BMI Contributes to Obesity
- Lance McCullough
- Feb 6, 2017
- 5 min read
It may surprise you to learn that Body Mass Index (BMI) – the most commonly-used measurement of obesity in the health and fitness industry – is extremely unreliable. It actually penalizes you for building muscle thereby contributing to the increase in obesity of society!
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey, 2014:
50% of adults over 18 years old met cardiovascular guidelines and 24.6% met muscle-strengthening guidelines.
Why are twice as many Americans meeting cardiovascular guidelines than muscle-strengthening guidelines?
A primary reason is the use of BMI as a measurement tool.
BMI indirectly makes it seem like a cardio-based fitness plan is a better option than a weight training program.
Cardio doesn’t build muscle, attributing to unhealthy weight-loss.
Muscle-Building is more beneficial than Cardio
Building muscle has two phases: the initial building, and the process of continuous improvement to maintain muscle and improve strength. In 30-Minute Body, I describe a method for the process of continuous improvement that provides much greater benefit than initial muscle building alone.
This two-step process – initial muscle building followed by continuing work to maintain and improve strength – is, I believe, the closest thing to the fountain of youth. It keeps your cells rejuvenated. It’s good for your brain, heart, lungs, skin and joints. It improves your mental health and attitude, and so much more. All this is in addition to the benefits of having muscle.
Gaining muscle increases basal metabolism, meaning it takes more calories to maintain your weight at rest. It strengthens your entire skeletal system – bones, ligaments and tendons. Muscle gives your body shape and tone and improves your posture. Muscle makes everyday activities like walking, lifting, bending and stretching easier.
You can probably think of lots of health problems caused by too much body fat (like diabetes, heart disease and cancer). But can you think of any associated with too much muscle?
BMI measures large populations, not individuals
As I explain in 30-Minute Body, BMI was developed in 1832 by Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet. His goal was to develop a quick and easy way to measure obesity in large populations – not in individuals. So all the studies and statistics you hear and read about for defining obesity based on the BMI make them obsolete and having no bearing on individuals.
I recently read a study posted on This Week @ Harvard Health titled "Higher BMI Linked To Early Death" (link at the end of this blog post). The study contradicts the idea that it is possible to be fat and fit
– that is, if you are “fat” you can’t be “fit”–
"I have a real problem with that statement.
Because BMI is used to define “fat”, there is an automatic bias against individuals who weigh more because they have muscle mass
(muscle weighs more than fat at the same volume)."
- Lance McCullough
Is it better to make 20 cakes or 1 incredible cakes?
BMI was developed for large populations, which doesn’t scale down to individuals.
If I have a recipe that produces a single cake but I want 20 cakes, I can’t just multiply the ingredients and start baking. I haven’t accounted for how the increased volume affects the mixing of ingredients or baking time or temperature. So my 20 cakes won’t be as good as the single cake. The same principle applies to BMI. It measures the average of a group of people and that average becomes the average body fat percentage for the group. But this does not translate the same way when applied to a single individual.
"I contend that most studies on BMI using large populations aren’t producing reliable information for individuals. By implying that you can’t be both “fat” (using BMI as the measure) and fit, these studies discourage people to build muscle and gain the benefits of the process to build muscle. Those who are struggling to lose weight may give up entirely because they think no matter how much they work out, they will still be unhealthy – even with weight training, the extra weight is muscle, not fat."
-Lance
Another Argument in Favor of Muscle Building
If the current system is working so well, why are more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults obese, and why do 29.1 million people (9.3%) have diabetes. Moreover, these numbers are predicted to rise in the future. This is true, despite the fact that half of Americans meet CDC cardiovascular guidelines and use BMI as a gauge of good health.
Something is missing, and it is muscle-strengthening. I mistrust the statistic that 24.6% of adults meet muscle-strengthening guidelines. I believe that the percentage of adults who are actually doing a muscle-strengthening program consisting of an adequate amount of intensity and duration to make an impact on their health is closer to only 7-8%. That’s because it is very confusing to figure out what program, what weight, how many reps, sets and rest and all the other decisions that comprise a safe, effective and efficient muscle-strengthening program.
That’s why I designed the Fitness Results Training System – to answer all these questions, and eliminate all the confusion at an affordable cost.
A Better Way to Evaluate Health and Fitness
Body fat percentage, circumference measurements and the scale are tools that together will measure overall health and fitness. (In 30 Minute Body, I provide recommendations for body fat percentage.)
I use body fat percentage as a tool. Many of my clients are not able to reduce their body fat percentage to a desired level, yet have seen tremendous health and fitness benefits. They are able to easily perform activities they didn’t think possible, or reverse health issues. These are life-changing results. Other clients with a healthy body fat percentage seek help with health and fitness concerns. Soon after starting a weight training program, they start feeling better even if they haven’t yet made changes to their diet.
I believe this is enough evidence to debunk the notion that you can’t be fit and fat. Perhaps you might be more fit if you lost some weight, or you might be more fit if you gained weight. The bottom line is this: the most significant thing you can do to improve your overall health is exercise.
A healthy diet is a significant contributor to support good health.
Even with a perfect diet, without exercise your body will wither away over time at an accelerated rate. Likewise, if you have a great workout program but lack adequate nutrients, you will have health issues.
Today, good nutrition is so accessible that it is easy to consume TOO much. This causes excess fat to be stored for use later as energy. Both diet and activity play a role in one’s health. Bad eating choices can affect your health, but this article is about debunking the notion that you cannot be fat and fit.
It is possible to be fat and fit! They are two different measures.
Society may declare that you must be thin to be fit, but that’s about aesthetics, not fitness. There is a point where excessive weight will affect your health, but BMI is not a good tool for defining where that point is for individuals. The tools I use to measure overall health and fitness are:
a lifestyle questionnaire, health assessment questions, body fat percentage, circumference measurements and the scale. Just because weight loss has slowed or stopped, it doesn’t mean you are becoming unhealthy. Continuing with weight training, regardless of weight loss, means you are still improving your health and fitness because weight training makes a bigger contribution to overall health and fitness than diet alone.
SOURCES
Link to Harvard Study:
Link to the inaccuracy of using BMI: http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v32/n1s/full/ijo200887a.html
https://www.cdc.gov/
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