Female, 4'11", 151 pounds and....morbidly obese?

Crazy huh?

I am 17, i am 4'11" and I weight 151 pounds. Yes I am over weight but am I MORBIDLY OBESE? I've used a few sites BMI calculators a couple of which have told me I am morbidly obese, and are telling me that my goal weight of 115 will still have me labeled as obese. This site I am speaking of also says I can weigh 65lbs and be healthy.

What is your take on this?

Have you had this problem?

Depends on how you carry the weight and your frame.  Some people can be different weights and not be obese... it has to do with muscle mass, bone structure, and all of that.  Yes, 151 is on the heavy side for somebody our height, but it is definitely not morbidly obese...  (incidentally, the definition of morbidly obese is somebody with a BMI over 40 - or, but this doesn't really work for people our size, roughly 100 lbs over ideal weight)

I'm 4'10" with a small frame, and I think the goal of 115 lbs is absolutely fine and you'll be VERY happy with how you look and feel at that weight.  It is well within a healthy range for you.  For me a healthy range is anywhere from 90-115.  Depending on your frame and muscle mass and all it could be a bit heigher or lower for you, but 65 lbs is ridiculous and unhealthy.  I suggest you put no stock in any website giving you this kind of info.

Edited to add: According to the sites I've found, your current BMI is just over 30, and your goal of 115 will leave you at a BMI of 23.2.  That is DEFINITELY within the healthy range.  Here, you can check too... this is the CDC's BMI Calculator and here's one from the Mayo Clinic

I would NOT say your morbidly obese. I'm only a few inches taller than you- I'm a little shy of 5'0-- and I currently weigh 144. I also have huge boobs and a big butt, not to mention very muscular calves. I'm not entirely pleased with the way I look, but I'm in the same region as you-- I've ALWAYS had a problem with BMI calculators because, even when I was at a totally healthy weight, they'd calculate me as "overweight." Which is astronomically frusterating haha. So I hear ya-- and no, generally BMI calculators dont work so well for folks like us. And 115 will NOT have you labelled as obese, believe me haha.

What websites were you looking at? Here is a reliable website that calculates BMI.

At 4'11" and 151, your BMI is 30.5.  Over 30 is considered obese, so you're just barely obese. Morbidly obese is a BMI of over 40 - you are definetly NOT morbidly obese.

At your goal weight, 115, your BMI would be 23.2, which is right in the middle of the "normal" BMI range. Sounds like a good goal to me.

(and 65 lbs, btw, is a BMI of 13. You'd probably be in the hospital well before you got to that point)

bmi sucks - it doesn't account for muscle or frame.

If you are still in high school you could probably check with the gym teacher/health teacher to see if they have one of those body fat % checkers (or calipers for better accuracy) and go by that.

:)

I do kinda agree that BMI sucks.  As I said before, people carry weight differently depending on frame and muscle mass.  BMI is never quite an accurate measure of my health, personally.  I have a small frame, but a lot of muscle, which weighs more, so my BMI is always a bit higher than you'd think, though my actual body fat % might be quite low.  I tend to not focus on the numbers much, and instead pay attention to how things fit me and how I feel, etc.

If you decide to go with BMI as a measure anyway (because it can be a helpful tool, but like anything, shouldn't be the end all be all of your goals) you really should check out one of those sites I linked before... both of them give a separate calculator for teens (because your body is still growing and your needs are different).  I think both also give some tips on what you can do to promote health and wellness based on your results.

I'm 4'11" and 115 pounds and I just want to let you know that at that weight you will be a normal slim girl who most people refer to as "tiny" or "thin". You'll have body imperfections and a little bit of pudge...but you'll have that at any weight, so don't worry. My goal weight is between 105 and 110.

I started out at 140 pounds when I was a few years younger...it's so funny to think how heavy that looks/feels/is on a little person. There are girls whose goal weights are 140 or 150 and they'll look hot! Your bmi right now is 30.7 which puts you as obese but barely....you aren't obese, just overweight. BMI calculators are not quite accurate for shrimps like us.

thanks everyone.

i am not going by bmi anyway, i had just searched it out of curiosity. my docter gave me the goal of 115, I would like to be smaller but i dont think it's realistic for me.

truthfully, i dont see myself as obese, thats hard to belive but i guess i'm only right at that point. and im running away from it now! lol 

I remember when I was at that point.... now, I'm at 210. I gained this much weight for (wait for the calculations) 60 extra calories a day for 10 years.

60.

There are many threads for people our height that are at their goal weight, and almost all of them eat around 1300 calories a day to maintain.

Now is when you need to do exactly what your doctor says, so you don't find yourself in a worse boat later.

rebeccamay, I'm curious as to which website(s) gave you your erroneous BMI information (the one that said you were morbidly obese and could safely be 65 lbs)

Care to share? It will give us the tools to help people who are sucked in by those sites in the future.

Hey, that calculator you used is screwed up! You aren't morbidly obese. However, I'm assuming you're an adult. If you are under 21, the calculators are different. Which means that you could be considered morbidly obese at a BMI of 30 if you're in the top 5% BMI percentile for other kids your age. For example, if you're an 18 year old male with a BMI of 30 you're considered obese by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Even if you are under 21, just because the CDC says you're obese doesn't mean that you actually are. Get your body fat percentage taken. That is much more accurate. Are you an athlete? because if you are then you probably carry more muscle than the average person. 

Next time you go to the doctor ask him to take your BF%. If you're in the obese category, then you first need to recognize that you are in fact obese. Then you need to take steps to get your health and weight under control. 

Good lucK :)

Edit: crap I just now see you're 17. I still say to go to by BF% and to talk to your doctor.

Yeah I agree with what others have said, a BMI of 30 is obese but not morbidly obese.