3 ms·
Misused, by whom? I trust my physician to know how to interpret the BMI values. I don't trust my insurance company to do the same, but they're eventually the o
by paulojreis 11y ago
Misused, by whom?
I trust my physician to know how to interpret the BMI values. I don't trust my insurance company to do the same, but they're eventually the ones with a large n (so to speak) - ethics aside, if they want a cost-effective way to factor obesity in their premium, BMI might be the way to go. They'll overestimate the premium for the bodybuilder, but they'll get right most of the time.
I'd expect most misuse to be by the media and random people in the Internet. In both cases, however, you should already be taking everything - not only BMI stuff - with a grain of salt.
P.S. Even at an individual level, BMI will hold true for the large majority. Even you're talking in a fitness forum, most people won't have enough muscle mass to affect the index that much.
- heynk 11y agoI know a guy who is a hardcore triathlete. At one point a few years ago he was doing really well, sponsored athlete, over 210 pounds with only 7% body fat. He was at a regular check up and the nurse looked at the BMI chart, then looked at him and plainly said 'Maybe you should work out more'. Just my anecdata that BMI is misused even in the medical community.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoTalking about clueless - had a back issue, physical therapist gave me some good exercises. I asked "In winter I get soft, cycle all summer but with snow I need something else. I hate spin classes. What should I do?" She gave me a dozen reps with a rope on my ankle, 4 lbs weight. Now, 20 miles in a short ride is what, about 4000 reps, at quite a bit more than 4lbs. I mentioned this. She said "Lets just start out at 4 lbs and work up slowly". Sometimes I just wonder.