Why Are Medics Etc Still Using B M I?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/42993144/dorset-schoolgirl-lost-confidence-after-fat-letter
ridiculously silly measurement in my opinion, surely body fat percentage is a much more useful measure. The kid in the link has now been put off sport, surely that was not the intention. It's time the medical profession dropped this increasingly irrelevant measure.

[anthro-nerd]

My other half is a trained paramedic, and a medic in the RAF. Due to his muscle mass (yes, I'm a lucky lady) he's technically considered obese... with a 6 pack (not of beer!).

He says BMI is a load of rubbish. Last year he ran the London marathon in 4.5 hours... apparently obese....

[diddlydo]

I'm right with Woofgang re throwing letters for GP's MOT in bin. If GP practices spent less time seeing the unworried well, there would be more appointments available for the really ill.

[pixie374]

I think jim is right- it's just one tool which has it's place. It doesn't measure body fat, it measures mass- and we know that. Being overweight- even if because you are heavily muscled, still puts a lot of strain on the body as is less healthy than just being toned. A very muscly body does not necessarily mean a healthy one.

[pixie374]

In fact just looking it up- the definition of "obese"... is "grossly fat or overweight ". So it is perfectly possible for a bodybuilder to be "obese".

[woofgang]

YMB it was you who asked if I would rather know about something than drop down dead :) and then brought up saving the NHS money....I do save the NHS money, I have private health insurance and pay insurance tax on the premium.

[hc4361]

The heart is a muscle that can and should be excercised with cardio exercises that increase the heart rate. The stronger the heart is the better it works with less strain and is more able to cope with a muscular, heavy body,
A fat person who is inactive is very likely to have a less healthy heart.

[pixie374]

I'm not saying they are the same, hc. Neither are particularly healthy, so it does give a guide.