| Is there an "ideal" BMI?
Posted: 1/27/2007 4:47:58 PM | I always thought there was a healthy range, taking into account age, stature and muscles.
Am I mistaken? Is there actually an optimum BMI for women and men?
I did a search for Body Mass Index (got nothing) and BMI (got dozens of threads with the word "suBMIssive" in them - ha!)! | |
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 1/27/2007 5:10:32 PM |
Google BMI charts..........lots to choose from....
Yes, thanks. I've done that. They all say "healthy/average" is 18.5 to 24.9. That's a huge difference in weight for someone my height - 108 pounds to 145 pounds.
The forums link (why didn't that appear when I did a search?) is mostly people asking the same question I'm asking. But thanks, I guess I'll look into the body-composition test. Pinch calipers. Hmmm. Where to look? | |
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 1/27/2007 5:56:56 PM | OP msg "I guess I'll look into the body-composition test. Pinch calipers. Hmmm. Where to look?"
Any fitness center, starting with the local YM/YWCA, ought to offer this at a nominal fee or for free. An untrained or inept person, won't do a competent job though (I think there are eleven sites on your body to measure). If your muscle mass remains fairly stable, this figure will stand you in good stead for a decade or so.
When the calculation is expressed as 'lean body mass', you add back a reasonable amount of body fat (25%? for your age & gender), to arrive at a target weight.
as a rough guess, ( 145 + 108 ) / 2 = ~127 lbs, is likely close to optimal for you
-avoid using quotation marks, when searching for previous threads | |
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 1/28/2007 4:15:37 AM | The BMI is outdated and inaccurate.
It is only a general guideline for the average , sedentary individual. It doesn't take people who have extra muscle on them into account.
Having a body composition test is much more accurate for getting an idea of how much fat you carry. Any good gym should have this test available by trained fitness professionals.
Once I bulked up in the gym to nearly 100kg, but my bodyfat was around 15 percent (pretty average), yet I was very overweight on the BMI scale. Having a background in fitness instructing, I knew how the BMI is a very inaccurate, especially for people who go to the gym, so I couldn't care less about it. | |
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 1/29/2007 8:30:25 AM | ^^^ The BMI was never meant to be the sole indicator of a healthy weight. The NIH recommended BMI, body fat percentage ranges and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) ranges as well, but the BMI is the only one people remember.
BMI is still, more or less, a reasonable indicator for women's weight whether or not they are athletes, because women do not put on 20 or 30 pounds of muscle. Male athletes can put on significant muscle, especially bodybuilders, and would be considered overweight or obese if body weight were the sole indicator.
Still, personally I also like body composition tests the best because if you're low body fat this means you're healthy. You can be a healthy BMI and be unhealthy if you're body fat percentage is high.
BTW, I'm assuming that you aren't still 15 percent body fat, you don't look like you're more than 10.
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 1/30/2007 1:32:26 PM | I'm gonna have to agree with Fitaussie.
Myself...being that I compete haven't been able to use the BMI for about 4 years. I have more muscle mass than the average female my height and age.
Even at a nice size...the BMI indicates I'm overweight...Bahahahaha! | |
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| Is there an ideal BMI?
Posted: 2/2/2007 7:25:03 PM |
BTW, I'm assuming that you aren't still 15 percent body fat, you don't look like you're more than 10.
Spot on alexandria gal, my bf is now between 8 to 10 percent, at a bodyweight of 87 kg. | |
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