On other boards and sites, I’ve come across the idea that health has little to do with one’s weight–people will often say things, like, it’s more about habits (eating healthily and exercise) and that there are thin people who don’t eat well/exercise and there are overweight people who do…what gives?
I know BMI is often not a good way of determining health because it’s so flawed…but how important is just plain weight?
Weight’s not a particularly good measure of health except at the extremes. BMI has its uses but is generally misunderstood. % bodyfat is a great metric, but very difficult to measure accurately.
It is a good data point, but you must take other things into account.
For example, my SO is male, 5’9" and 145 pounds. That gives him a BMI of 21.4 which is pretty much in the center of normal.
I am 5’7" and currently 172 pounds (and dropping!) BMI is 26.9, almost the center of overweight.
However, I am stronger, can walk faster and further, am more flexible as well as other things. Could I stand to lose more weight? Sure! Will I neccessarily be healthier just by losing? No.
If you take a look at this PDF, particularly the graph starting at the bottom of page 190 (the 4th page of th PDF), you’ll find that there’s a very clear link between your personal life expectancy and your BMI.
BMI might not be the most perfect value there is, but it is good enough for most cases (e.g. non-body builders.)
And YLL is based on odds. If you’re 20 years old and have a BMI greater than 45, you have a you have better than even odds of losing 13 years of your life. Possibly more, possibly less, but that is the average.
Anecdotal, but still:
My father’s side of the family tends to be heavy. Not “Needs a specially designed ambulance” but always on the chunky side.
Me? My BMI says I’m obese. Doc tells me I should weigh 190 lbs, max. I get a decent body fat analysis from my health club (calipers for body fat) and they tell me my lean body mass is in fact around 195 - so with a healthy 10% body fat I’d be about 215.
No doubt, I need to lose a good chunk of weight. Big frame or no I can’t deny my belly ;D. But I don’t really think BMI is that great. My family is heavy, like I said, but has no history of heart disease or diabetes. I have 8 uncles and aunts; 5 are definitely overweight but none have any of the classic weight related health ailments. No heart disease or diabetes in my grandparents. My grandmother on my father’s side has always been heavy but is still going strong and decently healthy in her late 70s. My grandfather (father’s side) is stick thin, probably because despite being wealthy he still does hard physical labor as a hobby. On the mother’s side, my grandmother is stick thin but does have heart palpations. Grandfather died young I think (my mother will not speak about him; I never met him) because of his terrible alcoholism.
Statistically, I think that body weight is a good predictor of health. But like I’ve outlined, it’s not perfect by a long shot. I live in a family of outliers.