BMI Question (1 Viewer)

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

I keep hearing conflicting information about what the healthy BMI range actually is...some sources say it starts at 18, some at 20, some at 19...my BMI is like 18.9 and i just want to know if that's technically 'underweight' or not. im slim but i never thought of myself as underweight :s what's the go?

 

[john31459]

Hey.

I've been told the general range is 18.5 - 25, but it's REALLY just a guide. People can be below/above that and be healthy, and people can be within it and unhealthy.

 

[PaleReflection]

yeah every source says something different. highest in healthy range is always 25 (although it's meant to be like 23 for asian women or something ), but lowest is usually between 18 and 19. i wouldn't say 18.9 is underweight.

 

[kony]

for Caucasians, the healthy range is 20-25 (not sure about Indians, even though Caucasians include Indians)
for Asians, the healthy range is 18-23.

 

[Season]

But only use it as a guide, I have quite a few friends with bmis of 17 and they are perfectly healthy and do not have eating disorders. I've always heard it was 18-25 as a normal range.

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

But only use it as a guide, I have quite a few friends with bmis of 17 and they are perfectly healthy and do not have eating disorders. I've always heard it was 18-25 as a normal range.

ok, cool, thanks.

and i'm caucasian just to clear any confusion why is it different for asians?

 

[john31459]

ok, cool, thanks.

and i'm caucasian just to clear any confusion why is it different for asians?

I was going to explain it but then I found you this website lol:

http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/default.asp?TEMPORARY_DOCUMENT=1769&TEMPORARY_TEMPLATE=2

 

[missroadkill]

yeah im like a 17.4 although I am definitely not stick-thin.

 

[S1M0]

BMI is flawed, don't let it rule your life.

I mean, i know heaps of people who are muscular, but according to BMI, they're overweight despite the fact that the don't have any excessive fat, only muscle.

Thats just one example, use it as a very distant guide only.

 

[cuppas]

BMI is pretty unreliable, if its only using height and weight, its not taking into account body type or tone
rugby players, for example, would be regarded as overweight by this
or am i wrong somewhere?
mines a 19.9 btw

 

[chelsea girl]

the bmi is not the best indicator of what your healthiest weight should be at all. for example, mine is currently 14.8, however i do not look as thin as you would think someone with that bmi would be. at a bmi of around 16-17 i look very well and healthy and not at all underweight. i would probably look fat if i was at 20.

so there you go.

 

[Serius]

slim maybe, but not unhealthy.

 

[timlay]

mines like 28.5

but im obese. not 'overweight' like it specifies.

 

[D.]

The BMI's only good when used accross a population to study 'trends' of obesity. But, for some odd reason if you use a body fat percentage formula based off it, then you'll pretty much get an accuate measure.

 

[NinjaSauce]

BMI can only be used on the general population as an average... Not anyone athletic. It also geared towards 'lightweight' athletes, like runners, cyclists, etc.

I'm 183cm, and 90 kg. So i'm 26.9 on the BMI scale. It doesn't take into account body fat. Hell, Schwarzenegger was 6'2", and had a competition weight [what he would appear in photos, and on stage] of 235# [~107kg], so that would make his BMI 30.2 ! Let alone if we factor his off-season training weight of 260# [~118kg], which would make him 33.4 !

It is quite obviously flawed.

The only thing to care about is overall bodyweight in relation to body fat percentage. Typically, men see abs/etc at around 10%. Though, of course that varies as to where they carry thier weight.