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Wow, depressing moment of the day. | by merlin | 2008-07-29 13:15:22 |
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I don't remember if it was the BMI charts... | by bitflipper | 2008-07-29 13:31:15 |
| No, the BMI function is not linear |
by run.dll |
2008-07-29 20:41:52 |
BMI = Wt(kg)/Ht^2(m^2)
for instance, I'm 160 lb (72.6 kg) and 170 cm (1.70 m)
so my BMI is 25.1. I go to the gym regularly, play hockey all year round and have a slightly more muscular frame than average. I could still stand to lose about 5 pounds though, so my optimal BMI would probably be about 24. The BMI is pretty accurate as it applies to me. Obviously though, people don't all of a sudden become "overweight" as they go from 25.0 to 25.1, and suggesting that this is the case is nothing more than a straw man argument.
This formula doesn't follow the square-cube law, but neither do human bodies. The square-cube law states the scaling relationship between the weight and horizontal cross-sectional area which results in constant normal stress in a structure. While a useful guide, it doesn't apply to animals exactly. Anatomy is too complex.
I notice that many people in this thread are highly critical of the BMI. They shouldn't be. It has decades of clinical studies published in the most prestigious medical journals to back it up.
See, for instance, this article by Mike Fumento, which gives references to these journals. You can't get rid of the results of scientific studies by simply disagreeing with them because you don't like the conclusions. |
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