I dont know about you but I’m pretty obsessed with BMI, don’t worry, it doesn’t mean I’m actively doing anything about mine, but I do like to read and panic about it. The Daily Mail today published an interesting article on BMI and pretty much calling it, well, a load of rubbish, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2129695/Body-Mass-Index-The-Baloney-Mass-Index-Official-tests-said-people-worryingly-overweight-detailed-checks-showed-VERY-different-results.html

The article shows several people and their measurements and BMI, listed alongside their lifestyle.

ALISON CROSSLEY, 48, lives in Maidenhead, Berkshire, with partner Adrian, also 48, a manager at 5’6, 11st 7lb, she has a BMI 26.1 – that’s bad right? But Alison has taught 8 spinning classes in the past four days, each of which burn 600 calories per hour. She has banana and porridge for breakfast, home-made soup and carb-free bran crackers for lunch and then lots of protein and veg for dinner – in other words the woman is practically a saint! If she has a high BMI, quite frankly there is no hope for the rest of us!

The Daily Mail’s Dr, Dr Ashton who is challenging our obsession with BMI agrees that Alison is a prime example of how misleading BMI measurements can be ”although she’s classed as overweight, she has very good waist-to-hip ratio.  She has a high BMI reading primarily because most of her weight is around her hips. Her body-fat percentage is also quite good, indicating an ideal proportion of lean (muscle) mass, no doubt gained from the extensive exercise she does.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2129695/Body-Mass-Index-The-Baloney-Mass-Index-Official-tests-said-people-worryingly-overweight-detailed-checks-showed-VERY-different-results.html#ixzz1s9AVCEs1