What is your BMI?? The online calculators seem inaccurate to me

Pick It Up wrote:

Out of curiosity I checked my BMI with one of those online calculators. I am 6'0" tall and weigh about 155. I think it said my BMI was about 22, right in the middle of the "normal" range. I figured out according to their calculator I could weigh 135 and still be in the normal range. I constantly get comments that I am too thin, some even imply it is unhealthy to be the size I am (I am 55 and have been running for 20 or so years). I can't imagine weighing 135 unless I starve myself. I doubt many of my co-workers or non-running friends fall in the normal/healthy range. Is everyone so heavy now a days that being a "normal" size is that unusual?

You should do a little research on the BMI before saying it is inaccurate. It is a simple calculation to assess risk of all-cause mortality. People within the normal range for the most part can expect to be at lower risk for a cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. You can dial that in better by asking more lifestyle and habit questions (smoking for instance).

Before people say the BMI is BS. It is a tool for screening. Yes NFL players will come out as overweight even if they have 5% body fat. But 1) relatively few people fall into that category and 2) if you were screening and that person showed up, you would send them on their way without worrying about them.

To answer the question about people being heavy now, the answer is yes. The number of people in the normal/healthy range has gotten smaller over time (even adjusting for when the standards were changed a few decades ago).

Pick It Up wrote:

Is everyone so heavy nowadays that being a "normal" size is that unusual?

Yes. My 23.8 BMI @ my June physical produced a slightly astonished look from the nurse, but an "attaboy; keep doing what you're doing" affirmation from my physician.

If you're a Westerner, particularly an American, just look around you and/or the images of media (regular and social). The typical body type keeps approaching that of certain Pacific-Islanders.

The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is universally expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres. . For 99% of people it is accurate most people, unless they are very muscular. Also, you are full of sh!t. At 6 foot tall at 135 ibs is a BMI of 18.3, which is underweight. And, finally according to BMI a person 6 foot tall has a healthy weight range between 140-184 ibs.

My index for BM is about twice per day. I usually have a couple coffees in the morning to help along phase 1.

Sand Dunes wrote:And, finally according to BMI a person 6 foot tall has a healthy weight range between 140-184 ibs.

You're FOS, too. 136.4 lbs. is the bottom end of normal for a 6'0" tall person.

Joe Jackson wrote:

Sand Dunes wrote:And, finally according to BMI a person 6 foot tall has a healthy weight range between 140-184 ibs.

You're FOS, too. 136.4 lbs. is the bottom end of normal for a 6'0" tall person.

That's because most sources say a healthy range between 18.5-25.

To answer your other question my BMI is 19.8 at 5'8 and 130 ibs.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Joe Jackson wrote:

You're FOS, too. 136.4 lbs. is the bottom end of normal for a 6'0" tall person.

That's because most sources say a healthy range between 18.5-25.

Right. A BMI of 18.5 for a 6'0" tall person equates to 136.4 lbs., closer to the 135 lbs. stated by the OP than your 140 lbs. comment (which is a BMI of 19). I think you owe him an apology.

It has always seemed a little weird to me that the BMI "normal" ranges are the same for men and women. In my experience, a fit 5'8" man will usually weigh more than a fit 5'8" woman because the man is naturally more muscular and muscles weigh a lot. I guess "normal" and "fit" are very different things.

I am 5'5" and 116 pounds, and my BMI of 19.3 is at the low end of the normal range. That seems OK, but according to the online BMI calculator I am using I could weigh up to 150 pounds and still be "normal". I can assure you I would be very porky at 150--there was a time in my life when I weighed in the upper 130s and that was already decidedly plump.

To the OP, all the calculators I tried gave you a BMI for 21.0 for the numbers you supplied. To your last question yes, almost everyone is fat so normal sized people are mistaken for thin people. As to your question in the subject I am in my early 50s and my BMI is 21.2 and no I'm not too thin (and I lift weights).

I saw one study that said 36% of the population is considered obese. I don't know if BMI is what is used to figure that out, but it sure seems like a lot more than 36% of the population where I live would be above the healthy BMI range.

I do find it funny that the two groups of people that seem to be thin for the most part are runners and smokers. It seems like most smokers would rather smoke than eat?

Pick It Up wrote:

I saw one study that said 36% of the population is considered obese. I don't know if BMI is what is used to figure that out, but it sure seems like a lot more than 36% of the population where I live would be above the healthy BMI range.

'Overweight' is sandwiched between 'normal' and 'obese'. Plenty of Americans fall into that category. So yeah, far more than 36% of the population is above the healthy BMI range.

Pick It Up wrote:

I saw one study that said 36% of the population is considered obese. I don't know if BMI is what is used to figure that out, but it sure seems like a lot more than 36% of the population where I live would be above the healthy BMI range.

CDC says 39.8% Obese (BMI 30+) using 2015-16 figures

Overweight (BMI 25.1 to 29.9) wasn't easy to find but using 2013-14 figures it was about 30% (excluding obese)