Alternative to BMI calculation? (Read 616 times)

Hi! Wondering if anyone knows of an alternative to the BMI (body mass index) that takes body composition into account? I've always been bothered by the fact that this index only includes height and weight. Because of that, and the fact that muscle is denser than fat, someone like Barry Sanders, who was a 5'10" 220lb bundle of muscle in his playing days, would be considered obese, when that's clearly not the case. Now I'm not in Barry's boat -- I'm a 5'11" 214lb bundle of muscle and fat. But I remember when I last had a BMI in the "normal category" (<=25) and for me at 175lb i felt like i was nothing but a set of lungs with thick legs. i was always bothered by the fact that bmi wasn't taking frame or composition into account. cheers, jeff and="" for="" me="" at="" 175lb="" i="" felt="" like="" i="" was="" nothing="" but="" a="" set="" of="" lungs="" with="" thick="" legs.="" i="" was="" always="" bothered="" by="" the="" fact="" that="" bmi="" wasn't="" taking="" frame="" or="" composition="" into="" account.="" cheers,=""></=25) and for me at 175lb i felt like i was nothing but a set of lungs with thick legs. i was always bothered by the fact that bmi wasn't taking frame or composition into account. cheers, jeff>

I know there are measurements that take your body frame into consideration, too. I'm a bit of a freak in that my wrists put me at "small-framed," but my ankle bones have me at medium-large framed. Add muscle tone to the mix and that definitely skews things further. I wish BMI would at least take into account body type (mesomorph, ectormorph, endomorph) or bone structure. That would certainly help give a more accurate picture. k

While calipers are subject to human error, they give you a pretty good idea of where you stand. If you're working on body composition, you're shouldn't really be too worried about the actual # it gives, just how consistent of a measurement it gives. I've always used a tape measure plus calipers to track any body comp changes. Seven site caliper readings plus all the basic measurements gives a good chance of seeing the smaller movements. It was hard for me to see anything with just a three site caliper reading as everything moved elsewhere before those sites.

The best way to deal with this is to get your body fat measured in a BodPod, which are available at some universities or on tour. All the other methods are hugely subject to human error. That being said, while BMI is a guideline, it is rare for people to fall widely outside the range for their height because they are mostly muscle. Generally, if you are more than a couple points above 25 it's not muscle. Unless you're Shaq or Tom Cruise or whoever the 45 other male celebrities are that are cited as oh-my-god-technically-they-are-obese! This is the exception not the rule.