11 YO Volleyball player

[Racket_Man]

received a letter from the school district saying she might be fat/overweight/obese.

http://www.today.com/moms/when-schoo...id=msnhp&pos=4

As a part of a periodic screening process the school district tests the vision, hearing, and BMI (body mass index) of students. An 11 YO female athlete who is a star volleyball player received such a letter telling her parents that her BMI was way off

[Nyoibo]

Yet another example of why the BMI should not be used at all.

[fireheart17]

Bravo idiots.

Honestly, the BMI really does mean squat. Most of the time it's either a case of Captain Obvious or screwing with your mind.

I've heard soo many stories of bodybuilders and the like who have been lumped into the same category as someone who spends their day munching on party-size buckets of flan...

[s_stabeler]

the issue is that BMI measures the weight compared tot he height of the body as a proxy for how overweight you are, with the assumption that extra weight is fat. Unfortunately, muscle is denser than fat, so someone who has a lot of muscle tissue would actually be heavier than someone who is overweight. It's why doctors generally don't use the BMI alone these days. (they use their eyes as well)

[Panacea]

BMI is a waste of time. Percentage of body fat is a more accurate and informative measurement.

[wraiths_crono]

Hmm yeah my work is giving health discounts for meeting BMI, its all bull: it says im wayyy over at 6ft and 280 lbs, I have a gut but its going away with me cutting soda, we have one other guy hes 6ft and at 230 lbs, fit hits the gym: same thing says he needs to be 190-200ish. its all BS.

[Andara Bledin]

Hmm yeah my work is giving health discounts for meeting BMI, its all bull: it says im wayyy over at 6ft and 280 lbs, I have a gut but its going away with me cutting soda, we have one other guy hes 6ft and at 230 lbs, fit hits the gym: same thing says he needs to be 190-200ish. its all BS.

First question: Does it only say you have to be below a certain threshold, or does it also require that you be above emaciated? From what I've heard, it's juts as unhealthy to be too skinny as it is to be too fat.

I'd love for someone of a racial type that has bigger bones to bring suit against that as being racially discriminatory, since the BMI on its own is utterly meaningless as regards a person's actual health.

[fireheart17]

BMI is a waste of time. Percentage of body fat is a more accurate and informative measurement.

Not to mention that the bmi charts are actually shrinking over time as well.

For instance, in 2009 I went and had a Pap smear at the sexual health clinic. The nurse there weighed me and at the time, I was a little bit heavier than I am now. According to the nurse, that put me in the borderline overweight/obese category, based on my height.

A little googling now shows that my weight has dropped, but it's actually gone into the "obese" range. Apparently 70kg is my "healthy" weight, but is more likely to leave me looking a little emanciated. (As it stands, if I suck in my gut to give the appearance of a flat stomach, my ribs poke right out)

[Cats]

Ignoring the fact that BMI alone is not reliable, the last time I checked, a BMI of 22 was NORMAL. Where the hell are they getting the idea that she's overweight or at risk for being overweight?

[gremcint]

can we talk about the fact that schools are sending home letters to warn parents their kid is fat? I find that to be a real problem actually. First off if the kid is actually fat that is probably the last thing they need.

[hinakiba777]

Okay Ignoring that BMI is stupid. The book i have about BMI says that Normal is 18.5 to 24.9, while Overweight is 25.0-29.9. Anything below 18.5 is Underweight. So how the heck is someone in the middle of "Normal" at risk of being overweight? It makes no bloody sense.

BMI really is stupid though. According to BMI I would need to look between 80lbs-100lbs (36-45kg) to be at a healthy weight. I have a new family doctor so I need to check with him what my weight should be, but another source told me that based on body type and other factors I need to lose between 40-60lbs (18-28kg) That is twice the amount of weight in some cases.

[HYHYBT]

Technically, just about anyone could be "at risk of" being overweight. That person right in the middle of their target BMI could start spending all day eating ice cream in bed, for example.