– Why do doctors care so much about your BMI when it’s has been proven to be such a flawed metric for ones actual health?
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One thing I would like to point out which a lot of other answers haven’t touched on is that your BMI is a great indicator of your health at a certain time. Their is no doubt medically that your average person, who does no exercise having a high BMI is more likely to suffer from medical complications. People who are athletes competing in athletic sports tend to be on the higher end with BMI but even then theirs a limit. By analysing fitness patterns you can easily use these numbers to determine how healthy someone’s body is operating.
Doctors know about these flaws, so they can compensate. If you are having actual medical issues they’ll actually put you on a set of scales that can determine your fat amounts.
I am a large majority of muscle, I weigh just above 16 stone. My zero percent body fat will be around 14-15 stone if I had nothing on me left. It’s a pretty terrible indicator for me but it tells me if I’m going up or down – especially if my height grows or changes. My BMI though is about 28, which is not terrible in any sense.
Bodybuilders are about the only major exception to this rule, but bodybuilders also tend to be useless when it comes to cardio intensive activities such as running long distances.
Beyond 35 in BMI, your having medical problems really regardless of your exercise amount. Theirs also a lot of people who claim to do tons of exercise and BMI is a real reality breaker.
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