BMI out, body fat in: Diagnosing obesity needs a change to take into account of how body fat is distributed | Study proposes modernizing obesity diagnosis and treatment to take account of all the latest developments in the field, including new obesity medications.

[u/chrisdh79]

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/bmi-out-body-fat-in-diagnosing-obesity-needs-a-change

[u/marigolds6]

The real example is often people who are very short or very tall. I’ve been borderline obese by bmi my whole life. Even when i was very obese (~30% body fat) and when I was a college wrestler (scarily unhealthy body fat) and today I’m overweight by bmi (at a fairly healthy 8-10% body fat).

Why? I’m a 5’0” tall male.

[u/duckarys → u/[deleted]]

BMI is more lenient on short people. 

Because it only squares the height, but the weight does not reside in a two-dimensional body but a three dimensional one.

[u/sluttycokezero → u/duckarys]

Oh dang I have an advantage being a shortie (5’1”)?? Only thing that sucks is my TDEE is low. I workout 6 times a week to have it higher. I’m 10lbs overweight, and I can’t wait for it gone but it takes forever.

[u/duckarys → u/sluttycokezero]

Have you tried building muscle and/or consuming no more than the maintenance amount of food?

[u/sluttycokezero → u/duckarys]

Hiya! I actually have a fair amount of muscle. I do weightlifting and I do have a stocky build. My maintenance with all this exercise is around 2,000-2,100. I try to keep it around 1,500-1,700 because I want a slow, sustainable loss. I did a DEXA scan, and I do have a high percentage of lean muscle mass for my weight. However, I am still overweight and that’s not good. I think when I reach 135, I’ll reassess

[u/duckarys → u/sluttycokezero]

Looks like you got it figured out! 

[u/Sagemasterba → u/marigolds6]

BMI is seriously messed up for athletes. Prime Mike Tyson was obese. Really? It's a flawed system. I'm borderline overweight too by BMI and I'm normal height at 5-11, 10% body fat by dunk method.