Body Fat % pwns the BMI

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the BMI should not be taken even with a grain of salt...actually I never said that specifically, but let's pretend I did. The BMI is useless, and someone with enough money and better lawyers than me should be going after the BMI and preventing any and all organizations from using it in any manner, specifically NOT to determine how healthy someone is.

A much better statistic to use to determine how healthy (or how overweight) you are, is calculating your Body Fat Percentage. You can't actually calculate that, well, you can if you're a Personal Trainer or know one, but it's a lot easier to get one of those sets of scales that does it for you. Punch in your age, your height, your gender, and hop on, in bare feet, with as few clothes as you're comfortable not wearing. You do want to get an accurate reading, don't you?

As of tonight, I'm now down to 190±2 pounds. My scales, which can calculate my BF%, said I'm at 22%. It would be nice to know what the first decimal place is, but the damn thing only shows whole numbers. A BF% of 22 is Acceptable (according to Wikipedia). It's not amazingly healthy, but it's not unhealthy either. I recall when I first came here I had my BF% calculated and I was at approx. 12%, which is pretty freaking good! Now I'm fat :P

This is another good site to check out, and explains the calculations behind determining a healthy BF%. Yes, just like following the archaic BMI is not healthy (unless you're a waif), having a goal that will reduce your BF% below a certain level is also not good for you. You can actually reduce your BF% to dangerously low levels.

Ok, now it's getting confusing. I just found this site, which calculates (approximately) your BF% based on your height and waist size. At 190 pounds with a 34" waist, it decided I have a BF% of just 14. Wow! I'm fitter than I thought. Hooray!

But that just helps to further prove my point. Take everything with a grain of salt (except for the BMI, don't take it at all) and rely more on your knowledge of your own body to determine if your current weight is healthy for you.

Let's say my scales were correct, and my BF% is really 22. That means I'm carrying around approx. 42 pounds of fat. If I can get my weight down to 180 I'm going to lose at least 10 pounds of fat. That means I'll be carrying approx. 30 pounds of fat spread out over my 180 pound body, for a BF% of 16.6 (recurring). That puts me pretty much into the BF%'s "Fitness" range. Now that I can live with, even if it means the Wii Fit and the archaic BMI think I'll still be Overweight.