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Value of BMI

Comment comment by Brandon on 05 April 2008

BMI has some important limitations and shortcomings. Various body types (e.g., elderly, asian, athlete, etc.) can affect the proper scales to be used. Otherwise you can run into misleading readings, such as Lance Armstrong being classified as "overweight" when he competed in the 1993 Tour de France.

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RE: Value of BMI by NastyPrincess :: NR5

Yeah! Some of us are blessed with muscles that would make a Russian beat farmer blush...so where does that leave us? I've always hated BMI tests. I had one done when I was in college and I was as fit as I'd ever been then. At first glance, they dubbed me overweight for my 5' 6" frame until they got out the calipers. When they finished, they found I was between 16% and 18%. So, I think average BMI only works for people who pretty much surf a couch or a desk all week and rarely see a gym and cannot be considered an athlete.

Posted 07 April 2008, Hide, Parent, Reply