Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Me, fat?
I thought about nuking this post. Is it too self-centered? But then I thought — when are my posts NOT self-centered? Anyway, feel free to blast me if you like.Â
Karen’s watching Penn and Teller’s Bullshit — specifically, their episode on obesity. Penn delighted me by targeting one of my pet peeves, the BMI.
The US Government uses the Body Mass Index in its proclamations regarding obesity in America. Here’s a BMI calculator; take a moment to calculate your BMI, then check out the left sidebar to see if you’re overweight or obese.
I’m 5′ 6″, 178 lbs. With a BMI of 28.7, I am (according to the sidebar) overweight, borderline obese. Four years ago, I was 5′ 6″, 178 lbs, and I’ll be the first to admit I was obese. As I’ve opined in the past, a man ought to be able to see his wiener when he goes pee. I couldn’t even see my wiener after sucking in my gut!
I don’t know about you, but I need to see my wiener. I need to have smaller breasts than my wife. It’s all part of the natural order of things.
But despite what you might think from my recent stint as John Lennon, I’m not obese. Not anymore I’m not. I’ve been working out regularly for the last two years, and I’ve lost at least 8 inches off my waist. Some paunch remains, but a lot of this stuff is excess skin. And no, I don’t want to be the first boy on my block to get a tummy tuck.
To review: four years ago, BMI = 28.7, can’t see wiener. Present, BMI = 28.7, can see wiener.
Weight is weird. When I finally got fed up with my wienerlessness, I dieted but did not exercise. I was fond of saying, “No one ever broke a limb sitting on his couch,” which in retrospect was an unfunny way of avoiding exercise. Nevertheless, by following a strict low carb diet, I peeled off 15 pounds in six months. BMI = 26.3. STILL overweight.
I’ll bet everyone does the same thing at one time or another. They ask, “What weight do I have to be to NOT be overweight?” You start futzing with the BMI calculator and it’s enough to make you sick. I would have to weigh 154 pounds. I’d have to lose 24 pounds.
Part of me thinks, why not? I weighed about 135-140 lbs in high school . . . but I was scrawny in high school, revoltingly thin and not at all in shape. By the end of college, I was in the high 140s and had some decent legs (thanks to biking) but no upper body muscle.
What I’m trying to say in typical longwinded fashion: BMI sucks. Surely some better metric exists. For the individual, it should be an easy thing — all you need to do is answer the question, how do you feel when you look in the mirror? Better yet, how do you feel? If you feel healthy and energetic, I doubt it matters how much you weigh.
But we all know how screwed up some folks are with regard to self-image. I suspect those people need a number to tell them, Hey, you’re doing fine. And for medical research purposes, an easily defined metric is essential.
Body fat percentage, perhaps? Easily defined but not easily measured. Skin fold thickness, perhaps a ratio of abdominal girth to height; I really didn’t know. When I searched for this information on the web, I kept coming back to that damnable BMI.
Except for this blog post, which includes a cool chart of lean (and famous) guys with high BMIs. Hey, Keanu Reeves and I have something in common other than a fondness for the word, “Dude!” That post also links to this one, which discusses research published in the American Journal of Public Health showing that mortality risk is least for men with a BMI of 26 (“overweight” by standard definitions).
Those two posts are worth a look. That second one concludes (in part),
To infer health risk – it’s better to use a simple measurement of waist circumference (apparently waists greater than 40in for men and 35in for women are a health risk – regardless of height).
Less than 40 inches? That, I can live with.
D.
My BMI is 33.5 If I lose 25 lbs, I will still be obese.
The leanest I have been in the last ten years (and I was pretty rock solid, dragonboating 3 times a week and gym in between) I was 219 lbs, which is… obese.
I’d completely ignore the BMI.
I figured you and I were in the same boat. You’re taller, but you have the same “bullet” body-type.
What annoys me is how long it took me to realize that the BMI is bogus. I should have figured it out a long time ago.
hooray, i LIKE my BMI. it makes me feel less fat, since it says i’m normal. still, i’m a teenage girl. i’d like to be towards the smaller end of the normal range. i swear i’m gonna start biking this summer if it kills me.
anyways.
Yeah, the BMI is bullshit. I’m overweight at a BMI of 27.4. In order to be ‘healthy’ by BMI standards, I’d have to weigh under 130 lbs. That’s not happening at my age.
The problem with the BMI is that it doesn’t take into account age or bone structure.
Well that was depressing. I did the BMI and it says I’m overweight. Then I remembered I was 5’5″, not 5’4″. I was still overweight. Then I remembered I was 5’8″, and it turns out I’m normal.
Who invited that skinny Shaina person?
Oh, the BMI is ridiculous. It takes absolutely nothing into account other than height and weight. And muscle weighs far more than fat.
Case in point: Carl’s 5’11” & 215 pounds. His BMI is 30–obese. He also wears size 34 pants. His body fat percentage is 18%. Which one makes more sense?
