Is BMI Accurate When It Comes to Measuring Actual Health and Fitness?

When you’re trying to lose weight you are more than likely changing your ways and trying to get healthier. You know that you need to workout and eat right if you want to lose weight and keep it off, but how do you measure your success? If you listen to most health experts then they will tell you that body mass index, or BMI, is the way to go, but is this really the best way to determine your success? If you listen to just this one measure, can you tell what is working for you and what isn’t? The truth is that many people are starting to wonder is BMI accurate enough to measure how successful your efforts really are? The answer and overall consensus is mixed, and this can cause problems.

The problem is really with just how common this measure has become. If you go to any number of websites then you can easily plug in your stats and it will give you an output that measures your fat to overall body ratio. Through the years the categories have changed in that somebody who is slightly overweight may be categorized as “obese.” This is a problem if you are working your hardest to workout and eat right and therefore lose the weight the right way. Seeing this type of measure can really mess you up. You might feel discouraged or even give up, when really you are doing quite well and you will have the results you want soon enough.

Though it’s not necessarily all bad, if you are wondering is BMI accurate, then you may want to really look at what you are measuring here. If you are trying to stay motivated and stick with a program that works, then this may not necessarily be an ideal method to base your hard work off of. Here’s why BMI may not be the best measure in your journey.

Some say that body measurements are really the way to go: Though BMI most certainly has some merits to it, the reality is that it doesn’t take everything into account. If you are working hard then you want to have starting body measurements and continue to take them throughout. This will show your true transformation more so than an overall body measure that doesn’t think through how your body is changing and even shrinking. You want to be diligent and take your body measurements every week when you weigh yourself. This may be a much more thorough and direct measure of your progress every week more so than just BMI alone.

This may not take into account your overall body makeup: The problem in pondering is BMI accurate is that it may not necessarily take into account your overall body makeup. If you are somebody who is curvy or who has a different body type, then BMI won’t properly assess you. It just tells you what your body fat percentage is compared to your overall body weight, and that doesn’t account for muscle or natural curves. The argument is that giving these broad categories doesn’t really help you, and it may even hurt your willingness to commit to a program moving forward.

This may not offer an accurate enough measure overall: The thing to look at is just how hard you are working, and you know this deep down. Not only can BMI be a problematic measure for your hard work, but even the number on the scale can act much in the same way. If you only look at what these numbers tell you rather than how you look and feel, then you may give up along the way. Think about what you are doing to make yourself successful each week and focus on that. Consider all aspects such as energy, focus, productivity, and the hard work you are putting in and this may work better than just a measure like BMI alone.

It may be fine to use if combined with other measures: In the end if you are trying to decide is BMI accurate then you may want to look at it in the grand scheme of things. Consider what you are doing and then look at body measurements, the scale, and perhaps BMI all in combination. Assess how you feel and how your clothes fit just as much as any formal measure, for it all matters. BMI may be okay but most certainly shouldn’t act alone to detect how successful your hard work has been for you!