The BMI is Just A Lot of BS, PART 1

On July 5th, after spitefully enjoying only one holiday meal for the day (I only had that one mean the entire day), I began thinking about my measurements, and their impact on my health. After searching on my phone (because there was no way I was getting out of my bed to get to a computer before 1pm), I discovered a variety of opinions about what people view as overweight and what people view as obese. A picture of a young woman online caused alot of grief over her weight...some calling her a "fat nasty pig" and others saying "she looks good".

Soon after, a discussion of her being unhealthy began..."BMI" someone wrote, "she's just fat and unhealthy". Then another wrote, "BMI is not an accurate assessment of her being obese or overweight!" After trying to find the clinical trials and history of the BMI, I discovered that this is positively, absolutely true! It is not an accurate assessment your percentage of fat. The clinical trials for BMI were performed on men, without respect to race, age, or muscle build. Matter of fact, I discovered that the creator of the actual BMI, Ancel Keyes, stated:

It’s one thing to estimate the average percent body fat for large groups with diverse builds, but quite another to slap a number and label on someone without regard for these factors… misgivings are gaining traction across the world of medicine: BMI simply doesn’t work when it comes to individual measurements.

Take me for example: I'd have to be about 136 lbs to be at the bottom of an "overweight" category. My goal is to be about 140 lbs, but this would still make me "overweight". I am a thin rail at 140 lbs and I'd probably toggle between a size 7 and 8 (mostly because I have huge legs). But I have friends my same height who would easily be in a size 5 or 6 at 140 lbs. Another case and point, a lady at my job, about my height weighs 170 lbs and she looks how I did at 200; I was about 167 lbs at the time. I didn't believe her and she didn't believe me...she brought her scale to work and sure enough, we both weighed almost completely what we said. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!

So, in essence, this scale is somewhat bogus...tune in for Part 2 on Friday. For now though, STAY AWAY FROM THE SCALE!!