How legit is BMI? Is it ridiculous? Or accurate?

Question

I am 24.5 weeks along and was at the doctor today and they say i gained a little more then I should have. I have gained 14 pounds ... according to their charts I started out overweight because my BMI is 127. I am a bigger built person and weighed 168 when i got pregnant. My ideal weight is 163 but i honestly didn't think I was fat, although I realize I am not a skinny person whatsover either!   I come from a family with thick legs , wide shoulders, big hands etc.  How does this play in? I am frustrated that they think I am gaining too much because I try quite hard to be careful. And I'm so hungry! And I do some excerciseing.  Is 14 pounds way to much for 24 weeks ??

Answer

BMI was never intended to be used to assess an individual’s health. It was a tool developed to help predict health trends on a population level. The problem with using it for an individual is that it accounts simply for height and weight, not muscle mass or other lean body mass (other than fat). It’s pretty easy to be normal BMI and still be unhealthy, because your fat mass is too high and muscle mass is too low. The opposite is also true - I came into this pregnancy at a higher weight (and therefore higher BMI) than my first pregnancy, but I was significantly healthier, because I’d been strength training for a year and had ten pounds more muscle than before. The weight guidelines they have for pregnancy are pretty arbitrary- there’s not much research to support the specific numbers. The research just shows that excessive weight gain is a problem - we’re talking over 40 pounds  I would say just keep trying to eat well and exercise, your body will take care of the rest.

Answer

I personally don’t honk that’s a lot of weight to gain at all at 24 weeks. I am 25 weeks and gained 21 already.

Answer

bogus

Answer

BMI covers a very large weight range within each category and the ranges are for both males and females. 
Consider a female being on the upper end of healthy weight alongside a male of same height and weight. She very probably has lower lbm than he does. 
Unless you’re Arnold Schwarzenegger, BMI is a good guideline and you’re probably not an exception to being overfat or underfat when BMI predicts you are one or the other.

Answer

I don’t think so! I’m 24 weeks and have gained almost 16lbs!

Answer

My BMI is waaaaaay I Dr what it should be because I have Crohn’s disease. But I’ve ALWAYS been thin and tall. No matter how crappy or how much I’ve eaten my entire life I just don’t gain weight that being said I’ve gained 14 lbs at 21 weeks. I’m still under what my BMI should be but my Dr is happy with the gain and the baby is measuring ahead.

Answer

BMI can suck it. If I was the “suggested” BMI, I would be rail thin. I lost about ten pounds when I first got pregnant and gained about 15-16 to this point (22w).

Answer

Women with a higher BMI do have to try to gain less weight than those with normal or low BMIs. Mine was 29 and I’ve gained 9lbs at 21+1.

Answer

Yeah no 14 lb is not too much for 24 weeks! They say 25-35 lb around is expected for weight gain with starting weight around normal. And BMI is bs most of the time especially when you have muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Keep rocking it girl and happy pregnancy!!

How legit is BMI? Is it ridiculous? Or accurate?

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