Must my BMI be in the normal range?
Asked by nrskelley on Apr 02, 2009
in Weight Loss
When I weighed 143 lb, I wore a size 8, but my arms and face were thin, and I got cold all the time. Now at 186 lbs, I wear size 14 to 16, and BMI is "severely overweight". I have set my goal as 148 lbs, but the BMI chart says that is still overweight. I have huge bones. Is skinny desireable for a woman of my age, 56?
Answer
At your goal weight, your BMI will be 26.5. By the charts, that is slightly overweight but perfectly fine for a large frame. When the BMI is over 25, there is a higher statistical risk of disease, but many people in the overweight range are perfectly healthy too. In fact, in a ten-year study of half a million US men and women between the ages of 50 and 71, the risk of death was lowest for people in the overweight and normal categories. BMI doesn’t account for fat vs. muscle, and so waist circumference is the better predictor of health risk.
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