# dropping bmi points

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-bmi-points/768746>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 16, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-bmi-points/768746 "2016-10-16T17:38:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-bmi-points/768746/1 "2016-10-16T17:38:59Z")

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So I’ve just realized that I have dropped 2.6 BMI points so far this year and I was curious if there is some sort of rule of thumb for how much you increase your health by dropping a BMI point. Like plus half a year life expectancy or - x% chance of diabetes. If it matters I went from 40.7 - 38.1

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-bmi-points/768746/3 "2016-10-16T22:21:08Z")

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There’s no single answer, since going from 40 to 39 is going to be very different than going from 10 to 9.

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dropping-bmi-points/768746/4 "2016-10-16T23:16:07Z")

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Well let’s assume you are something like 5’8" and you lost this weight with healthy diet and exercise … that means you went from something like 265 to 250 (roughly) or 5 to 6% of your body weight lost. If done with diet and exercise it was probably most central fat and you’ve also lost some inches of waist circumference. Pants might be a bit looser.

In general the bulk of the benefits from fat loss among the obese are gained with that 5 to 10% sustained body weight loss range assuming achieved with improved diet and exercise. Some broad brushstrokes of that reviewed [here](http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/general-articles/benefits-of-5-10-percent-weight-loss) and [here](http://www.sciencealert.com/the-first-5-of-weight-loss-offers-the-greatest-health-benefits-in-obese-people-study-finds).

The benefits are not linear. Additional loss may give you more benefits but less than the first 5 to 10% (or 2.6 BMI points) did.

In short well done and keep the plan that is working for you!