Weight (BMI) Poll

[Roy Harding]

In the later '80s I was a member of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, we had our "fat bodies", but the vast majority of us were very fit. The Canadian Forces brought in the BMI as a fitness indicator, the idea being that those whose BMI was over 25 would be forced to do remedial PT. 75% of the Regiment had BMIs over 25. It eventually became apparent to the "Chairborne Commandos" of National Defence Headquarters that something was wrong (with the BMI, NOT the soldiers of the Airborne Regiment!) The problem is that muscle is denser than fat, and therefore weighs more per cubic inch. A very fit individual of the same height and general appearance as an unfit individual will weigh more, and thus have a higher BMI. The BMI was eventually dropped in the Canadian Forces as a fitness indicator.

The BMI remains a somewhat useful indication of POSSIBLE weight problems, but it's not an accurate diagnostic tool.

[Don Morris]

I'm overweight by one pound. I'll accept that.

[John K Jordan]

I'm right on the cusp of a BMI of 25 (just a bit under). The problem I see with these kind of charts is that one pound (even half a pound) can move you between "normal" and "overweight".

Me too, right near 25. Another thing that is not considered by the calculator - we all shrink in height as we get older, I've lost about an inch. Does that mean you might go from "normal" to "overweight" as you age simply because your height decreases? I don't think so!

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

when I grew up a very fat person was an absolute rarity, now a lean fit person, particularly a woman, it seems, is the rare sight.

I just came back from a couple of weeks in northern Italy. I don't think I saw one overweight person, certainly no obesity. People think nothing of walking a mile to work or school, riding a bike for long distances. I didn't see a fast junk food place except for one McDonalds in Venice for the tourists - everyone buys fresh food at the market, cooks for every meal, and eats well. The friends we spent time with took long walks instead of TV time - they didn't even have a TV in the house.

On my street I've seen people get in the car just to go to the mailbox 100 ft from the door. I know of kids who are raised almost entirely on fast food with an occasional "home cooked" meal of hamburger helper or a box of mac and cheese.

JKJ

[paul cottingham]

The interesting thing about those charts is that they don't take build into account. I am structurally very large. According to the charts I'm obese (260lbs) but my doctor just laughs at that. My heart rate is 55. I swim 5 miles aweek (a mile takes me a little less than 35 minutes, broken into sets.) I'm pretty fit for a 54 year old with all my physical limitations. So be careful about those charts.