The strange history of the body mass index

[@nicolehubbard3536]

When my daughter was 6 or 7 we went to the pediatrician for her annual check-up. The pediatrician comes in holding a file, never looked at my kid, and declared that my daughter's BMI was too high. My kid was skinny as a rail. I was like, "what are you talking about?" The pediatrician just kept looking at the file, and saying, "I'm just concerned she could have problems." I finally said, "Excuse me." When the doc looked up, I lifted my daughter's shirt up a little, had her turn in a circle, and said, "You look at my child, not your paper. Show me where the excess fat is." The pediatrician just continued to insist my kid's BMI was too high. We changed doctors. My daughter is an adult now, and still a healthy weight. Ridiculous.

[@GaryR55]

BMI is one of the most misleading measures because doctors and hospitals have the unfortunately stupid practice of weighing patients fully clothed, including the weight of, not only their clothing, but the weight of the contents of their pockets, as well. This can skew a person's weight upward by as much as 6 to 8 pounds. In winter, when people are wearing heavier clothing and more layers of clothing, it is especially inaccurate. The best way to measure body weight is to weigh in without clothing. I weigh myself once a week (any more frequently is useless because one's weight varies throughout the week, throughout the day), first thing out of bed, before having anything to eat or drink. Typically, I weigh in the 150s (pounds), yet, when I go to a medical appointment, they weigh me just as I am when I arrive, clothing, contents of my pockets, after breakfast, which has included at least an 8 ounce glass of water, and so they get a figure that can be as much as 167 to 170 lbs, giving a completely different picture of my total weight. This practice could be modified for accuracy by simply having the patient weigh unclothed in a private room, with the scale linked to a computer so their recorded weight can be sent to their medical records. But, there is resistance to this (it takes too long, too complicated, etc). I spend more time just sitting in a room waiting for my doctor to show up than it takes to weigh me, so the objection that it takes too much time is nonsense.

[@hobiejones8081]

Agree with your assessment of m.d. office weigh-ins.....(those folks could not care less). However, there is no dispute "we" have become collectively obese...to state it mildly. FAT as hell it appears to me.

[@MrDoccus]

Generally, clinically insignificant differences. Relax.

[@heatherwurzer5707]

Horrible way to classify people as it’s incredibly inaccurate for those of us who carry a lot of muscle. (And vice versa for those that are skin and bones.) The insurance company has no idea how many reps and weight of dead lifts or leg presses I do, nor bother to measure actual body fat with a simple pinch test. I would guess that this inaccurate information has probably led to eating disorders for some… great way to support mental health that the insurance companies are also supposedly concerned about. 🙄

[@GaryR55]

@@MrDoccus Not at all. These measures are being used by doctors, not only as assumed body fat measurements, but are the basis of diagnoses and prescribed medications for conditions the patient may not even have.

[@GaryR55]

@@heatherwurzer5707 Exactly! In my forties, I took up strength training and began walking 6 miles a day, as well. I was slender and fit, but my body composition changed dramatically. Fat was replaced by muscle and, as anyone who has studied strength training knows, muscle by far outweighs fat.

[@305fusion]

Thanks for this great, concise and informative video! Maybe as another video you could dive into Ancel Key's 7 Countries Study. It is a deeply flawed study that laid flimsy ground work for some of the biggest health care associations in the US and subsequently all over the world to make policy around.

[@christineromero4047]

Exactly. He was a real mess. See being paid off by the sugar industry.

[@staceydroogas928]

Opened my eyes to a "formula" my family and I adhered to. NOW WHAT???

[@benspigener4095]

I am clinically obese according to BMI. But I have 9% body fat and can run 8 minute miles. Just because I am 220lbs. I have a hard time respecting anyone who uses bmi.

[@GaryR55]

Yep. When I took up strength training in my forties, I gained about 20 lbs of muscle. I was slender and fit and my sister even remarked that I was looking younger. My weight at the time was around 190 lbs, the heaviest I had ever been.

[@zero_o_clock.]

I had a coworker who had to fight our company's wellness program. BMI was too high to receive the discount. This guy had muscles on top of muscles. Not to the point of competition, but this dude is ripped. Clearly he is not sedentary, he works hard to stay in shape. BMI is a terrible measurement.

[@ritahorvath8207]

Same here . .

[@GoodDr.]

Thank you for the information. It's not a perfect measure but provides a useful snapshot of weight status.

[@warrenpeece1726]

Oh please. BMI is a data point. I didn't like it when my BMI was 30, but I do like it now because I am at 22. But I didn't need BMI to tell me I was obese at 225 pounds and I was at normal weight at 165 pounds. If BMI somehow offends you because of your political views then DON'T BOTHER WITH IT!

[@ivanDaThug]

I was interested in the subject till you said the R word, now I have no interest in anything you have to say, on any subject.

[@jayarajsathyan9532]

What was the food of the general population then. Are they telling us to go back to the food of that time.