I am surprised at the emphasis so many people put on the Body Mass Index. It is very inaccurate, and often gives weight goals that are impossible to reach. Why do people like it? What do you use instead?

Edited July 7, 201412 yr by Jay Wiener

I have never liked it but the Dr uses it sometimes to let us know we are fat, no I mean obese, no again I mean morbidly obese. It is a torture tool just in case we don't realize how fat we are, the Dr has it in writing.

he he he

BMI is used for lack of a better measuring tool. Since it's a general calculation a good doctor can see beyond the BMI figures. For instance, athletes who are very muscled will have higher BMIs.

BMIs also don't take into consideration people who are quite active vs. people who do nothing but sit most of the time.

For lack of a better tool insurance companies have to have some measurement to rely on so BMI is it. How else could it be done?

My OB-GYN laughs at the BMI. He calls it voodoo medicine. He told me to use www.weightzonefactor.com because is is very scientific, and he thnks that as I continue to lose weight post-surgery I should use a modern way.

BMI's are very unscientific, and not very accurate at all....it only give a rough, broad look at ones weight.

Body fat %'s are the only way, and most accurate way to go...once upon a time it was very hard to have one done, but now, with todays technology the scales used are not that expensive and I am finding Dr.'s, clinics, etc are using them more and more....you can buy one easily....so there is less reason for not getting it done....

If you weigh 300lbs, and 60% is body fat, then simply put you have 180lbs of fat.....

acceptable body fat % is app. 15%-20%, lower for fit or athletic.....

so subtract 15% from 60%, = 45%....45% of 300 = 135 lbs needed to loose, so an ideal weight in this particular case would be 165lbs....

165 lbs, if this person were 5'8", they would be still considered overweight according to a BMI chart....but with 15% body fat?

If they tried to loose any additional weight, it would be body mass or essential fat....very unhealthy...and that would be a true starvation mode.....

I have a Body fat% within the 6-13% range...Athletic range...there is absolutely nothing left for me to loose weight wise.....yet, BMI charts say I need to loose an additional 10-15 lbs...from where? It would kill me to try to loose any more weight.

Edited July 7, 201412 yr by B-52

I have used the bmi scale to help me get a range for weight and height. It may not be accurate, but approximates to keep in mind. Why? Because I, like so many others, don't see my weight accurately. I needed something to aim for without going too thin.