How accurate is BMI for curvy or hourglass body types, and should I trust it?

[Anonymous]

Personally٫ I'm short with a lot or curves but have an hourglass. I'm on the normal side of the BMI٫ but a lot of me is curves. So is BMI accurate? And should one really go by it?

[Massageman]

BMI used to be the "gold standard", but it really isn't.

Example: Since muscle has over twice the mass per given volume, someone can be very muscular, yet test out as very heavy for their measurements. See your doctor for tests, possibly even an immersion displacement test for body mass percentages.

[ChiTown33]

If it says you're normal, you're normal. If it says you're not normal, you're probably STILL normal. Body mass while not completely pointless it doesn't say much unless you're really out of whack. I'm 6'5" and it says i should be 157-211. I graduated high school at 210. I used to play basketball everyday, watch what i ate, did 20-30 minutes of cardio each night and weight train and the least i weighed was 240lbs. And my doctor was quite happy with that.

I really don't know why they still continue with this BMI nonsense.

[Screenwriter]

BMI is most accurate when you are weighed under water. And it also has to do with what body type you have. If you are muscular, you will weigh more than average and your BMI will be less accurate than if you are average. Calipers do not give as accurate BMIs compared with underwater weighing.

Has nothing to do with the amount of curves you have. It's about your body fat percentage.

[Kelley1]

Logically, a curvy figure is an hourglass figure. However, for political correctness, curvy is a polite word for fat.

It is obvious which girl has the lowest BMI.

[jennifer_bloom]

I saw a woman that looked like she weighed 180 pounds and the missing child poster said she weighed 115 pounds and had a thin build.

I met a woman who weighed 120 pounds that looked like she weighed 90 pounds and I saw a teenager who weighed 60 pounds that looked like she weighed 130 pounds.

Appearances can be deceiving. I lost 28 pounds on keto years ago and I looked like I had lost 70 pounds because my body shrank like crazy.

[OneViewpoint]

BMI is an indicator of lifespan, not fitness. Larger people (taller, heavier) live shorter lives statistically. But 2 people with a BMI of say, 27 could look radically different. Body Mass Index does not address body fat percentage vs muscle mass percentage. It basically says more mass = shorter lifespan. Because that's what the data says.

[MrChinaski]

Height matters. Optimal BMI is a point or point and a half higher for short people than for tall people. There was a Finnish study on this that tracked mortality rates of hundreds of thousands of people.

Muscle development affects optimal BMI more.

'Curviness' is just fat. That's what the BMI is designed to measure. Sorry.

[MrChinaski]

Also, if you want something better you can calculate at home, the Navy Method is a refinement to BMI: www.calculator.net/body-fat-calculator.html

These days you can easily buy a medical body scan of fat and muscle percentage if you care enough.

[genericname85]

your body shape doesn't have shit to do with it. bmi is purely a metric that is used to quantify the likelyhood of negative health outcomes. if your bmi is higher than recommended that correlates with more negative health outcomes it's a metric established by health insurances to measure risk and predict cost. so it's not super personal but it sure won't harm you to have a healthy bmi.

[LiamJHayden]

Do not trust BMI. It can be wildly inaccurate. I'm 6'2 and 195. According to that I am at the low end of overweight. My waist is 32.5" and my body fat was just measured Wednesday at 8.3%. Hardcore body builders can be considered obese by BMI and have lower body fat than I have.

[Rei13]

I always looked at BMI, personally, as a good rule of thumb but not perfect. It is not accurate for everyone but if you’re extremely overweight, for example, it gives you a good idea for what to aim for

[Calyptomaniac]

BMI is meaningless. It just counts weight and height. It doesn't know what is muscle and what is fat. It's far too simplistic to be the tiniest bit useful.

[Levin]

BMI has allowances for differences in body size and composition. And it's a good general guide.

People usually have beef with it cause so many people are overweight.

[AviatorTom]

BMI is one of several measurements of overall health. It's not that meaningful by itself, but becomes more important, and accurate, when coupled with height, weight and age.

[Nikki1989]

BMI uses a single formula — weight ÷ height² — and does not account for many other factors that should be considered.

[choco-latte]

I think it’s outdated. You could be fitter than ever but end up showing as overweight on the BMI because of pure muscle weight for example.

[exitseven]

your shape really has no bearing on BMI. Itis just a ratio of your weight in pounds multiplied by 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.

[FreyaRed]

Younger girls should have 17-19 BMI. 20 is optimal for 30+ women.

[MrChinaski]

This is bullshit.

The 'healthy' range typically given is 19.5 to 25.

Mortality rates with a BMI of 17-19 are very high, similar to BMI of 30. A little underweight can be very dangerous. A BMI of 17 is suggestive of anorexia.

[DishLady]

As long as you're not clinically overweight you're fine.

[ThisSiteSux]

BMI is trash. My brother was 5'11 and 190 lbs of mostly muscle. 4% body fat and he's obease according to BMI. You know what fat is and where you need to be to be healthy. BMI isn't it.

[Kelly6]

All depends which scale you are using.

Some BMI calculator ask more detail so they are better

[AngryCarl3]

Unless you're morbidly obese I wouldn't get stressed over BMI.

[Danny_dan92]

If you got a muffin top when you put on your pants? You’re fat

[LiamS95]

BMI doesn't take into consideration large muscle mass or very large bone frame.

[Staximus]

Bmi is bullshit, it doesn’t account for bone structure or muscle mass

[lilBigPotato]

It's a rough indicator.

[confident666]

It is bullshit...

[DryGermanGuy]

BMI is archaic. Use a more modern method.

[Anonymous]

What it mean to describe yourself as "curvy?"

[Anonymous]

Bmi is bullshit