Especially for men, body shapes can differ drastically at the same height & weight. Fifty extra pounds of muscle on the thighs, chest, and shoulders is vastly different health-wise from fifty extra pounds of fat around the gut.
What really cracks me up is the comments in women’s magazines that going by BMI is so much better than relying on the scale. Uh. It’s the same thing. It’s exactly the same thing. Unless you’re a complete idiot who thinks that someone who’s 6 foot tall should weigh the same as someone who’s 5 foot tall, which I’m not ruling out.
Heh. It’s obviously one of my pet peeves, too. I prefer to go by clothing size rather than weight, especially because I’m one of those women who build muscle easily, and I tend to weigh quite a lot more than I look like I do.
waist at 35? really? Then I’m safe! I’m down to 33.5 from about 37. I thought it was 30 and was working toward that.
AND I’m about the same BMI as you, doug….
off to exercise. 32 off, only another ummmmmm 35 to go to be Svelte. Is so not going to happen.
and you do notice that the self obsession just allows your visitors to weigh in (har har har) with theirs?
I’ve always suspected that BMI was basically useless. Thanks for confirming that.
Shaina is nineteen, folks. At nineteen, my BMI was 21.8! Enjoy it while it lasts, Shaina darling.
(Shaina, if you hang out with all us 40-somethings, you’re gonna catch flack 😉 )
It’s always a hoot when I tap into a common peeve. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m not the only BMI-hater in the room!
And Kate, I love it when my readers get self-obsessed on my blog. Maybe I should try out that “how did you lose your virginity” post again . . . IIRC, no one was in a sharing mood back then.
Hey, my BMI’s 22.1, and my waist is about 30 1/2 inches. That’s at the skinniest point [about three inches above my belly button. TMI, right?]
Those things are jacked up, though, because my frame is really small [5’6″ but small boned] so my weight is actully a little higher [by about 17 pounds] than it should be [at least by my calculations].
My figures came from some height to weight ratio chart from a website that’s long since forgotten now, so it may be crap too, but my thought was that my weight should be at the bottom end of normal because of my small bone size…
My dad’s similar to me in bone structure, and he notices that if he gets over 175 [he’s six feet tall] he starts feeling like crap, so it’s all relative, yes? His ‘normal’ weight range is somewhere around 200 [+ or – 15 lbs… memory’s shot. Sorry], but if he gained that much, he’d probably be bedridden.
Your “How do you feel?” Makes the most sense to me. 😛
😛 i know, i know. you silly old people.
*snickers* heheheeee…
Shelbi, where ya been! And boy oh boy are you skinny. 22.1!
Shaina, 45 doesn’t seem nearly as old at 45 as it does at 19. You’ll see (cue ominous laughter).
Still here. Just mostly quiet these days [boy is that a new thing… giggles]
My mirror tells me that skinny is quite an exaggeration! Having three kids does strange stuff to the ole bod, you know? Well, since your a guy…um. But you can imagine, right?
😉
Ah jeez, did I really write ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’?
My only excuse is that it was after midnight here and fatigue fogged up my brain.
Grr.
What’s my excuse, Shel? I didn’t notice!
My BMI is 32. To be honest the only way to find out the correct percentage of body fat is to use calipers. I don’t even trust those expensive know-it-all scales. I figure I have about 30-35lbs more to lose before I’m at a kick ass weight for my body frame and muscle size. I know I have a muscle weight of 140lbs, which on a 5’8″ large frame is pretty good. All the farmers will want me to pull their plows.
BMI is a weak tool to convince folks to keep as thin as possible.It even tells thin people they’re too fat. It’s ridiculous.
[…] Remember last month’s post on the Body Mass Index? For those of you who are weight-obsessed like me, Monica Jackson has a fine three part series on dieting. Check it out. […]
The BMI is total garbage. I am ‘overweight’ accordng to the BMI but a weight scales showing body fat says I am actually medically too low in body fat. I work out at least 3 times a week and run about twice a week a couple of quite easy 5 mile runs. But I am overweight according to the BMI. I also lead a very active life cycling for transport and occasionally just exercising on my work break.
The BMI is only really good for extremely obese people who obviously never exercise who do not need the BMI…and is the used to sell quack diets.
The BMI could serve the same purpose as toilet paper and we all know what that is used for. I am 6’6″ 225 and this thing says i’m overweight!! I wouldnt be healthy untill i got down to 216! 216! Even now I can see my ribs and my collar bones stick out like there going to pop out of my skin. Whoever came up with this bmi crap is a retard. I guess if i wanted to look like a crack head I would go by this scale, besides why do people want to be so damn skinny anyway, a woman with shape and curves will always look better than a stick with no form, and for guys why would you want to be a scrawny twig if your not a runway model or a marathon runner? The B in BMI stand for bullshit!