Lindsey 0 #26 April 11, 2007 QuoteI agree with Scott. Since high school, I have always hovered around 170-180#. I have been from very fit without bulky muscle to kind of pudgy(now). So at 5'8", I am at the edge of obese. Sorry, it just don't fly. It might be a somewhat useful tool to act as a starting point for a conversation, but not used to measure someones health for a job. I don't think any decent physician would rely solely on BMI as an indication of risk. If some entity is using BMI as a measure of health, then that is BS, and it's being misused, imho.-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #27 April 11, 2007 Quote Grue, so the BMI classified you as overweight while you were playing college soccer. I would bet that less than 1 % of the general population plays college sports, which are very highly demanding and which you obviously have to be very physically fit for. You also said you have a large frame, so no wonder you were classified by the BMI as overweight. The BMI does not work for everyone, but it does work for a vast majority of people as an indicator of general fitness level. I would classify someone who spent 4 years playing college soccer and who has a large frame in the body-builder category of people for whom the scale is not applicable. On paper I agree with you, but I was LIGHTER in soccer season, and I didn't lift weights, ever. I told my coach the truth: Muscle is going to reduce my flexibility, and I need that for hockey season. Not to mention I need to keep my fall rate from getting higher So if I were lifting, I'd have been less offended by those numbers. Right now I'm actually a 29.4, which puts me damned near the edge of obesity according to that silly thing. I wholly admit I could stand to lose 5-10 pounds, but according to the BMI calculator, I'm "overweight" if I don't lose 35 pounds, and even then I'm on the EXTREME end of "normal". That'd be 199 pounds, and I haven't weighed under 200 since... I honestly don't know. Maybe my junior year of high school. I'm just saying it's a good idea, just a poor execution, and it's offensive that policies are based on it. If you're going to make policy based on something, it damned well better be accurate. To be quite honest, if I had to pay higher insurance rates or something because I am "borderline obese", I'd probably file a lawsuit, even though I absolutely hate lawsuits.cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karenmeal 0 #28 April 11, 2007 What actual policies are based on it? "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #29 April 11, 2007 QuoteI just calculated it for your height.. and if you're at 160 you're at 25. (Which is considered normal.) Aren't you trying to lose a bit of weight currently? I know you're doing the belly-off thing but I don't know how far away you are from your goal.sure I'm trying to lose weight (ok, technically I'm working to "improve my fitness" but I've been rowing nearly every day since the beginning of the year and more or less haven't lost any appreciable weight... (maybe 5-6 lbs... I started at about 175-178 lbs) and the last time I was below 160 lbs I was about 2 months from running a marathon (in the midst of training, i.e. running 40+ miles per week) I also have a large frame (and I have the back muscles to support rowing which add a good bit to my weight) I'm not saying that it can't be a good judge for some people... the problem is that the BMI is being used as a demarcation line to judge my military fitness and it is inaccurate... I'm sure something can be developed that takes into account bone frame sizes which could be just as simply applied as the BMI and yet more accurate. Like I said... I really don't believe I'm overly unfit... but... it's very challenging for me to get my BMI below 25.Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #30 April 11, 2007 QuoteWhat actual policies are based on it? Many health insurance policies, for starters.cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #31 April 11, 2007 Like I said... I really don't believe I'm overly unfit... but... it's very challenging for me to get my BMI below 25. You'll have to post pictures.-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grue 1 #32 April 11, 2007 QuoteLike I said... I really don't believe I'm overly unfit... but... it's very challenging for me to get my BMI below 25. You'll have to post pictures. I'm in the same boat. The idea of me at 199 pounds is absolutely bizarre to me. I can't begin to imagine what it'd look like.cavete terrae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #33 April 11, 2007 QuoteLike I said... I really don't believe I'm overly unfit... but... it's very challenging for me to get my BMI below 25. You'll have to post pictures.I already have... (I did at the begining of febuary for the Belly-off competition) and I will again at the begining of May when the competition ends... even though I'm rather shy and would just as soon not...Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #34 April 11, 2007 Well, if you're "shy" then I'll not press the issue. But you are right. It's really a specific kind of obesity that's unhealthy, especially in a person who the BMI charts show bordering on obesity, and to use a BMI as a measure of health and fitness in this group is pretty silly, imho. It's here where you'll find the least validity for that scale I'd imagine.