Why do people continue to use BMI?
- Thread starter 24788
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Ha Ha! :1orglaugh
They can't even catch an obese guy!
(they must all be really out of shape I guess) :dunno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvEXqWcouBg
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
Emmitt Smith (ht:70 wt:221) BMI= 31.7
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=489
(40 yard dash 4.7 seconds)
http://speedendurance.com/2008/01/24/fastest-40-yard-dash-time/
They can't even catch an obese guy!
(they must all be really out of shape I guess) :dunno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvEXqWcouBg
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
Emmitt Smith (ht:70 wt:221) BMI= 31.7
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/blog/?p=489
(40 yard dash 4.7 seconds)
http://speedendurance.com/2008/01/24/fastest-40-yard-dash-time/
yeah BMI sucks
Without examining each person individually there just isn't a reliable way to test somebody’s body fat composition. It would be impossible to make a chart that correctly accounted for anybody. It's not that there's a method out there that works for everybody that they choose not to use there just isn't anything good at all so they use what they have.
To get an accurate measurement you would need to have the person go through a water tank test or I think they even have an infrared test that also measures body fat. Even those electric body fat scales are pretty bad especially if your lean as it seems to mess with them. Of course if your poor, don't want to take the effort, don't have the time, or live in an area where they don't have the equipment you could also do the old fashion look in the mirror method or use calipers to gauge body fat within somewhat reasonable accuracy. (You have to careful though because some people that don't take care of themselves might look lean, but have a lot of fat around internal organs and tissues where it's not as noticeable)
With most measurements from standardized charts, like BMI, that are used, being athletic or having a lot of muscle is an almost assured way of making it be inaccurate.
To get an accurate measurement you would need to have the person go through a water tank test or I think they even have an infrared test that also measures body fat. Even those electric body fat scales are pretty bad especially if your lean as it seems to mess with them. Of course if your poor, don't want to take the effort, don't have the time, or live in an area where they don't have the equipment you could also do the old fashion look in the mirror method or use calipers to gauge body fat within somewhat reasonable accuracy. (You have to careful though because some people that don't take care of themselves might look lean, but have a lot of fat around internal organs and tissues where it's not as noticeable)
With most measurements from standardized charts, like BMI, that are used, being athletic or having a lot of muscle is an almost assured way of making it be inaccurate.
BMI is a ridiculously flawed system. People who don't understand science usually use this system to try to diagnose obesity. Any doctor these days who is worth a damn would use BMI as a first step in testing for obesity related diseases, but nothing more.
Hydrostatic fat testing (submerging a person in water for a brief period) is light years better than BMI. BMI is fatally flawed because it doesn't factor in weight classifications. It treats all weight as equally, thus equating a pound of fat to a pound of muscle. It's pretty obvious to that isn't going to produce anything close to accurate results. I've seen friends who are bodybuilders register in the 40s in BMI, with a corresponding Body Fat Percentage in the low teens. Or there's always the old friend, the "fat pincher" calipers, which are still more accurate than BMI.
It's easier for the government or doctors to throw out BMI figures than it is to use anything else because most people get the BMI system. I may not be the best way of measuring someones weight but it's the easiest to understand and you have to take into account the many, many stupid fat people out there.
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