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Weight-Loss how fat and metabolism works
- Thread starter cheesychips4320
- Start date
Weight-Loss
I agree with a lot of what you wrote, but this bit worries me. BMI is an extremely unreliable number, and works for less than 25% of people out there. It doesn't take any factors into account other than height and weight, which is a recipe for disaster.
I had a very complex test done recently which took into account bone density, bone structure, organ size and density and a lot of other things, and it turned out that if I got down to my 'recommended' BMI of 22.something, I would be officially underweight, and would be in danger of doing serious harm to my body.
My 'ideal' body weight was determined and it turned out to be just over a BMI of 30, which would still put me into the range of being obese. I even got a projection of what I would look like at that weight, and it was rather surprising.
So I don't think that going by BMI is necessarily a good thing at all. It's a rough, very rough guideline, but nothing more.
Well, unfortunetly I don't make the rules, these are rules set by the medical people and are abided by most if not all medical people worldwide.
It does leave many holes though your right. For example if your BMI is 16 and you want help and feel you need inpatient treatment, here in the UK you are not entitled to such treatment, you need to lose more weight.
I was an inpatient for anorexia, luckily being at a low enough weight to obtain inpatient treatment, it changed my life within a very short space of time. But I met many people in there who at a BMI of 16 wanted help after 10 years of suffering but had to lose more weight inorder just to join the waiting list. I also met many who were a BMI below 13 and did not want to be there, were intending (and did) leave and just drop their weight again. One lady was on her 15th admission...
It doesn't make sense, its not agreed by everyone but those are the rules and thats what medical people stick to.
Having said that, for most people, they do seem to follow through. Once your body is a low enough BMI, (like below 15) you don't have much muscle left, your body fat is low, its very likely your food is screwed, exercise may be intensive and the person is likely not to have a properly functioning body. If someone is aware of that and can get themselves better, hats off to them but if they need help, it is available.
Below BMI 13.5 and its been shown your life is at risk (mainly your heart but also your bones and other organs are under alot of stress) so it would make sense that treatment is a non optional essential.
But when you question the BMI below 17.5, what you need to remember is that this is defined after many many tests were carried out. Things not working properly in the body were I think the markers for this number being chosen. For example, periods in a women stopping. Not in every case but in most they stop around that point, -when I say periods, I mean not just the monthly bleed, but more ovulation: the release of an egg within that monthly bleed. You can have periods and not ovulate. Thing is, if your not ovulating, your not releasing certain hormones. Your body is not getting its calcum as its not so able to absorb it the sufferer gets brittle bones and becomes at risk, its not able to do a whole load of other things too, this is just one example and is female only- men have their own system breakdowns too which happen at a similar weight.
Its more of a physical rule guideline. Unfortunetly it doesn't work on a psychological level. You can be very unwell emotionally at a BMI of 20 for example with bulimia or even have very life controling anorexic traits yet not be considered anorexic and the bulimic non threatening (despite the electrolyte issues) as the weight isn't low enough. It can mean sufferers die (though its not as common) but more, it means the sufferer is left miserable and iscolated. It can entrench an illness on an emotional and psychological level and it is where in my opinion, the system fails.
Unfortunetly its a funding and numbers game and weight seems to matter much more.
But as far as the BMI scale goes, I think it does make sense, yet it doesn't cover enough people. There should be a rule to differenciate those who want and do not want help. Those that don't want help as they are afraid and those that don't want help as they don't view it as a problem and those that don't want help as they are on a one way trip to suicide.
Complicated stuff!