I have a BMI of 15.5 should I be worried?!
Question: I eat lots of high carb, high fat food, although always try to fit in my 'five-a-day' (I normally manage). I take vitamin and mineral supplements, and I don't have an under-lying medical condition to cause me to be under-weight. My GP commented on my skinnyness today when I visited her in relation to a different issue. She weighed me and meausred my height and started gently trying to get me to admit to having an eating disorder despite not having one.
We moved house recently and so this was my first visit to this doctor. She wants me to fill out a food diary for a month and record everything that I eat, and then come back to her. She seems really worried about my weight, and she can't understand why I am not worried. The other thing is that in PSHE lessons at school, we were told that the BMI index doesn't really work for people when they are still growing, so why is she using bmi like some 'holy grail'.
So anyway after reading all of that, do you think that I should be worried?
Answers: I eat lots of high carb, high fat food, although always try to fit in my 'five-a-day' (I normally manage). I take vitamin and mineral supplements, and I don't have an under-lying medical condition to cause me to be under-weight. My GP commented on my skinnyness today when I visited her in relation to a different issue. She weighed me and meausred my height and started gently trying to get me to admit to having an eating disorder despite not having one.
We moved house recently and so this was my first visit to this doctor. She wants me to fill out a food diary for a month and record everything that I eat, and then come back to her. She seems really worried about my weight, and she can't understand why I am not worried. The other thing is that in PSHE lessons at school, we were told that the BMI index doesn't really work for people when they are still growing, so why is she using bmi like some 'holy grail'.
So anyway after reading all of that, do you think that I should be worried?
if you're quite young it might just be lower, as like you say, you are still growing and a lot of bmi's are based on being an adult!!
mine is 16 and when i did it on the internet it said go to the doctor you are very underweight but truth is i eat properly so im not toooo worried!! try looking for it on the internet because it will take account of the fact you are stil growing...sorry i cant remember the site i used was a few weeks ago!!
a bmi of 20-25 is acceptable, under 20 is underweight, 25-30 is overweight and 30+ is obese!
just make sure you carry on eating the right foods and try not to worry too much =] xxxxxxxx
Most people with a BMI of under 18 is usually called underweight. and 25 is overweight.
just eat a bit more i think the Dr. has a good idea about the food diary so you can monitor what your eating.
No not if you are eating properly. Some people just cant understand that some people are naturally slim.
If you eat healthy and intake like 2,000 calories then it's okay.
Your Doctor shouldn't be so worried about it if you don't have an eating disorder. Just write down what you eat so she knows you don't have an eating disorder.
I don't think you should worry; you're right that the BMI isn't perfect. But you probably could do with gaining some weight.
I think the food diary sounds like a really good idea. It'll allow you and your GP to get a realistic idea of what you eat and how much. And if it turns out that you do eat enough of the right foods, and you are still underweight, then your GP can decide whether you need any investigations. It's possible (though not likely) that you do have a medical condition that is making you be underweight.
BMI is not the be all to end all, either for health or weight, but there is no doubt that yours is on the low side. There are diseases and problems associated with being underweight as well as obese.