Fw: Joyce Hudson - The BS behind BMI

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Joyce Hudson - The BS behind BMI

Body Mass Index Exposed..

Hi, my name is Dean and I am overweight...

well, according to the Body Mass Index (BMI).

It seems strange though, especially considering

that I'm reasonably fit, eat a healthy balanced

diet and have been blessed with genes that help

me gain muscle even if I do light to moderate

weight-bearing exercises...but still, the BMI

says I'm overweight so I can't be healthy, right?

Wrong! I'll explain why...

The BMI has been used for ages (over 100 years)

and many people believe that it's an accurate

indication of good health. It's simple to calculate

and measure: "...weight in kilograms is divided

by height in meters squared...someone with a

BMI of less than 18.5 is considered 'underweight',

between 18.5 and 24.9 is 'normal', 25 to 29.9 is '

overweight' and 30 or greater is clinically obese."

So where does the problem lie?

Well, the fact that one kilogram of muscle weighs

pretty much the same a kilogram of fat should start

giving obvious clues as to where the chinks are in

the BMI armor. Muscle is also much denser than fat.

Someone with more muscle than fat will look totally

different to someone with more fat than muscle

- especially if the two people share the same mass.

Take me for example...I'm 1.68 meters tall (5'6)

- yes I know, hardly a basketball player - and weigh

74 kilograms (163 pounds). According to the

BMI, my score is 26.24 which puts me into the

overweight category. I find this laughable as I

have a body fat percentage of 10%...far from being

unhealthy.

Sure, BMI can help some medical practitioners

recognize the early signs of potential health conditions

in some patients but in most cases, there may be a

dozen underlying concerns such as high cholesterol levels,

high blood pressure, nutritional imbalances, glycation,

low methylation levels, etc, which could be easily missed

if using the BMI alone.

Doctors and insurance companies who use BMI

measurements as health indicators need to wake-up and

realize that it's not your weight that's an issue...

it's where your body accumulates fat that's more of

a concern.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day so I'll get off my

soapbox now...before it buckles under my weight!

Source - Xtend-Life

Posted By - Dean -Communications Manager

at Xtend-Life andBlog Editor41 coast road, cochrane park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland NE7 7RN, UNITED KINGDOM

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