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Published: June 19, 2020, 10 a.m.

\u201cOne of the most popular ways of telling if you're a healthy weight is bogus

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\u201cBMI Is A Terrible Measure Of Health\u201d

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\u201c5 BMI Myths You Need To Stop Believing\u201d

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These are the titles of several articles on BMI and BMI charts published in recent years.

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If you take their message at face value, then you\u2019ll come to one conclusion:

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BMI is outdated, overrated, and inaccurate, and it\u2019s time we retired it for good.

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In case you didn\u2019t know, BMI stands for \u201cbody mass index,\u201d and it measures the relationship between your height and weight.

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BMI has been used by doctors for decades to help determine whether someone should consider losing or gaining weight, but recently this idea has come under fire.

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Detractors say you can\u2019t distill what it means to be healthy into a single number.

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Some go further and say being overweight isn\u2019t unhealthy, so why bother measuring BMI or worrying about your weight?

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Others point out that BMI charts don\u2019t work well for muscular people.

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Who\u2019s right?

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The short story is twofold:

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1) BMI charts are good at estimating the body fat percentage of large populations of people, and they do this quite well.

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2) Although imperfect at estimating the body fat percentage of individuals, BMI charts are still decent barometers of whether or not you should lose weight.

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The long story?

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BMI charts are one of the best ways to get a quick bird\u2019s-eye view of your body composition and overall health, but you should also rely on several other methods to get a more accurate estimate of your body fat percentage.

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Let\u2019s start by looking at what BMI is.

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Timestamps:

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2:08 - What is BMI? 

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3:26 - What are the problems with BMI measurements?

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7:04 - What does BMI measure well? 

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9:34 - What is a healthy weight and body composition? 

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Mentioned on the show: 

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How to Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage: https://legionathletics.com/how-to-calculate-body-fat/

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Legion VIP One-on-One Coaching: https://legionathletics.com/coaching/

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