Body Fat % Vs BMI? Are they the same? Whats the difference?!
Question:
Body Fat % Vs BMI? Are they the same? Whats the difference?
Answers:
They are not the same.
The Body Mass Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet. In other words...can be very outdated lol.
Bodyfat percentage is the measure of bodyfat composition in your body. There are various ways to estimate bodyfat. They are skinfold, bio-electrical impedience, under water tank test, and circumference method (usually used for obese people).
The BMI is a horrible way to measure your ideal weight. It totally deregards the various bodytypes people have and muscle mass. For example, I'm 5'10.5 and 193 lbs. According to BMI, I'm overweight, but I have less than 10% bodyfat. There are a number of atheletes today that would fall under overweight or obese including Ali's daughter, Serena Williams, and Reggie Bush.
To check your ideal weight, go with bodyfat %. There are charts available to measure your fitness levels. For a woman, usually under 20% is consider very lean and fit. Bodyfat can also be misleading as well though. A skinny stick dude can be 6% bodyfat because he's extremely skinny and only weighs 120 lbs at like 5'9'.