BMI Scales?

[FrenchieBoy]

I know there are plenty of BMI scales available on the Internet but from what I can see they are just generalisations and don't take too much into account regarding the person's age. The way that I see it is that (In general and admittedly not all cases) a man tends get a little "portly" as he ages.
Does anyone know if there is a reasonable BMI scale that takes into account a man's age so that I can see just how overweight I might be, and if so could they put a link to it please?
p.s. I'm not really fat, I have a large chest which has dropped a bit and is in the relaxed mode nowadays!

 

[Stalker62]

Bad idea FB.

Bad idea.

I was once tempted to check my own BMI. Turns out I am not overweight but am under-tall by eleven inches...

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I know there are plenty of BMI scales available on the Internet but from what I can see they are just generalisations and don't take too much into account regarding the person's age. The way that I see it is that (In general and admittedly not all cases) a man tends get a little "portly" as he ages.
Does anyone know if there is a reasonable BMI scale that takes into account a man's age so that I can see just how overweight I might be, and if so could they put a link to it please?
p.s. I'm not really fat, I have a large chest which has dropped a bit and is in the relaxed mode nowadays!

My BMI has put me in the Obese class (allegedly) since my twenties. The fact that my weight changes by around half a stone summer to winter and has been the same since then. Seems to be immaterial to the medical profession. I find being told that by some fat little person who obviously doesn’t do manual Labour or a physical hobby gets my goat.
A mate of my kid brother was classed as obese by BMI he was not anything like. He was however banned by the army from the gym for the short term as they considered his muscle mass too much.
So personally they can stick their BMI as it is a one fits nobody solution.

 

[Stalker62]

I find being told that by some fat little person who obviously doesn’t do manual Labour or a physical hobby gets my goat.

The OH Nurse who "told me" that I was overweight when I went for a medical; looked like she had spend her entire life in cake shops - and she had not been browsing.

 

[8x57]

Don't mention occupational health to me, I worked with two guys who returned from medicals with OH who had been told they were obese according to their BMI. Both were super fit with not an once of fat on them but they were large and very muscular.
I on the other hand have always been "stout". It was only in the last five years of my service when in a predominantly office based role and not running around every day that my BMI went up, but never exceeded the required standard. I did however have a medical event that led to me having to attend OH one day and the Doc decided to carry out an ECG. It caused me great amusement when he was unable to work out how to connect the leads to the monitor and first asked from assistance from the other doctor and then a third doctor. In the end the OH nurse came in pushed all three out of the way and sorted it for them. Needless to say that the results were normal and unrelated to my medical event which turned out to be triggered by excessive lighting levels in the office (fluorescent lighting flicker combined with computer monitor use).

 

[parkyboy]

You can buy scales that give you your bmi..you programme them with age ,height,etc and they give you a reading of your bmi and weight etc.. i have a set from years ago and only monitor my weight with them now.. like some have already said your bmi can be very inaccurate due to a number of factors.. hope this helps...ps you are what you eat so imagine you are an engine working at medium rpm, don't fill yr tank with more fuel than your engine can burn at any time if you do the tank swells and you have to up the rpm to burn off the fuel...simple but effective, ive lost 1/2 a stone since the xmas excess fuel intake by eating less fuel...Hugh.

 

[Pedro]

The only way you come out on top with your BMI and weight/height is to be a stick insect. You have to have a Mo Farah-like body to get ticks in all the boxes. Why is this? The medical services want fewer customers causing them problems, so they over-compensate on their charts and set, for many people, impossible goals. So every time you go for a check up at the doctors (don't know why they are called "doctors" now. They are all run by nurses and that's pretty much all you will get to see anyway) or OH you get told off and wander out of there feeling really down. Not sure how that helps mental health at all.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

The only way you come out on top with your BMI and weight/height is to be a stick insect. You have to have a Mo Farah-like body to get ticks in all the boxes. Why is this? The medical services want fewer customers causing them problems, so they over-compensate on their charts and set, for many people, impossible goals. So every time you go for a check up at the doctors (don't know why they are called "doctors" now. They are all run by nurses and that's pretty much all you will get to see anyway) or OH you get told off and wander out of there feeling really down. Not sure how that helps mental health at all.

Not if you think f it and go to the bakery on the way home.
I found it funny that my Dad who barring when he had bowel cancer has weighed 12 to 12 1/2 stone and worn a 32” waist since the late sixties. Told the practice nurse who questioned his diet weight etc. She should practice what she preached, when he was their for a blood pressure check (we have hereditary high blood pressure) and it has not been mentioned since.

 

[LuckyEddie]

Don’t use BMI as Gavin Hastings, the former Scotland rugby player, was classed as obese!
Then there are ample examples of tall marathon runners who would be classed as malnourished!
Use your own judgement! I am 5’ 9” and broad across the shoulders (44” chest). Was 106kg before my illness now 57kg but aiming for about 65-70kg as my target weight

 

[Limpet]

..... if you have to ask.....