-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,461 #35 April 11, 2007 I was doing some looking-up on the web about obesity when I heard something on the radio the other day. What I heard was that the US diet industry is worth 40 billion dollars a year. Which got me to look up some ancillary information. (Note: the figures below are pulled off the web after whole minutes of research. This makes them extremely authoritative. Just use Google to duplicate my very scientific research ;-P) We throw away up to 100 billion dollars of food a year in the US (up to half, depending on the study). I couldn't find a source for what the cost is to haul and store all that garbage. But Harrah's hotel in Las Vegas saves $50,000 a year in trash hauling by recycling, even with what they have to pay for the dedicated employees and the 24-hours-a-day recycling operation. The direct medical cost of obesity to the US was estimated to be a little under $100 billion in 2002. Humans give in to their feelings, desire for a particular lifestyle, and instant gratification. US-Americans seem to be into being able to do whatever we want, whenever we want to -- it's the definition for many of "success." Not all of this is distorted body image. I see a lot of people who are carrying around what appears to be a fairly serious amount of weight. And since I see more of them in places where cars are common than where public transportation is common, I don't think it's all evolution Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #36 April 11, 2007 Not all of this is distorted body image. I see a lot of people who are carrying around what appears to be a fairly serious amount of weight. And since I see more of them in places where cars are common than where public transportation is common, I don't think it's all evolution Whoosh. I don't follow you. Wanna dumb it down for me? I think very little of it is distorted body image. I think that fat people know they're fat. I think there are a few people who have health risks associated with obesity who don't recognize they're fat because they're not as fat as all those *really* fat people. They feel kinda skinny in comparison. And it SHOL' ain't all evolution. There's definitely a genetic predisposition for some people to be overweight...there have been times when there's been a real survival advantage for people who held onto fat. But if ya' don't couple that predisposition with bad habits, then generally you'll not become obese. We're lazy really. And greedy.-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,009 #37 April 11, 2007 >There's a fantastic correlation between ice cream sales and murder >rates, too. Correlation does not equate to causation. ?? Uh, right. But even correlation has important clinical implications. No one is claiming that BMI "causes" anything - it's just one factor that goes into determining what someone's health risks are. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,009 #38 April 11, 2007 >We're lazy really. And greedy. Yep. And there was a time when both of those characteristics were important for survival. But not any more. Odd that we have reached an age where having too _much_ stuff - food, central heating, cars, alcohol, tobacco - has become our primary health problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
karenmeal 0 #39 April 11, 2007 QuoteMany health insurance policies, for starters. And how do they actually use it? Have you had personal experience with this or did you just hear about it somewhere? I will agree that BMI is a basic screening tool and needs to be used appropriately. Using it as the sole determining measure of fitness is obviously inappropriate. That would be like failing a hearing screening and getting referred for cochlear implants... it is a lot more complicated than that. But... when properly used, screening tools definitely have a place. If you fail the screening then follow-up assessments can be done to determine what the problem is and if there is a problem. I see no reason why the BMI shouldn't be used in that manner. I am curious to know how exactly insurance companies are using the BMI. I'm not surprised that the military uses it.. but that is a whole other conversation. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #40 April 11, 2007 I can't wait to walk up to someone and say "Dude, you caught the fat!" 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lindsey 0 #41 April 11, 2007 I am curious to know how exactly insurance companies are using the BMI. Probably similarly to how they use information that you're not married (and all kinds of other factors that correlate with higher risks) to raise your auto insurance premiums-- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #42 April 11, 2007 OK... I'm going to compromise... I suppose its a preview of sorts to the belly-off comp... (though I don't think I've changed much... ) but I've attached a picture of me in my rowing unisuit (probably not something that most of the guys really want to see) I've also cut off my head... I also just weighed myself and it would seem I'm currently at 175 lbs (which isn't much less than I was at the beginning of the year.) Attachment is: NSFGUTAG Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
georgerussia 0 #43 April 12, 2007 QuoteSo you don't think there is a problem with obesity? No, there is no problem with obesity. For vast majority of people everyone knows what the reason is, and everyone knows what to do. It is just a lot of people do not want to do anything. All they want is to get a magic pill you take on evening, go to bed, and wake up petite. People eat too much, and exercise too little. The rest is natural.* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. * Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
