Body Mass Index (BMI) and Obesity - How does it make you feel?

[Praesilith]

How do you feel about the BMI? I've known about BMI for a while, and while I have gained a bit in the past few years, I'm somewhat self conscious, but it's not because of a number on a scale or some calculations. It's because I'm physically not fit, I rarely work out and I need to become more active.

How do you feel about your own BMI? Mine is 24.8, 0.1 away from overweight. I'm 4 ft 11, almost 17, and I weigh about 123 pounds. I take birth control also, so that contributes to it. But I also have large hips and along with that naturally comes large thighs and that's where a good portion of my weight is at.

How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)? I feel like we all want to be healthy/skinny and look as media portrays as beautiful, yet everyone has a different view of beautiful. Society acts as if body image isn't a big deal and promotes being yourself, but it doesn't necessary do anything for its audience because the people saying: be yourself, are generally perceived as "beautiful."

Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight? Most of the time eating right and exercising is enough, but I'm sure it varies per person and how much work they should do. I'm not telling you to change yourself, but some people require more exercise to maintain "fit" while others can just lay around and still be fit because of their metabolism. I don't feel as if society should judge anyone based on anything, yet judging is natural. I do find however, that unless one is extremely overweight to where they can't get around without assistance of others, that people don't really judge. I find that people tend not to get in your business about anything, unless it's so obvious. I hope that makes sense and that this isn't coming off as rude. but you shouldn't care about a number either, if you're fit and can work out, you should be happy. Yet, if being a bit thinner is what you want and it's not an insane amount of weight loss, I encourage it. It will boost your esteem greatly and it gives you something to look forward to.

 

[XTheLancerX]

I personally think the BMI is useless because it doesn't take body composition, like fat and muscle, into account.

Anyway, I calculated it just because and I got an 18.4.

I am a 14 year old guy, 5' 10" and a half, and only 130 pounds as well. I play no sports but volleyball in the winter, and don't get out much so I am not very strong or athletic or anything. At all. I'm not chubby even though I eat like a pig, so I guess I am pretty fortunate.

 

[CR33P]

i'm average weight

 

[12345]

How do you feel about the BMI?
I personally don't really care for it. Like, I think things like blood pressure and general health are waaaay more important. Especially as BMI doesn't really account for muscle. Because people who are super buff are counted as obese and it's like what. When obviously someone with a ton of muscle is (probably) gonna be in good health and be looking good. So yeah I'm pretty meh about it. But I am kinda forced to care about it because it gets calculated at my yearly health check ups.

How do you feel about your own BMI?
My BMI is in the normal range, maybe going slightly towards overweight. I mean I can tell just by looking at myself in the mirror I'm not exactly some beautiful skinny model so I'm always prepared to see my BMI being slightly towards overweight. Obviously I'd love it if it was slightly lower, but hey I'd like to change a lot of things about myself.

How do you feel about body image in general and how society portrays body image (like in the media, etc)?
It kinda sucks for me (well it sucks for everyone but, you know what I'm saying) because my body is so different to that portrayed in magazines and films as 'attractive'. Like all those girls have these gorgeous slim legs and a large bust and my body is just. The complete opposite. I have thunder thighs and am basically flat chested. Neither of those traits are desirable. And you never really see girls with my body shape in the media, and if you do they're usually being picked on for having 'fat legs' or needing a boob job.

Is eating right and exersizing enough? In my case I do both, and it isn't enough. I am obese for reasons outside of my control (medication side effects). Is it fair for society to judge me for my weight? Is it fair for me to judge myself for my weight?
Oh man I know how rough meds can be on your body. Like it can completely change your body shape in a very short amount of time. I mean obviously it's best to prioritise the good that meds can do for your body over their side effects, but I know how that can make you feel. A few pills I've been on have made me put on a significant amount of weight in a short time. Of course everyone around me assumed I was just eating way too much.

And no please don't judge yourself for something like your weight! Like literally it's so irrelevant. I know it can feel like such a big deal and I'm not invalidating your feelings. Everyone is allowed to feel upset about their weight. It's just such a prominent thing in our society. So don't feel silly. But yeah. It's just cells. Just layers of cells making up adipose tissue. That's all. It's there as an energy store and to protect your vital organs. It insulates your nerves. Don't judge yourself by something like that! You are worth so much more than that! Judge yourself by your personality, your aspirations, your talents... how you treat your friends.

And society sucks so don't listen to those opinions.

But yeah it is totally fair to feel that way about your weight. What I'm trying to say (in a muddled way) is that your feelings are valid, just please don't judge yourself on something like weight when you've got so much more to offer.

Edited to add: Also I just re-read your post and saw you have a lot of muscle. That's awesome! Don't forget BMI doesn't really account for muscle so yeah. Bear that in mind too!

Good luck in your weight loss progress though, if you feel it's right for you!! And good on you for exercising and being pro-active!

 

[KiloPatches]

@ Burger Princess, you make a good point about fat cells and adipose tissue. And thank you for your words of encouragement too.

I would write "@" many of you but I just want to say thank you for your feedback and if you have more to add please feel free to comment!

 

[Cashews]

I think a lot of you think BMI is "BS" because you don't understand it's applications. BMI is very simply, normalizing your weight with respect to your height. Just telling someone your weight says almost nothing about your health, body type or even how over/underweight you are (200 lbs could be normal for someone who is 6ft tall but is very unhealthy for a 5ft tall person). But if you tell someone your weight AND your height, those number suddenly mean a whole lot more. That's all BMI is, it tells your doctor your height and weight. There is no "healthy weight that everyone should be at" since people can be between about 4 and 7 ft tall, but there is a healthy weight range for your height.

BMI is not the "BE ALL, END ALL, THIS IS EXACTLY HOW HEALTHY YOU ARE" measurement, it's simply a better measurement than just weight.

If you do want to take into account your body fat percentage there is an extremely simple, very accessible and accurate (+/- 3.5% body fat) method to measure your body fat using calipers.

 

[lazuli]

the thingy says my BMI is 19.5, which is??? pretty close to underweight wow (im about 5 feet tall and weigh 100 lb)
i know i should eat healthier and stuff but i don't really want to.

i just got weighed and measured at school and i'm actually 4'11" and 96.8 lbs but the BMI is the same. lmao.

 

[matt]

I dont have a bsi as I'm too skinny

 

[Shimmer]

I am 166cm tall and I weigh 53.7kgs, therefore my BMI is 19.5.

I'm personally perfectly happy with where I am. I don't want to gain weight or lose any.

To be honest, weight is a very complicated topic because just because you're "fat" doesn't necessarily mean that you're unhealthy and just because you're "thin" doesn't necessarily mean that you're healthy. It's really based on how often you exercise and your diet in my opinion.

 

[Cashews]

It's true that fat doesn't always mean unhealthy and thin doesn't always mean healthy, but that's only partially true. If you have a BMI between 18-25 (which is a range of 30-40lbs!!) you can be considered to have a healthy weight. If someone is 5'6" they can weigh between 120 and 150 lbs and still have a healthy weight. Media might tell you that you should be 120 and not 150, but medicine tells us the entire range of weight (120-150lbs) are healthy weights to be at.

However once your BMI gets into the overweight/obese range, your risk for many diseases (heart conditions, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, gallstones etc) increases exponentially, regardless of how good your diet is.