5 ms·
I think the numbers are likely exaggerated to the point of being almost useless. It all depends on how BMI is measured. If it's not measured, the number are use
by mnm1 7y ago
I think the numbers are likely exaggerated to the point of being almost useless. It all depends on how BMI is measured. If it's not measured, the number are useless. The website says:
> There are a number of ways to measure body fat. Some are well suited to the doctor’s office, such as calculating a person’s BMI.
That seems to suggest a simple calculation given height and weight. That is not a proper way to measure BMI. BMI must be measured. Otherwise it simply is not a reflection of anything but an inaccurate calculation that doesn't apply to most people and overestimates the number of overweight and obese people. Yes there are a lot of overweight and obese people, but exaggerating the numbers by using inaccurate formulas and pretending like the numbers were measured instead of calculated doesn't do anyone any good.
- bootlooped 7y agoHeight and weight is exactly how BMI is measured. There is no other way to get it. Yes, body fat % might be a better metric to use, but BMI is fine for population-level statistics, which is what they're taking about here.
- Ensorceled 7y agoEven if the measurement is inaccurate and over measures obesity; the trend of BMI increasing, and hence obesity, still exists.
- URSpider94 7y agoBMI is defined as (weight in kg) / height in meters ^2. It can’t be measured any other way. There’s no controversy about this, no other answer. Now, many people argue that BMI is not a good measure of obesity, or health, since it does not account for percent body fat or other health metrics. That’s totally true. But BMI is BMI.
- tasty_freeze 7y agoEvery time BMI is mentioned someone brings up this point. I sometimes wonder if it is mostly an opportunity to humblebrag about how much time they spend in the gym and "Dude, I am 6' tall, weigh 240 lbs and have 3% body fat but the BMI says I'm obese. See, the BMI is bullshit." Yes, there are individuals for whom the BMI metric is spectacularly bad, a modest percentage for whom it is simply poor, but those people already know they aren't obese. At a population level, the BMI metric is just fine.
- ivalm 7y agoYou're mixing BMI with body fat percentage. BMI is literally just weight over height squared
- jshevek 7y agoIs it possible you confused BMI with body fat percentage? Your post makes more sense to me if I substitute "body composition" for "BMI".