_bec_ca's Journal, 18 Apr 22

I think some of these charts are based on research done years ago which concluded that for seniors being underweight was more risky (greater chance of death) that being a bit overweight. It is probably an individual thing as well 

Yes, liv, I have read/heard that too. I'm not in any danger of being underweight if I get sick. 🙃 

I'm 51 and 5'5" and looked fat when I weighed 163. Like big stomach, back fat, thighs rubbing together. Was also in a size 14-16. So no -- that's too heavy to look good or feel good. 

Yes, very individual and also depends a lot on ongoing co-morbidities. Typically seniors who are at the lower end of the BMI are not physically fit, have low activity levels, don’t eat well so they have loss of muscle which puts them at risk of falls. Older people may actually be more likely to die of fall related injuries than anything else. The life expectancy of an Oder women following a hip fracture is less than a year.. THAT is why everyone is always harping on physical activity, strength training, walking. So “be kind to yourself”, get off your ass and move! Your life depends on it. 

Justbananas, I know I'm too heavy, I'm too fat. When I was 150 I felt healthier, but I still was not where I wanted to be, health wise. Kenna, yes we should be working towards all those goals. Balance is very important and goes hand in hand with building muscle/strength. 👍 

Yes, balance is so Important. My gym offers balance classes and I took them just to make sure that I was actually as stable on my feet as I felt I was. I did ok but the instructor had a couple good suggestions for me to incorporate into the way I do things. 

Becky -- I thought you were like 5'8" or 5'9"! By the way, I posted before/after photos of me at 163 lbs. on May 24, 2021 so you can see what the difference is. Those charts advocating being overweight are suspect in my book. 

I would have to be 6'3" tall for my weight to fall in the normal range. It's probably easier for me to keep eating fruits and vegetables than to hope to get taller! 

Yes, Bananas, I thought it was way off! My original weight goal was 140lbs. I figured I would first get to that weight and reassess my strategy, but I only got to 150lbs. Needless to say, I have work to do. 💪 

Mer, yes my goal is health and strength first, not being a certain weight. I haven't been successful, because I have not put the effort in. Have to get serious. 👍 

Fritzy, that would be very hard to achieve! 😆 

I have posted this many times before but here I go again. The BMI was developed as a quick, easy method to assess peoples body fat/ height ration in THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES and to be able to come up with a ball park number fairly quickly. And, it made it into mainstream use. We also now know that for many groups of people the acceptable BMI is set too high and should actually be lower. Asian and Hispanic folks in particular. There are better formula for this purpose. STOP driving yourselves nuts over your BMI. For those who are active , do strength training, have some muscle tone the numbers are skewed.  

Justbananas, yes I remember those photos and just viewed them again. You look great! I have photos of me at 150 and I like how I looked, but I certainly was not done.  

Little_mermee— I’m guessing you are referring to the new research being done on various ethnicities and the BMI. Just GOOGLE subject and there you will find dozens of listings to read. Very interesting subject. It was also presented at the last diabetes and obesity conference I went to two years ago.  

I would be surprised if it was used to assess people in third world countries. It was developed by a Belgian who was sort of obsessed by ratios...and what was perfect... and I think in that period (early 1800s) they thought white people were perfect.  

I am 5'7" and very small boned. I am 73 years old. I would love to reach 150 pounds. I have learned from past history that should be an acceptable weight. (I have 79 pounds to go.) 

Sugarplum, you're right, everyone has to figure out what their healthy weight is, as well as the other aspects of health Kenna mentioned. You can do it. 👍 

I am a bit late to this but basically, a single measurement should never be the way anyone evaluates their health and lifestyle. Even when it comes to correlations between risk for chronic disease and BMI classified by ethnicity, a lot of this isn't absolute. It isn't there's a "Hispanic gene" or "Indian gene" that puts you at increased risk the minute your BMI crosses a certain threshold, which is how people end up interpreting the data. It's more that in those populations, people are less likely to be engaged in resistance training for example, or more likely to be undereating protein due to religious and cultural beliefs, meaning they probably lack muscle and have more fat that another population at the same BMI, which in turn means you are at higher risk of many chronic diseases. Just saying there's a lot of nuance when it comes to these statistics and people need to look at the complete picture. The best thing to do is get actual blood work and see what's actually going on instead of trying to use a predictive measurement.  

Oats, I completely agree. So many variables. I had never seen such a high BMI weight before and found it interesting. I'm still experimenting and adjusting in order to find what works and what is doable for my situation and then of course that also can change from time to time. Be flexible, both figuratively and literally, has its advantages. 🤸‍♀️🤔👍 Thank you for your input. 💕 

💕yes, find a place you are healthy, feel good about yourself and can maintain without constant stress for a long time.