Janie Grace]

I'm 19.9 but I'm another "skinny fat" person. I need to firm up my tummy (and probably lose some pounds there) and I need to gain muscle... well, everywhere. I worry about how I am going to age, based on my lack of muscle mass. Anyone that sees me would say I am a healthy weight, but I think there's a bigger picture when it comes to body health...

[mytwomonkeys]

according to that calculator, it's 21.8

[nono]

22.1 -- I love how I look. I know, I'm the only woman in America who does. (I must have been a man in all previous lives!) I can see where I need to lose 10 lbs., but at my age, the skin starts to sag if I get too lean, so, it's a real balancing act! Oh, and losing those 10 lbs. would get me to 20.4...but is saggy skin worth it? Not to me! Don't chance random numbers!

[Soror]

This one was weird with me. 5'4" and 125 pounds, and it's telling me I'm obese and I need to lose 20 pounds. My doctor is thrilled with my weight - and my waist size is a little pudgy but I'm in my 50's, gave birth 4 times, and my exercise is cycling- which doesn't tone my waist.

 

I just did that calculator and I'm 5'4" as well. Before this pregnancy I was 122, so I put in my measurements from then as well (because I'm way too neurotic and remember such things). Anyway, it shows my weight and body fat as fine. I think it is not your weight that it is really identifying as too much but your measurements as weight really doesn't tell us a whole lot.

[BeckyFL]

Mine is 23.3 but I'm hoping to change that. We've been changing over to an "Eat to Live" type diet. I know that any extra weight puts pressure on my joints and causes me additional pain with my osteoarthritis.

[Mom in High Heels]

I just squeak in at a bit under 25, which puts me at the top end of the "healthy" weight. Whew! I wear an 8 though and on a good day (a rare good day :glare:) I can fit into my 6's.

 

ETA: from the European BMI chart that was posted, I find it really interesting that Malta was so high. Almost all the people we saw there, except maybe the people working the food stalls and older people, were so skinny. Maybe they have a higher population of older people which skews the results. I don't know. It just seems odd.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Mom in High Heels

[Soror]

22.1 -- I love how I look. I know, I'm the only woman in America who does. (I must have been a man in all previous lives!) I can see where I need to lose 10 lbs., but at my age, the skin starts to sag if I get too lean, so, it's a real balancing act! Oh, and losing those 10 lbs. would get me to 20.4...but is saggy skin worth it? Not to me! Don't chance random numbers!

 

I made a conscious decision after my last pregnancy not to get quite as small as I had before. My dh loves curves and being 5 lbs less like I was before left me with hardly any hips.

[Amy in TX]

I'm 24.3. While I'm not as slim as I used to be, I don't look overweight to the casual observer. And I'm pleased to see that I'm the same bmi as the average in most European countries, lol.

[Dinsfamily]

That was pretty accurate. I had a medical procedure last month and my BMI was 21.6 per the paperwork. Just recalculated with your link and came out to 22.1.

 

I'm not sure about the ranges though. In Jan. when I started WW, my BMI was 24.5. According to the link that is in the normal weight range, but I felt uncomfortably overweight when I started. Maybe it depends on where you carry your weight because mine was all in my hips/waist. Anyway, I feel so much better after losing 20 lbs.

 

I do agree with some of you that the BMI calculation in muscular people will be skewed. It will show them having more fat than they do. I really don't understand the skinny fat comments. BMI is estimating the composition of body fat. If your BMI is under 18 then it indicates that you have low body fat. You still need exercise and may want to be more toned, but you are not in danger from carrying too much fat. Ab fat is really dangerous as it can lead to stroke and heart problems. I think there are many facets when it comes to health. BMI is an important piece, but certainly not the whole picture.

 

 

 

My dad is one of those "skinny fat" people. He has always been super thin despite his eating habits and lack of exercise. When he retired, his activity level went down to near zero. He did gain 10 lbs, but would still be considered a rail even with the weight gain (BMI~21). His stomach is flat (although devoid of six pack :lol:) He just had heart surgery last year; he had to start exercising and radically changed his eating habits in order to be improve his health and longevity. He had no idea he was having heart trouble until he went to the dr. for what he thought was a gall bladder issue. I know that an fat is an indicator, but lack of it doesn't mean you're healthy.

 

My sister knows that she has those skinny genes which help her look great in skinny jeans (sorry, couldn't help myself :D) and can't use her weight/BMI as an indicator of health.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Dinsfamily

[kiana]

BMI is like 28-29, body fat % is about 26-27