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Comment by soperj | Hacker News Reader

I'm 5'11 and 185. I'm in the overweight section of BMI, yet have under 10% bodyfat. I'm definitely not an elite athlete. I used to play hockey at a junior level, but now just bike to and from work. Every thing during my physical is in a good to great range. No issues what so ever. Yet BMI says I'm overweight. To me that's an issue with the index.

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To get those #s you would need to have an extreme diet/exercise regime. 185 at 5’11 is either a lot of extra fat or muscle. If you are Sub 10% you definitely have a super defined 8 pack and some of that weird muscle striation body builders get. Would be very surprised if you achieved that by just biking to work.

I have large legs (around) from all the skating growing up. Don't have a defined 8 pack, never really had a strong core, it's mostly legs.

To Quote Mens Health:

"The 7% guy is definitely following a very strict regimen,” he explains. He’s probably eliminating certain macronutrients, like being Paleo with no carbs, and is definitely paying very close attention to what he eats.

Meanwhile the 10 to 12% guy is in constant flux—some weeks he’s at 9 percent, others he’s at 12%. “He might have a cheat meal—splurging on wings instead of steamed asparagus when out with the guys—but not necessarily a cheat day,” McCall says.

Someone at 15% is having a cheat day. “He’s paying attention and making certain decisions—no fried foods, burger without the bun, no accidental break room pastries. But he’s not uber health conscious,” he adds."

You have a body fat percentage that should result in a well defined 6-pack and you're barely into the overweight category. You've successfully double-checked by doing a body fat percentage measurement. BMI was still a good and fast check with minimal cost.

Which technique did you use to measure body fat percentage?

A scale that sends electrical impulses through the body (at least that's what i was told it does)

Those electrical scales only give a general indication and are not calibrated to be clinically accurate. I have one myself and it fluctuates up and down significantly day to day. So it's basically just a fun toy, not a true medical device. You shouldn't cite such unreliable numbers to try and make a point here.

> You shouldn't cite such unreliable numbers to try and make a point here.

Isn’t this entire conversation about unreliable indices?

I stepped on one that told me I was 13% fat. Which is ridiculous. Judging by the photo charts of body fat percentage, I'm probably 20%

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