 

[Ooops]

I know there are plenty of BMI scales available on the Internet but from what I can see they are just generalisations and don't take too much into account regarding the person's age. The way that I see it is that (In general and admittedly not all cases) a man tends get a little "portly" as he ages.
Does anyone know if there is a reasonable BMI scale that takes into account a man's age so that I can see just how overweight I might be, and if so could they put a link to it please?
p.s. I'm not really fat, I have a large chest which has dropped a bit and is in the relaxed mode nowadays!

BMI is notoriously useless because its impossible to apply with accuracy across a global population and because when it it looks at overall weight it doesn't distinguish between muscle mass and body fat. Consequently at the height of my sports playing, weight lifting days it was telling me I was overweight & yet I had visible abs ect. ect.

A far better measure would be body fat percentage
The easiest one I saw was look up table, plenty accurate enough for what you want

It correlates a relationship between your body weight, waist circumference (above the top of the hip bones & across the belly button) & wrist circumference then uses a look up table to give your body fat %

I've attached some relevent info. I also have an extremely easy to use spread sheet where you type in your wrist measurement and your weight and look up the result to your %. However I can't upload it, probably because I'm on a mac. If its of use to you please pm me

 

[Ooops]

last one

 

[bfltd0]

1. Receiving advice/admonishments from nurses who appear to be lifelong salad-dodgers is annoying and you would be right to hold them to account - tactfully, of course.

2. The Armed Forces do recognise the difficulty of applying a simplistic height/weight ratio slavishly to a bunch of fit, muscular blokes (and women), so they have an addition to the formula. You're in the green zone if you have a BMI of 25 or less. Tick, VG. If you have a BMI of 25-30, you go in the orange zone. However, if you have a waist measurement of 34" or less, you go back into the green zone. If you have a BMI of greater than 30, you are in the red zone, but with the 34" or less waist, that drops you back into the orange zone.

3. If you are heavy and slim, that is good. If you are heavy and fat, that's not good.

4. Belly/visceral/abdominal fat is a problem for men and women. So if your chest goes south and you start looking pear-shaped, and your waist measures 35 or more inches for women or 40 or more inches for men, chances are you’re harboring a potentially dangerous amount of abdominal fat. This could be bad for things like heart disease in the future.

Just for a laugh, I went on the NHS BMI online calculator and it came out as smack on 25. However, the lower end of the recommended BMI range for my height equates to 8st 8lbs. When I was a skinny 18 year old, I was 9 1/2 stone soaking wet. And that was before I started building a bit of muscle mass doing interval training and weights. And way before I discovered 3 course lunches, with flagons of ale/wine on expenses................

We all know when the trousers feel a bit tight at the waist - and the answer is probably not to buy bigger trousers.

It might seem harder to shift weight as we get older, but it doesn't mean to say we shouldn't try, especially if it keeps us healthy enough to continue enjoying our sport.

 

[Ooops]

Ooops I forgot a key piece. You need some thing to measure yourself against.
Now you know where my user name came from

 

[Rasputin]

The person who came up with BMI should be shot as should the stupid GPs and nurses who use them. Once had some dumb bint nhs physio tell me my bmi was too high. I remember thinking Christ if mines too high with visible abs and a healthy sporting lifestyle what’s yours you lard ass.

 

[mjd237]

I used to do Army Recruiting before the Army started using the comedy act that is Capita.
The Army in their wisdom tried to use the BMI chart in our recruitment process.
In the Borders where I recruited we had loads of young lads who going by their BMI result was classed as obese!
Now these lads was training and playing rugby through the week.
As an experiment we manged to persuade the higher up the food chain folks to let this one guy attend the selection.
Result was one of the quickest times for the 1 1/2 mile timed run and along with the most sit ups and press ups in two minutes not bad for an obese guy.
Needless to say the charts was never adhered to and paid lip service at best.

 

[Apthorpe]

The person who came up with BMI should be shot as should the stupid GPs and nurses who use them. Once had some dumb bint nhs physio tell me my bmi was too high. I remember thinking Christ if mines too high with visible abs and a healthy sporting lifestyle what’s yours you lard ass.

And then the physio told you that you need to see someone about your Tourette's too?

 

[bullet chucker]

The OH Nurse who "told me" that I was overweight when I went for a medical; looked like she had spend her entire life in cake shops - and she had not been browsing.

Poor deer'

BC.

 

[Rasputin]

And then the physio told you that you need to see someone about your Tourette's too?

No she told me that I had a weak postural chain and needed to do leg exercises to help with my shoulder injury. After which I told her to **** off as she was clearly working from a crib sheet with zero intelligence.

 

[long_range_rob]

Back in the ‘90s I did a work medical, at that time I spent 10 hours plus a week in the gym and they said I was obese for my height. We then did a rough body fat measurement and I was less than 10% body fat. Don’t believe the tables.

FYI I am now slightly above 10% body fat