Originally Posted by Robin41:
Just a thought, but while the BMI may be a number with flawed methodology to us, it isn't to insurance companies. They live and die by it. Above a healthy BMI and you can pay substantially more for medical insurance and life insurance. Over the years there'll be a huge financial benefit to topping out within the normal BMI range. My medical insurance dropped by almost $1000 a year, I'm self-employed, when I got to a normal BMI. In fact, the savings pays for my gym membership every month.

Not telling you what to do, obviously, but know that there are financial advantages in the real world if you get to that number. If it's just a few pounds, I'd be pretty tempted to get there and get the monetary benefits that go with it.

This is just wrong and I would fight that tooth and nail if I got a higher rate because of being outside that range. I would insist they use other measures, and maybe they do. Like, maybe the BMI chart is the first line, but then the next would be a BF measurement test or something.

See, it's all fine and good to say "you should fit within the healthy BMI standards" if you have a small frame. My husband has a smallish frame. He was fine at 189 according to BMI charts, but he knew he had a bit more fat and a bit too little muscle for his frame size for that weight. He has wiggle room. He now weighs 170, has more muscle and he looks fine - not even skinny! That's almost 20 pounds less!

Me, on the other hand, have a large frame and so that means I have less wiggle room with those charts. I can get to within the guidelines probably as I'm not THAT hugely built, but it would be difficult, very difficult and I would have no wiggle room. I would insist, if I weighed 160 say, and the cut off is 158 I think for my height, that they do some other measure as it would be clear from looking at me that I wasn't fat, but if they wanted to check - do another test.

And that also means many athletes are too heavy. Or anyone who body builds. Really? They are not healthy? Those charts are rough guidelines and do not include outlyers and like all bell curves, there are outlyers... including those that could weigh LESS than the BMI range and still be perfectly healthy.