BMI calculation says I am not overweight when my proportion of body fat puts me under the heading of obese.

I like your way of thinking BlueBelle!

grannyrebel7 Recruitment for the Biobank half million happened 15 years ago, It was well publicised in the press, leaflets in doctors surgeries etc. I was also part of the Million Woman Survey academic.oup.com/ije/article/48/1/28/5033022 which has provided an immense amount of data for studies into HRT and other aspects of women's health and recruited through breast screening centres.

DH is also a Biobank participant, To be part of the survey that happened on Tuesday, Biobank sent out invitations asking a group of Biobank members to volunteer for it. The sample size seems to be 10% of Biobank members. I did. DH who was recovering from heart surgery at the volunteering stage didn't. However, quite separately, before his heart problems, he also volunteered for the Astra Zeneca COVID round 3 vaccination trial. As we live near Oxford, it was easy to participate.

Silverlining I do appreciate your comment about being the wrong height for your weight. I, too, suffer from this syndrome .
Indeed, I even know where all that extra height has accumulated - it is on my thighs. Around a good 4 inches - if that was properly stretched out, than I would be nearly correct height for weight and have lovely legs!!!!

I had a BMI of 23, but a wake up call for me was discovering on a routine blood test that I was pre diabetic. I measured my waist and at 5’1 it was 32”. This was a better indication of body fat. With that waist line I should apparently be 5’4”.

However I think a disclaimer on BMI states that BMI is not appropriate for athletes, who have heavier body muscle, or in fact for menopausal women.
After the menopause because of hormonal changes and slower physical activity, women tend to gain body fat and lose muscle.
Therefore BMI may be normal but as MOnica has pointed out body fat can be excessive.

I’d rather lose weight and look “gaunt” than fat and dead!

Try the Smart BMI. It takes into account your age and gender. I think it's a better guide to how much weight, if any you need to lose.

Whilst I think that it would be really interesting to go through all those tests and have figures to study don’t we all know if we are overweight or not?
We know that muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less room so as we stop being active it affects our weight and figure.
Keep up the exercise even if it’s only weight lifting with baked bean cans.

Thanks MiniMoon. Tried the Smart BMI. It calculates I don’t need to lose weight and am at my optimal for health….BUT… I was advised by GP I would remain pre diabetic if didn’t lose weight! I guess we are all individual and genes play a major part in life expectancy, and that’s mainly out of our control.

Me too Franbern. It’s my hips/ thighs that are the problem. If I sit behind a table I look absolutely fine, but stand up and walk away, then it’s there fir all to see. It runs in the family. My dd blame me but I don’t blame my mum as it was probably her mums fault and I never knew her.
Currently 32bmi, my realistic goal is mid range in the overweight 25-30 bmi group, i woukd be happy. I really would. I know my place.

Like Frazanah, I tried the smart BMI and it makes my BMI slightly less but still tells me that at the weight I am, I will have the right balance of body fat - and as I know, that is wrong.

Interesting thread.
If you could see me you would say she's skinny! that's in spite of the fact that I eat a lot, at the moment have night hunger and guzzle chocolate cake.
I think a lot of it is genetic. Both my parents were the same build My BMI is about 21-2 any fat I used to have has 'gone south'.
By the way M0nica I belong to the Milliion Women survey but haven't heard from them for a while

I was part of the MWS too but haven’t heard from them for years.

Farzanah It is a long time since I heard from the MWS.

Better to be a pear than an apple Silverlining48 apparently it is much healthier. I'm an apple, I still have shapely slim legs but they are covered in horrible veins now so I cover them up with skinny jeans. I have no idea where my boobs came from, I certainly didn't have them when I was young and my waist is non existent. Although my weight and BMI are within normal limits ie not overweight I just know my middle is swimming in fat! Ugh!

Yes foxie, being a pear is supposed to be better but I too have plenty of blubber round my middle, it’s just that I have even more round the hips.
Boots will never zip up @nd skinny jeans look ridiculous. ...here I go, moaning again.
I am actually quite happy today as I have lost nearly half a stone, hoorah!

Monica I agree that BMI alone is a poor statistic. My BMI is 21.3 and I am the same weight as I was at 20 BUT I ain't the same shape for sure! Nature took it's course with hormonal changes and gave me a paunch. To reach the recommended .80 waist to hip ratio I need an inch off my waist. My meals are low carb, no sugar and plenty of veg already and I can't cut down further on Calories but I can step up my swimming, biking and walking and see if I can reduce the flab, tone up and consequently reduce the plethora of health problems associated with visceral fat. Good luck with shifting your 14lbs Monica Go Gal Go!

Cocopops Thank you, the daily vagaries of weight mean I am already 3lbs lighter than I was on Tuesday, but, of course, I could have put that all that back on again by tomorrow.

I have been investigating the reliability of the machines used for these figures and it seems that while the ones sold for home use can be 10% or more out in their estimates, one's used in hospitals etc are pretty accurate, so I cannot avoid the issue that way.

It makes me wonder why every GP's surgery and weight clinic doesn't have one. I would think that actually being told how much body fat you are carrying might shake people into action in a way weight alone doesn't.

I have probably been about a 10 - 14lbs overweight all my adult life, and have realisd it, but because any comments about my size have always been positive it has been possible to ignore it. Even on Tuesday at one point my upper arm was measured and the nurse exclaimed how slim my arms were. When I told DD about my fat reading, she hooted with laughter, saying ' but you are so slim'. I have a very narrow back so it means that I can pack a lot of fat round my body without it actually showing.

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I have a lymphatic drainage three times a week at home! On a mini trampoline! I never do any jumping, just undulating up and down for 8-10 minutes and it's made a difference to :
My legs have stopped aching,
My balance is better,
My knees feel stronger,
It could be wishful thinking, but I feel less wobbly in the middle bits,
Stopped waking up to pee in the night!
I have chronic fatigue and after years of trying all sorts of exercise, this is the first thing that I've been able to build up from 3 minutes a week to now nearly 25.
I don't know if it's proper exercise though.
Second hand trampoline off Gumtree for £20.