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What Is BMI? | Ask The Fitness Nerd

January 10, 2009 on 10:24 am | By Matt | In Ask The Fitness Nerd | 2 Comments

What is BMI and is it an Accurate Measure of Weight and Health?

Dear Fitness Nerd,

Can you explain exactly what BMI is? I recently bought a Wii Fit and according to the BMI calculation I’m fat! I checked some other BMI calculators online and am getting similar results. But I’ve never really considered myself overweight. I exercise daily and think I look pretty toned, but according to the BMI charts I’m overweight! Should I be worried? — Erika (Atlanta, GA)

Ericka, the Body Mass Index, or BMI is one of those things that I wish would just go away, since it causes all kinds of anxiety for people who may actually be in very good shape. It also makes people who may actually have high body fat levels focus on the wrong thing: losing scale weight, when they should be focusing on reducing body fat and encouraging muscle building.

While BMI can be a tool for gauging a person’s body composition in relation to height and weight, it tells you nothing about a person’s percentage of body fat. So for people who have low body fat levels with substantial amounts of lean tissue (muscle), it can be very misleading. 

But before we get into this in greater detail, let’s take a look at what BMI is.

Continue reading What Is BMI? | Ask The Fitness Nerd…

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