PSA: For some men, staying in shape may override body weight (CNN)

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CrazyAznDriver

Golden Member
Nov 28, 2010
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It's a body "mass" indicator. Mass can be muscle or fat. It's still more stuff that your heart has to pump blood through. And eventually most gym rats end up injured or broke down and that muscle turns to flab. So it works out in the end.

Extra mass is still an indicator for strokes and other diseases.

lol :rolleyes:
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
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Because everyone plays college football AMIRITE? Even then at those measurements you'd be midway overweight not even close to obese.

How people are so confused about BMI and when it works is beyond me.

My BMI at the time put me at about 28, 30 was considered obese.

Unless they changed the index in the past decade, it was amusing to be considered nearly obese when I was in the best shape of my life.
 

CrazyAznDriver

Golden Member
Nov 28, 2010
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My BMI at the time put me at about 28, 30 was considered obese.

Unless they changed the index in the past decade, it was amusing to be considered nearly obese when I was in the best shape of my life.

Yeah I am 6'3 220 so that would put me at 27.5, I agree probably in the best shape of my life and I played collegiate sports as well. I eat much better now than I did in college that is for sure.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
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My BMI at the time put me at about 28, 30 was considered obese.

Unless they changed the index in the past decade, it was amusing to be considered nearly obese when I was in the best shape of my life.

BMI 25-30 is overweight. You were right around the middle... A change of 2 is quite a bit on the BMI scale. Once again people training for college sports are not the average person.
 

MrX8503

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2005
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BMI is a good indicator for the average person. AFAIK, the average person isn't a super athlete.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
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I can't believe doctors use BMI... of course many doctors just do what they're told and have no common sense.
Unfortunately the professional world is filled with people who passed university by memorizing things instead of learning things.


BMI is a good indicator for the average person. AFAIK, the average person isn't a super athlete.
Nah. It was created at a time when people we often underfed and the average person was quite athletic. Anyone who lives on a farm, for example, will have lots of muscle and no fat. Anyone deviating from something like that is "fat" apparently.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,354
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BMI is a good indicator for the average person. AFAIK, the average person isn't a super athlete.

having been to wal mart, the average person is a fat slob who doesn't wear clothes that fit right and doesn't have any clue their meandering path through the store is blocking people who know where the want to go.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
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having been to wal mart, the average person is a fat slob who doesn't wear clothes that fit right and doesn't have any clue their meandering path through the store is blocking people who know where the want to go.

This is true and BMI describes them accurately. It works for thin people who only moderately work out too though.
 

Pardus

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2000
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having been to wal mart, the average person is a fat slob who doesn't wear clothes that fit right and doesn't have any clue their meandering path through the store is blocking people who know where the want to go.

Walmart: Freak Show Central
3326.jpg

3304.jpg

2918.jpg
 

GotIssues

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2003
1,631
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The people that hate the BMI are typically the ones who've been told they are overweight/obese because their BMI was high, when in fact they are more muscular than what they are "supposed" to be. I fall into this category and am pissed when my yearly health insurance screening feeds this BS to me.

BMI is a shit measurement that's used poorly by the medical and insurance fields.
 

GotIssues

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2003
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It's not an indicator of fatness, although for an overwhelming majority of people that is the case. It's simply a risk indicator. Period. It's one of about a dozen different things including family history, smoking, ect that go into to assessing heart attack/heart disease risks.

If it's not an indicator of fatness, then they should probably change the scale from "overweight", "obese", or "morbidly obese" to something that doesn't imply fat.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
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It's not an indicator of fatness, although for an overwhelming majority of people that is the case. It's simply a risk indicator. Period. It's one of about a dozen different things including family history, smoking, ect that go into to assessing heart attack/heart disease risks.
The problem is that correlation does not mean causation. It's stupid to try tie things together when there is no causal relation between them.

We know that fat can be very bad. After knowing how %fat a person is, it's reasonable to make snap judgements about potential health problems that are directly caused by fat (ie sleep apnea). This is what doctors should be doing.
Using BMI is stupid because BMI is not a direct cause of problems. People with a high BMI are assumed to be fat, which is wrong. People can have ridiculously high BMI just by being normal people. A girl I know is roughly my height but she's 20 pounds heavier than me because she likes snowboarding. Snowboarding makes her bones denser and her muscles bigger.

BMI goes in the same category as judging people by race. You are black, therefore I assume you will have heart problems. That's a real correlation. Black people do have more heart problems. It's not because they're black. It's because the black population in the US has a much higher obesity rate, and that fat is what messes up your heart. Instead of assuming your entire medical history based on what color your skin is, it would make more sense to actually measure the fat and put you on a treadmill to see how fit you are.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,480
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BMI is a shit measurement that's used poorly by the medical and insurance fields.

A lot of companies are going to a more comprehensive risk analysis that includes blood work and other indicators to assess overall health. I've never worked for a company that assessed premiums based only on BMI. Hell, I've never worked for a company that even asked or looked at my heigh/weight.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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BMI is crap. Are line backers out of shape who weigh 245-265 and have 32in waists and a 50 resting HR? Don't think so.
 

CrazyAznDriver

Golden Member
Nov 28, 2010
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BMI is crap. Are line backers out of shape who weigh 245-265 and have 32in waists and a 50 resting HR? Don't think so.
but they are at risk of heart attacks because their hearts have to work so hard pushing against all that mass, and their bodies will break down :awe:
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
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The people that hate the BMI are typically the ones who've been told they are overweight/obese because their BMI was high, when in fact they are more muscular than what they are "supposed" to be. I fall into this category and am pissed when my yearly health insurance screening feeds this BS to me.

BMI is a shit measurement that's used poorly by the medical and insurance fields.

The majority of people I see in real life that are convinced they are all muscle are infact pretty fat; they're convinced anything short of completely round must be all muscle. It's very rare to encounter someone that actually is as BMI defying as they claim although there's no shortage of them on the internet go figure.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
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vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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but they are at risk of heart attacks because their hearts have to work so hard pushing against all that mass, and their bodies will break down :awe:

I can't find it broke down by position, but linemen live about 20 years less than your average male.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
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BMI is crap. Are line backers out of shape who weigh 245-265 and have 32in waists and a 50 resting HR? Don't think so.

Actually, linebackers are known for their notoriously short lifespans. You pretty much picked the worst example you could have to make your point.
 

CrazyAznDriver

Golden Member
Nov 28, 2010
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I can't find it broke down by position, but linemen live about 20 years less than your average male.

no doubt brutal hits to the head will do that like boxers, but can you prove that shortened life is from a high bmi? Baseball players, basketball players, sprinters, you pick any athlete other than marathon runners and their bmi is out there I bet.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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Actually, linebackers are known for their notoriously short lifespans. You pretty much picked the worst example you could have to make your point.

Only the ones that sit around and get fat in old age.

One problem with having all that muscle is not that heart has to work hard, but that your metbolism is so high you can eat trash, clog your arteries, have no real waistline effects all the while your HR is shooting through the roof.

You're born with a billion beats, and if there's is beating 90 BPM they will die soon.
 
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AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
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Only the ones that sit around and get fat in old age.

The average for all of them is ~55 years. They'd have to almost all be like that to explain the massive drop in average compared to the normal population. Maybe it has more to do with building yourself up to that level is just plain unhealthy in the long run.