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| Member |
Good question! Obvious answer is the categories were created before any studies providing mortality data. However, I long suspected BMI was too "skinny" in the way they are divided (the normal reference is only 154lbs for a male). Just center-punch "normal" on the lowest range of the chart. BMI also is only valid for a sedentary person, any muscle mass throws it off. My BMI is always slightly in the "overweight" category at a low body fat percentage...but according the chart, withing the lowest mortality range. I wonder how bodybuilders would stack up on this chart...high BMI, but not due to fat. I know it negatively affects their health...but how much? “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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Nullus Anxietas |
Or at least somebody who's not fairly ripped. Manager at my fitness club's BMI is so high he falls into the "obese" category. He's at ±20% body fat. Carrying more fat than he'd like, but certainly far from "obese." "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| It's not you, it's me.  |
I never go by BMI. It's totally retarded. I'm a bodybuilder. According to it, I'm overweight. I'm 5'9, 190lbs and I have abs and visible obliques year round. I also have a 30 inch waist. I tend to ignore that BMI bullshit and just pay attention to my bodyfat %, how I look in the mirror, and how I perform athletically. I will make minor tweaks to my protein and carb intake accordingly, as well as my workout regimen if I feel I need to. | |||
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| Member |
Are you using one of the "smart scales" to measure body fat? | |||
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| It's not you, it's me. |
I've been meaning to buy one of those scales. I've heard of accuracy issues with them, but reading reviews, it sounds like they're more accurate in recent years. My wife is a phys Ed teacher and has access to a fancy body fat checking device...(I just assume it's accurate) I try to use it about 4 times a year to make sure I'm where I need to be. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
They had a fancy body fat measuring scale at Life Time Fitness. Stood on it with bare feet and gripped a pair of handles. (That one is probably hella spendy.) It said I was at 15% last time I used it. The $40 Omron device that looks like a gaming thing, that they use at my current club, came up with nearly the same number. I mainly go by how I look in the mirror and how my clothes fit. "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| Member |
My spendy Fitbit scale had me at 16% body fat when the average of 10 caliper readings plus visuals and common sense had me at 9%. I don’t trust the standing scale sensor tech at all. “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
I've got one of those scales that measures body fat, water, muscle and bone. I don't think it's very accurate but I watch the numbers to see if there is a trend up or down. According to the scale, about a year ago, my fat % was at 12.8% and water at 55.9%. I then lost about 12 lbs and the fat reading dropped to 10~ and water to about 52%. My BMI is 21 which is in the middle of the normal range. But I've got some little love handles and a extra fat around the mid section (noticeable only with shirt off) even though I wear a 31 pants, so it's obvious the fat percentage should be higher. I trust the looking in the mirror method more so then a 1.5v current running around through my body trying to figure out what is fat and what is muscle. Still, it give some reference point. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
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Spectemur Agendo |
The height/weight and BMI charts don't take into account things like muscle mass, frame size, and ethnicity. According to the US chart I'm significantly underweight. Using the Asian chart I'm in the higher part of average. (5'3", 109 lbs.) I eat mostly clean, I eat until I'm full but not stuffed, and I workout six days a week, so I don't pay much attention to the charts or the scale. SIGforum's triple minority "It can't rain all the time." - Eric Draven | |||
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Member |
A brick layer gets in a bar fight with a gym boy. Mystery solved. Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster | |||
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| It's not you, it's me. |
Would you like to tell the class how brick laying equates to fighting skill? I'd love to know, have a wall I'd like to build and it would allow me to skip this week's Jiu Jitsu class. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
Gym boy takes kick boxing classes at said gym. Your point? "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| It's not you, it's me. |
Haha...you're not helping. | |||
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| Nullus Anxietas |
 "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe "If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher | |||
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| Member |
Ah, the concept of specificity. My money is on the guy spending 3-6hrs per week training MMA or similar regardless of whether they also workout in a gym or lay bricks. “People have to really suffer before they can risk doing what they love.” –Chuck Palahnuik Be harder to kill: https://preparefit.ck.page | |||
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