But I never wanted kids so I (and I'm just speaking for myself here) never saw the need for me to have extra internal fat and since I'm now of an age where having kids is a moot point I certainly don't need extra fat now.

And I don't think that test is accurate. Just for fun I changed my weight status to 90 pounds and kept my other numbers true. Lo and behold my BAI numbered dropped to 17. This makes no sense since if I weighed 23 pounds less I should proportionately be fatter at the same size.

BMI is bad enough but at least it's a straight height to weight ratio. How can a formula know how much body fat a person carries?

To those who were happy with their numbers, sorry but I think the test is hogwash.

Never put much stock in BMI other than using it to choose a target weight to work towards. If I get to that weight and I don't think it's right I'll change it, BMI is just a rough guide for me.
I know that I've always had large breasts since I was about 12, before I put all my weight on so I've always been upset that the doctor doesn't take a persons physical build into account, they just put everyone through the same BMI machine.

I hate BMI!! I have been in decent shape before, and I was considered obese according to the chart. I am off to check my BAI now

Women naturally have more fat in their bodies.

However, I never took much stock in BMI. I took the results and I feel that the BAI is much more accurate....although I have a very small body frame.

BMI = 26.2 kg/m2-Overweight (25.0 – 29.9)

BAI = 24.9% body fat- Healthy (21 to 33%)

Bmi- 24.5 (just barely made it into "normal" a couple pounds ago)
Bai- 27.5%

Why is the hip measurement the one to use? Just curious.

Both tell me I'm healthy/normal but I know I have a ways to go. I actually think I will need to lose more than what my original goal is but we'll see. Maybe 12 pounds now will make more of a difference now than it did 68 pounds ago? I have no clue.

oooh, I HATE the BAI method. According to it, I'm still obese.

I can't help that I have a small waist and a big arse. I'm not obese anymore.

I don't put too much stock into BMI either, though I like that system better because it tells me that I'm healthy, LOL. ;-)

I don't think BMI is completely accurate for individuals, but I don't know that BAI is much better. There was also a recent study showing that having a larger waist/being apple shaped is not necessarily linked to all the risks we've been told it is.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/1...ase-after-all/

Thanks for sharing that. Honestly, the whole issues seems to be way more complicated than simply taken one measurement (whether that be height, waist size, hip size etc) and one's weight.

I'm all over the place when it comes to these things. Here are my stats:

BMI- Obese (30.6)
BAI- Healthy (32.5%)
Waist Size- Healthy (34 inches)
Waist-to-Hip-Ratio- Healthy (0.79- it actually used to be smaller but I lost some inches around my hips)

So according to everything I'm at the very high range of healthy but according to my BMI I'm still obese. I know I still have a lot of weight to lose still so I'd guess in reality I'm probably somewhere in between. I think I'd trust these more if they took more measurements.

I've never thought BMI was flawed, but then again I've never thought BMI was some universal formula for health. BMI is an easy tool for people to check very roughly their weight class and I do believe BMI is a better tool than weight alone. The fat around the midsection is the dangerous fat and therefore I believe that the waist-to-hip-ratio is a useful tool.
There needs to be a acknowledgement that no single tool is perfect, but they are not intended to be unflawed, they are merely meant as guidance.
If your BMI is in the obese class you probably need to lose weight, unless you're muscles are equal to the Terminator's in the late 80's. When it comes to the overweight and healthy weight categories then there is more leeway for body types to still be healthy and look good despite a high number.

For me, I feel like BMI has always been fairly accurate. The BAI seems straight up wrong for me personally. I can see it working for others, though.

BAI calls me "healthy" at 31%, but I feel anything BUT healthy at this weight. BMI calls me "overweight" at 29.6. And I am.
I look and feel best around a BMI of 21 or 22.

My husband has a friend who is in the "obese" class because he's so muscular. It's not fat, because you can see every muscle clearly. The guy looks pretty spectacular in a kilt (hubby and his friends are rpg gamers, and they sometimes get into character with costumes - though they make it clear that they're not NOT LARPers).

He's also is outrageously active and spends a lot of time in the gym. He was worried when he read his BMI. The doctor told him it was safe to lose a few pounds (still leaving him with an obese BMI), and the guy did, so now his muscle definition is even clearer, but it was pretty awesome before.

I'm not kidding myself though, it's unlikely that my BMI is (or possibly ever will be) overestimating my fatness.

Yeah, I feel like it tends to be more accurate for the average woman than for men, because of the muscle mass.

I'm actually a very muscular 196 lbs, but still have PLENTY of fat. lol
I think it takes quite a bit of density to throw off the BMI. For most of us here, it will be pretty close to accurate.

There's no harm in knowing both figures, though! Any info or calculation will help you, in some small way, to understand your body better.

I once did but I realized it a simple way of remaining stressed for the rest of my life.
Not many people can have a 100% result on the test of their BMI ( the ratio of height to weight).
There are very many people who are very healthy and a surprising result can be got on doing this test.
currently i concentrate on measures that reduce the amount of fat in my body.

from what i've read, bmi was developed with the assumption that the shapes of the smaller size bodies would stay the same as the bigger size bodies, and we all know THAT doesn't happen! and, i've read that the old charts assume one inch heels. has a dr ever looked up your bmi and added one inch to your height?? not me. and not even mentioning the fact that people have muscle pounds not fat pounds...

BMI is not the be all of deciding if you're overweight or not. It can be accurate for some people.

People in the military have been denied because of high BMI. THese people of course have a lot of muscle mass, and as we all know, muscle weighs more than fat. In these people's cases, they then take measurements. (at the neck, thigh etc.)

A more accurate predictor is using calipers (although this is only good if the person taking it is trained and this person is the only one who will be checking it for the rest of your life due to poor inter-rater reliability). An even more accurate predictor is using the bod pod. Look it up

(I am in school for this sort of thing...sat through a 3 hour lecture on this...)