Am I allowed to be ambivalent about it?
On one hand, it has it's place. It's certainly the easiest tool to measure a population as a whole. If you're obese, you
could have health problems. Sure, there's the rare athlete in the obese category and, of course, many on 3FC are working their way down through clean eating and exercise but I'd guess they are the exception rather than the rule. As a population we're getting larger and it's an easy way to measure someone's health. Problem is, that it only works well on the extreme ends of the spectrum.
I definitely agree that body fat % is a MUCH better way to go. I really wish doctors were trained in measuring body fat at least with calipers. It seems like it would actually help a lot because there are also "skinny fat" people running around who might think they're healthy but due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise really might not be. Checking one's body fat percentage could be a huge help there.
I definitely DO think BMI can be abused. It's a pretty sloppy way of looking at an individual's health in the medium range, actually. Today I went into for a doc's appointment and heard a lecture on how I was overweight and it was the end of the world.
I tried explaining to the doctor that I've lost over 50lbs in the last year, I lift, and swim. I'm also already seeing an nutritionist. I definitely need to lose the rest of the weight, there's no doubt about it, but I have a hard time believing that I'm infinitely unhealthier than someone who is just a measly 17lbs lighter than me (especially someone who isn't eating as cleanly as I am or exercising as much as me either). BMI doesn't show my history, it doesn't show my eating or exercise habits, it doesn't show that I've never smoked a day in my life or rarely drink, it doesn't show my frame size or my muscle mass either.