Back from physical and morbidly obese...lol

[FlightlessDuck]

A couple of weeks ago the doctor and I both LOL when he plotted my ds' weight at a check-up and it came up as obese. This boy is 15 years old, is 5'7" and weighed 160 or 165

I'm confused. Did the terms change recently? 5' 7" and 165lbs is a BMI of 25.8. A little bit overweight. Not "obese" (30.0).

 

[crisi]

BMI is actually a pretty good indication - as long as you are not athletic (if so, you probably know) and READ THE CHARTS RIGHT (which in this case was not done). If you are a swimmer or marathon runner or weight lifter and your BMI is high - you can probably ignore it. For the rest of us....if your BMI is in the obese range, its an indication you need to loose weight...not scoff at the BMI tables.

Michael Phelps can ignore the BMI tables all he wants. Most of us don't get to eat 20,000 calories a day, have an "obese" BMI, and win gold medals in swimming.

 

[dis-happy]

I'm confused. Did the terms change recently? 5' 7" and 165lbs is a BMI of 25.8. A little bit overweight. Not "obese" (30.0).

Yeah, I don't know, I thought he said obese. Perhaps he's only 5'6"---I know it was taller than I am. Either way it was hilarious when he charted it and was forced to tell me my ds weighed too much.

 

[Swimalie]

Which is "normal " (18.5 to 24.9). So I'm not sure what your problem is with that.

I expect, with the calories I burn each swim session to be in the underweight or lower end of normal category. But I guess the muscle mass adds too much weight on. Although, I am 39 so as I age, some things are getting added on, too.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Okay, I had to comment. I guess it is the doctor in me. First of all, medical doctors do not have a PhD. It is an MD or DO. Second, a reliable doctor would know that you cannot solely base weight by the BMI. It notoriously overestimates when someone has a muscular build. That is why it is important to measure percent body fat. Sorry, but had to clear that up.

lol, thanks!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Your doctor is an idiot.

Besides, as a FF, you wouldn't be allowed to be morbidly obese and allowed to go on runs - you'd be too big a risk for your brothers in arms. If you collapsed due to smoke inhalation (sp?) the guys (or gals) would be at too big a risk to get you out... you'd lose your job or you'd be put on desk detail... I'm not sure which would be worse.

I'm 5'7 and supposed to be 135. At my healthiest and most athletic (pre-babies) I was still 20 lbs off thanks to muscle weight. I'd be skeleton if I followed that chart!

Hearing crap like this makes me want to eat some of the Cracker Jacks that bozo got his M.D. out of, then again that doc may have gone to the same school as the doc that tried to put me on a diet when I was seeing her for a DVT (deep vein thrombosis aka blood clot).

 

[gisgt]

Holy crap I'm a cow. lol
My DH is 6' and 180. He is nowhere near being obese. What the heck kind of chart is this dr using. What respectable man is 155lbs @ 5' 11? Crazy!

I just had to chime in - My husband is 6ft and weighs just under 150. And I think he's pretty respectable

But I do harass him for getting a gut - he's gained weight in his old age, he used to be thinner....

 

[Doc CW]

My doctor told me something very similar when I was last there and in fact he told me that if I didnt lose weight that I would be at risk for a stroke by the time I am 25 or 28.

 

[princessmom29]

BMI is actually a pretty good indication - as long as you are not athletic (if so, you probably know) and READ THE CHARTS RIGHT (which in this case was not done). If you are a swimmer or marathon runner or weight lifter and your BMI is high - you can probably ignore it. For the rest of us....if your BMI is in the obese range, its an indication you need to loose weight...not scoff at the BMI tables.

Michael Phelps can ignore the BMI tables all he wants. Most of us don't get to eat 20,000 calories a day, have an "obese" BMI, and win gold medals in swimming.

Not necessairly. The BMI chart doesn't take into account frame size or build either. My DH is 5'7". He is a former football palyer with the build to match. He wears a 50 jacket and a 34 to 36 pant. His percent body fat is in the normal range, but according to the BMI he is morbidly obese. He has huge shoulders that are all bone and muscle. Same thing goes for my 6 foot tall BIL. He wears like a size 8 hat and a 14 shoe. His bone structure is just huge, and classifes as morbidly obese with normal percent body fat. The cahrts are flawed becuase there are simply too many variables out there that are not taken into account.

 

[ktlm]

What a joke. I know what chart that doctor is using, I have seen it and we got a good laugh over it too. My DH is 5'11 and 170 pounds, and he is practically a stick figure. He has really broad shoulders, and this little itty bitty tiny waist and completely flat stomach. The boy is scrawny. He has to wear a belt to keep his pants up. He wears a size 44 jacket because of his shoulders and a size 30 pant (which some men's pants don't even come smaller than a size 30). There is not anything that remotely looks like fat anywhere on his body. According to the chart, he is obese.

 

[surfergirl602]

Hello all should I be depressed about this....I am a fireifghter paramedic and have a yearly physical, got on scale and he pulled out his BMI index charts. I am 5'11 and weighed 179 according to the charts where I have no idea where they get these numbers from I should weigh around 155. Little backround, I work out 6 days a week, recently ran the wdw marathon in Jan. and a half marathon locally this past saturday. I kinda same myself and lil thin but toned, I have defined and toned abs not like a big beer belly....lol I was in shock that he used the word morbidly. Honestly I am fine with the results I just found it funny that a Dr. and sadly most of society use these charts like they are truth and the gospel. My dw thinks it hilarious and some coworker who also saw this dr stated he sometimes comes off lil rough with bad bedside manner.

Good God. My hubby is 5'11" and if he was 155 pounds he'd be anorexic for cryin' out loud. He would love to weigh 179. lol The army doesn't think he's morbidly obese. lol

 

[tinkerfan1]

BCBS visited our work and told us that we should NOT use the BMI charts. The doctor giving the class said that a more accurate measurement would be waist size. I think he said a lady's waste size should be 35" or less and a man's should be 40" or less. I could be off on those measurements. Regardless, he made the exact point which you have made, muscle mass total refutes the accuracy of the BMI charts. Somebody who never exercises and could be on the slightly plump side could measure perfectly normal whereas somebody who exercises and is very fit would be indicated as morbidly obese. If your doctor is using that as a measurement, I agree with the poster who said that it is time to change doctors!