BMI - Normal is as Normal Does

by Maggie Vink (Subscribe to Maggie Vink's posts)
Jan 30th 2009 5:00PM

Categories: Your Turn, Diet & Weight Loss

BMI is far from a perfect measure of your body's fitness (as evidenced by one reader who is classified as obese, but just completed a half marathon). But knowing where you fall can be helpful none-the-less. We wondered where That's Fit readers land in the BMI scale:

56.2 percent fall in the normal range.
22.2 percent are overweight, but not obese.
12.8 percent are considered underweight.
8.9 percent are obese.

It's awesome that so many readers fall into the "normal" category. But it's important to keep in mind that BMI isn't a perfect measurement. Follow a healthy lifestyle, maintain an appropriate weight and use BMI as a general gauge only.

Comments (1)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BB 1-30-2009 @ 10:29PM

BMI what a farce!! I don't know why people still use it .I am 28% ( overweight almost obese ) at 6'3 222 lbs with a 35 in waiste and a 50 in chest body fay is 11% . How can they call people like me obese . Have they ever been to a gym and seen what fit people look like? I don't understand how you can come up with a system that penalizes people for being in good shape? What is even worse insurance companys relie on it to figure life insurance rates???