body composition lessons learned: why BMI is not the best measure of obesity or progress

[COsleeveDude 273]

Hey all. I got an InBody body composition scan this week. InBody technology is a newer, faster way of getting body composition measured pre and/or post-surgery.

I just wanted to share this and point out a couple of things.

Many of us attempt to shoot for a goal weight based on an old, outdated BMI chart. It might be accurate for some, but not for many of us, mainly because body composition is different for everyone.

Some people, for example, have denser bones and/or muscles. Some people have less muscle than they optimally need, and some more.

Point is, I am male, 6 feet tall, 35 years old. If I go by the BMI chart, I would need to get down into the 180s or lower to be considered "normal" weight. According to my body scan, I have 188lbs of lean body mass. Meaning i could lose 100% of my fat and still be considered overweight by the BMI chart.

So, now I have a new, more accurate goal weight of 220, which would put me at 15% body fat. 10-15% body fat is what they recommend most of us be at to avoid obesity-related health issues.

I would recommend some type of body composition testing (either InBody or DEXA) to everyone, especially pre-surgery and then post-surgery 6-12 months later to help set a realistic and accurate goal weight and to measure progress.

My only regret is that I didn't find this and do it before surgery. I am now planning on repeating it every 6-12 months for the next couple of years until I feel I am in optimal physical shape for my goal weight.

Good luck.

[Beckyyb93 225]

Yay, this is cool! My GYN has a Dexa scanner so next time I go in I'll have to ask to get this done! Thank you for sharing. My boyfriend is 6'5 and the chart says he should be 180-200 which seems way too low to me! He would look sick and skinny and icky.

[kmoore 97]

My BMI goal should be 126-138lbs for "normal". That is WAY to skinny for me. I look and feel great at about 145-150lbs Would be interesting to see if these scans would give me those results too.

[desertmom 297]

Where as at 5'8 my BMI at 25 is 164 pounds and I still look plump when I weigh that much.In fact,I am 10 pounds from that and I still look like I have a lot of fat and my body composition says I still have 36% bodyfat....way more than 10 pounds worth.. This is interesting!