ARe you Fat?

[BlueDragon1981]

According to the government standard I am.

 

I am 5' 10" and 206 lbs.

 

I can garentee that Im not fat. I have been lifting since the age of 15. My muscle mass is a lot more than fat content. I have been heathy all my life (the whole 20 years ) and have never had anything said to me by doctors. I must be obese though because the government chart says I am.

 

Does anyone know what they base this on or do they just want people to slim down. It would be unhealthy for me to slim down to much. I gain and lose an average of 5lbs a day depending on what time Im weighed. If you dont believe me look at my pic on my website under the misc section.

 

I think im around 35 pounds over weight according to the government chart.

 

[muaythaiposer]

the govt is probably using BMI which is no good to fit muscular individuals

[KickChick]

For years researchers have used a standard called the body-mass index to determine a person's fatness and health risk. I's a simple calculation of a person's weight to height ratio. A BMI between 25 and 30 indicates you're overweight: a BMI over 30 signifies obesity.

 

But BMI has one big drawback--- it doesn't account for weight distribution. A 5'10", 220 lb. couch spud has the same BMI as most NFL running backs.

 

Now researchers are using waist size - more specifically the ratio of your waist size to your hip size - to determine health risk and fatness.

 

Here is why it is more useful than BMI.

 

Fat that pushes your waist out in front is the most dangerous kind of fat you can have in your body. Exercise attacks ab fat so the more you have the less likely it is that you get a healthy amount of exercise.

 

To figure your waist-hip ratio, measure your waist at the narrowest point and your hips at the widest (around your butt) Divide waist by hips.

 

Your goal is to fall under 0.92

 

Mine is 0.78 /BMI of 21

 

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

 

_________________

 

KarateForums Sensei

 

1st dan Tae Kwon Do (ITF)

 

Cardio/Fitness Kickboxing Instr.

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-07-23 20:05 ]

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-07-23 20:07 ]

[karatekid1975]

I'm 5'8, and 170. My doc said I needed to loose 30 pounds. But he didn't take notice that I am pretty muscular for a chic. I do have a bit of a belly, but if I loose 10 pounds it would disappear.

 

 

[Taikudo-ka]

Standard measures are just that. Some arbitrary standard which is not necessarily tailored to your build at all.

 

If your full of muscle, the average "weight/height" chart will say that you're overweight, assuming that the extra mass is fat. If it's not, then don't worry. Let the mirror tell the story, not the scales.

 

 

[KickChick]

So what is a safe body fat percentage?

 

The body has to have a certain amount of fat called essential fat which exists in bone marrow, nerve tissue and various organs. Essential fat percentages for women are 10-12% and 2-4% for men. Therefore, athletes’ total body fat percentages tend to be in the 14-20% range for females and 6-13% for males.

 

A fit individual may be in the 21-24% range for women and 14-17% for men.

 

Excess body fat, which is stored in the ab area, poses a greater health risk than fat deposited in the lower bodyas I said. You have to lose body fat all over and most likely the last place it went on is the first place it will come off. But, there is no such thing as spot reduction.

 

Unfortunately, spot reduction is a myth that is even perpetuated by the fitness industry. Many fitness publications continue to allow advertisers of various products and equipment to place ads that insinuate that if you use their equipment, you will have or develop great abs.

 

People will generally try to find the easier route to anything. In this case the only way to take off abdominal fat is to create a situation where your body uses the stored fat as much as possible. Eat the right foods and increase your muscle mass to increase your metabolism. Just eating increases your metabolism. Just having more muscles increases your metabolism. Using your muscles for strength and cardiovascular training will also help use that fat.

 

 

[van_damme]

Im skinny

[BlueDragon1981]

I came up with exactly 0.9 on the waist thing.

 

I had my body fat tested once it was around 7% then (two years ago) Is that good?

 

[BlueDragon1981]

Why would the Gov use the BMI standard?

 

Do they think most Americans are lazy?

 

They are making some people feel really bad when they say someone is obese and they are not really (not me I personally dont care)

 

[shaolinprincess]

According to the charts I am over weight, but I have more muscle than most s, I could loose alittle fat, but I am not saying that the fat makes me heavy.