Why do so many people on here get body fat percentage mixed up with BMI?!


Question:

Why do so many people on here get body fat percentage mixed up with BMI?

They are two completely different things!

Additional Details

2 weeks ago
But Judy that's the thing. A BMI of 24 doesn't mean a body fat percentage of 24%. The number is not a rough estimate of body fat at all, it's just a number you get when dividing weight by height squared that they found people supposedly lived the longest.

2 weeks ago
oops sorry judgy, i misread your answer. my apologies and you have a very good point.


Answers:

BMI is a rough estimate of someone's bodyfat. It is not always correct though. For example, at 130 pounds and 5'2 I have a BMI of about 24 even though I have 21% bodyfat. I think this system is a bit screwed up because men supposedly are fit at 11-18% yet there are fit ones out there at 27 BMI and unfit ones out there with a 22 BMI.
This is just a mathematical calculation to see if a person is anywhere near their ideal weight. For example when I was ten pounds underweight my BMI was 21, which still fell into the "healthy" range, but it was not in my personal "healthy range." People keep forgetting that weight is personal for them depending on at least a dozen factors, not something that can be set by mathematics or the media.




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