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sje46 t1_jam7j9q wrote

Reply to comment by deadliftothersup in Let’s get moving NH by bluesmom913

Anyone who disagrees with the above comment: yes, it's probably not the most perfect measure, especially for individuals but it's a very quick measure and let me ask you one very important question:

One town has an average BMI of 23.5. Another town has an average BMI of 28.4. In most other ways they're comparable (similar age range, poverty level, etc) Which town do you expect to have a lower death expectancy? Which town will have more health problems overall? What is the quickest way to determine this factor? Looking at average weight alone is also a good indicator, but seeing how different people groups have different average height (especially different sexes), the BMI isn't that much harder to get information for and provides just a little more information.

I don't see the problem with BMI at all. I see much bigger problems with IQ testing (which are culturally biased) and Flesch Kincaid (which is complex, very difficult to measure and ill understood and greatly misinterpreted) and pretty much every psychometric test ever. BMI is a quick and dirty way of determining which places have weight problems.

Rejecting it will just make tracking this stuff harder, less intuitive, and people more likely to embrace a more extreme version of "healthy at every size" which turned from actually pro-active health stuff for overweight people to just apologia for passive unhealthy lifestyles.

See a doctor to determine if you're actually overweight. BMI is fine.

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deadliftothersup t1_jamlkrk wrote

Thank you, this more of less boils down the issue. New Hampshire likely doesn't have a meaningful level fewer bodybuilders than say Mississippi in a way you will see on the population level. I get folks' aversion to BMI. Fat shaming has unfortunately only increased despite it being more and more likely to be overweight which has negative impacts and doesn't lead to positive behavioral change on the whole. There is also no need to throw out metrics where they are useful and when we understand the limitations.

Similarly, as a person that used to be in cognitive performance research, it's both fine to be skeptical of individual results and realize that these tests are very useful for studying cognitive decline over time.

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-cochise t1_jan1nyr wrote

IQ tests predict health outcomes too though. They’re not really culturally biased any more.

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