Readers React: Lean, mean -- and obese, according to BMI charts

To the editor: According to my body mass index, not only have I been overweight for years, I’ve even been obese. (“BMI mislabels 54 million Americans as ‘overweight’ or ‘obese,’ study says,” Feb. 4)

Really? I am 65 and have worked out all of my adult life. I’m 5 feet 8 and 176 pounds. My blood pressure is around 104/66, my resting pulse is 57 beats per minute, I wear size 32 pants and my body fat is about 16%. The next time I see my 47-year-old friend at the gym, I may call 911, because at 5 feet 6 and 200 pounds, the BMI guidelines suggest he should plan his wake, despite the fact that he’s a competitive bodybuilder with a 30-inch waist.

Use of BMI has always been a joke because it does not consider a person’s body fat percentage and fitness level. That it has been used by insurers to determine pricing is more than suspect. It’s a joke. It’s a form of profiling.

Joel Gossman, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I find it disturbing that the medical profession is just realizing that BMI is a “poor measure” of health and is “deeply flawed.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the peak of his bodybuilding career, fell into the obese category. So did Dwayne Johnson and Steve Austin during the peak of their wrestling careers. Actor Hugh Jackman, while portraying the Wolverine, fell into the overweight category with very little body fat.

Jim Winterroth, Torrance

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