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To: aligncare

Aligncare -

You are correct that there are many obese people, and in fact, we've known for a generation that most are out of shape.

HOWEVER...

The BMI is horribly flawed. It is like trying to tell the condition of a car by looking at the tired. While some info might be gained, there are so many variables that the BMI is useless.

First, It seeks to measure body fat percentages using height-weight charts. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the BMI that the patient is a weight lifter, or a bicyclist, etc. So, we've got the problem that most athletes are overweight or obese according to BMI.

Second, it was developed by people who stand to gain financially by finding the greatest number of people to be obese / overweight. The CDC is certainly in there, as are various insurance companies, not to mention the multitudes of weight loss companies.

So here I am... 6 feet tall, 210 pounds. According to the BMI I'm damned near obese. However, I rode 92 miles on my bike a few days ago (800 for the season so far) and run regularly. My abs are flat.

Dubya is overweight according to the BMI, as is Lance Armstrong. Tom Cruise in his prime was obese, as was Barry Sanders.

Let's just do everyone a favor and kill the BMI.....


9 posted on 08/19/2006 6:26:59 AM PDT by TWohlford
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To: TWohlford

sorry, Lance Armstrong's BMI is 22.8 (he is 5'11" and 165 lb)(180cm an 74kilo). Nice excuse. Most people, not all, with high BMI are fat. Use your eyes. denial is not just a river in africa.


10 posted on 08/19/2006 7:06:36 AM PDT by tundra1946
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