Is looking at a BMI a truly valid way of knowing whether you are overweight or not?

Answer 1

The Body Mass Indicator is good ,BUT it is only a guide after all.
In a lot of cases Big Bones,Heavily muscled ppl will show well over when in fact they are more than healthy against those whose BMI reads within range.

Surprising tho a lot of insurance agencies require a BMI test before insuring against certain insurance policies etc..so they deem it to being a good indicator...♥

Answer 2

You shouldn't just look at BMI. Like anything else BMI is a good guage but it isn't the only thing. Check your waist/hip ratio, get some bodyfat calipers, the scales and a mirror.

BMI doesn't take into account muscle (which weighs more than fat) so if you're pretty buff with a good amount of lean muscle then BMI will just frustrate you.

Answer 3

hey =) well, i used to this it was but i guess its just a guideline. I went to the naturopath a few months back and got a full check of BMI as well as the weight of my bones and amount of zinc in my body etc.. she told me that she doesnt know why they use BMI because everyone can have different muscle mass. Such as: Arnold Schwarzeneger could put all his details together, weight, height and age etc.. and he could be classed as overweight because muscle weighs more than fat. I hope that all makes sense to you? I recommend going to a naturopath to get them to test you. All they do is weigh you and measure your height and then stick a sticker to your foot which tells them how much muscle you have a what the weight of your bones are. Its really interesting to see what percentage of your body is what! Anyway.. hope i have helped some! =)

Answer 4

There isn't - bmi is not a truly valid way to know if you are overweight.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 5

Not in itself. It helps but it doesn't allow for muscle mass to be taken into consideration. And since muscles are important to your overall fitness level, and because muscle weighs more than fat, it could give you a misleading analysis of your current fitness level. You should also look into checking out your body fat percentage. There are many methods one can use.

Answer 6

Yup to the above... best way is to get your body fat % measured. Most gyms have staff that can use skin fold calipers or they have the electrical impedence measuring devices.

They do sell "take home" calipers, but usually not as sophisticated as the "professional" ones, and you are having to measure your own skin folds.

What I use is a body fat scale... it's a weight scale that also can test body fat by electrical impedence as you stand on it. They sell those as well.