I need help with BMI calculations
 

Ok, I understand the BMI is inacurrate in a lot of ways. Never the less it seems to be the standard used in the medical community.

When I started out, I was classified as "super-super obese" with a BMI of 69. Now my BMI is 47 and I'm "morbidly obese". I really, really want to get under that. But, when I checked to see how much more weight I need to lose before I reach "severely obese" - I found there are several different cut offs.

The websites I checked showed "severely obese" as being anywhere from
(35-45) or (35-39) or (33-43).

Obviously I'd rather a BMI of 45 count as the higher limit. If that's right - I only need to lose 10 more pounds before I can say "I'm no longer morbidly obese" :carrot: It would just be a psychological boost, and I could use that about now.

I'd appreciate any help you could give me in this. I'm 55 years old, weigh 277 and 5'4" tall.

Thanks!!

Hi,

I just use the NIH calculator and don't look at others.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

It gives someone at your height and weight a BMI of 47.5. "Overweight" is 25 to 29.9. They don't have categories beyond "Obese."

The categories are somewhat arbitrary... I'd say concentrate on losing those ten pounds and then the ten pounds after that! You're doing great!

Jay

You've lost 125 pounds!!!! That is so incredibly amazing :).

I agree with Jay...smaller mini-goals are definitely the way to go to keep you motivated. I always like to cross a 10 pound mark. You will be in the 260s very soon...only 8 pounds more to go :)

What made me think about this was I had an appointment with my doctor this week. On the discharge summary it said: "reason for visit - morbid obesity" Guess I'm just tired of seeing those words!

Thanks, you're right. I'll just take it in those 10 pound goals. Looking forward to being in the 260's !!

I am not going to go searching now. I like what I found. :D I found that 40 and up was "category III" obesity. 35-40 is "category II" obesity. I'm sticking with that. In the end, it really doesn't matter what label a doctor has stuck on you. How do you feel? How do you think you look? Could you lose a little more? No matter how you've answered those questions, you're still the same person and you still get to claim X number of pounds lost. So I would just pick a category and use that as your guide.

I guess I'm saying you basically just informed me that the little mini goals in my signature may be off according to someone else's chart. But I don't care! I'm still going to be proud and I'm going to own it. :D

I agree with you Eliana (it should be more about how you look and feel than the actual numbers), but I've been in a position where your BMI can make or break you...like trying to get medical insurance. They don't ask you "oh, well how are you feeling today?" They want the hard numbers, which is why it's so important for some people to get to a "number" that defines them a certain way.

It's just the hard truth of the situation...

I worry more about how I feel and look and what my lab tests show than BMI. However, the BMI categories do provide an easy way of breaking it up into smaller goals.

There are 2 different lists of categories:
25-29.9 is overweight
30 and up is obese
40 and up is morbidly obese
50 and up is super obese

And:
Class I obesity - 30-34.9
Class II obesity - 35-39.9
Class III obesity - 40 and up

It gets very confusing when people try to use the different lists. I'm not sure why there are the 2 different lists, but I see the first one used more often than the second.

Eliana - I hadn't noticed the mini goals in your signature. Those look great to me!!

I do agree that the number/label isn't important to focus on. Everyday I notice something I can do, that I couldn't before losing the weight. Looking forward to all the things I'll be able to do as more pounds come off...

You are incredibly awesome for losing 125 pounds. :carrot::carrot::carrot:

Don't let yourself be defined by someone else's terminology. What they call you at the doctor's office has more to do with billing and ICD-9 codes than it does with anything specifically related to you and your weight loss journey.

But for your purposes, you can define it any way you want.

But who am I to be giving you advice-- YOU'VE LOST 125 pounds!!!