Should I change my name?

[jrenaut]

@lordofthemark 181240 wrote:

Because not that many people are tall enough for the inaccuracy to make much difference, esp compared to the fuzziness as to exactly at what point on the BMI (or modified BMI) scale health problems really kick in, I guess? But never having gone to the doctor as a tall person, its difficult for me to say how doctors communicate these issues with tall people.

It’s even stupid for short people. Let’s say you’re 5’2″ and in decent shape – your BMI reads normal. You start training for triathlons and replace 5 pounds of fat with 15 pounds of muscle. Per BMI, you are now less healthy.

[DrP]

I just remember being at the gym years ago when BMIs were first all the rage, where there was a scale with the weights on the gym floor so one could pretty well see what each person weighed in at within a few pounds, and I would estimate their height within a few inched, could clearly see the next to no body fat and calculating that every buff person had BMIs over 30. I knew then it was all a load of hooey.
I also discussed with a physician friend who was sure BMIs made perfect sense, but could not explain away the buff gym goer with no body fat as being obese.
In the end you need a density measure to know for sure.

[lordofthemark]

@jrenaut 181250 wrote:

It’s even stupid for short people. Let’s say you’re 5’2″ and in decent shape – your BMI reads normal. You start training for triathlons and replace 5 pounds of fat with 15 pounds of muscle. Per BMI, you are now less healthy.

People who are that fit are A. A pretty tiny minority and B. Probably quite aware of all the measurement complications on their own.

For the vast majority of sedentary people who walk into a docs office, he is probably better off giving them a simple measure that matches what they find online (from CDC or the many folks who quote CDC) Now I suppose we could ask him to explain the alternative measures to each patient, or to have a seperate spiel for the serious athletes (and I mean serious – anecdote ain’t data, but in the years I have been bicycling I have lowered my LDL cholesterol and raised my HDL, dramatically, but have NOT gained weight, so I guess have not added that much muscle) and I suppose if he does not some would call him lazy. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[jrenaut]

I might be especially touchy about BMI because a stupid pediatrician, in front of my then 5 year old daughter, told me that her BMI was high and she should watch what she ate. She was 90th percentile height and she has a solid athletic build. I still regret not saying anything then – I think I was too shocked for it even to sink in how many ways the doctor was wrong.

Anyway, BMI at the individual level is bullhonkey. Doctors should find another way to talk to patients.

[lordofthemark]

@jrenaut 181255 wrote:

I might be especially touchy about BMI because a stupid pediatrician, in front of my then 5 year old daughter, told me that her BMI was high and she should watch what she ate. She was 90th percentile height and she has a solid athletic build. I still regret not saying anything then – I think I was too shocked for it even to sink in how many ways the doctor was wrong.

Anyway, BMI at the individual level is bullhonkey. Doctors should find another way to talk to patients.

That strikes me as the wrong thing to say in front of a 5YO even if the doc had been using a sophisticated multifactor measure and/or the child had actually been obese.

And yes, GP/internist/pediatrician docs who see a lot of patients don’t keep up with all the latest research. My doc, who is patient (though my generally quick and pointed speech perhaps does not strain his patience?) , kind, listens and talks to me, explains diagnoses and treatments, and whom I like very much, when he saw I had high blood sugar (the bad end of pre-diabetic) said “don’t eat fruits”. It was only when I went home and checked out the American Diabetes Association website that I learned that fruits vary in their glycemic index and some such as berries are actually recommended to folks with high blood sugar. It was only after looking at the ADA site, and at my wife’s Weight Watchers materials (this was a couple of iterations before the current WW plan) that I decided that following WW would be as effective, and more pleasant than the list of don’t my doc gave me. Of course neither of them told me that bike commuting regularly would get my blood sugar down almost to normal even while eating pretty much whatever I want (though I still keep some WW habits)

[jrenaut]

All this to say I think NovaEBike should be BmiSux from now on

[lordofthemark]

@Nadine 181222 wrote:

Lordofthemark, I would NEVER have guessed you’d ever been anything other than slim. Hats off to you!

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If I manage to make it to HH tonite, and you are there, I will regale you with the whole story

[lordofthemark]

@jrenaut 181257 wrote:

All this to say I think NovaEBike should be BmiSux from now on

I first read that as BmxSux

[Nadine]

@jrenaut 181255 wrote:

I might be especially touchy about BMI because a stupid pediatrician, in front of my then 5 year old daughter, told me that her BMI was high and she should watch what she ate. She was 90th percentile height and she has a solid athletic build. I still regret not saying anything then – I think I was too shocked for it even to sink in how many ways the doctor was wrong.

Anyway, BMI at the individual level is bullhonkey. Doctors should find another way to talk to patients.

Ooooh did you ever tell your daughter about your disagreement & all the good reasons for it? Your opinion will matter to her a lot.

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[Brandon]

Wow, I find it ironic and hilarious that a thread about changing a name from something ebike centric spawned multiple pages on BMI I think ebike threads just have a natural tendency to go multiple pages lol. I know BMI isn’t an ideal measure and I am a larger framed guy so I’m not too worried if I never make it into normal range. Even at my fittest in college, I was high normal/overweight from playing sports, but I’m also not an outlier like Lebron James or anything. And as long as life insurance companies still use BMI, it makes it an easy goal measure. It’d be great to eventually maybe get a rate reduction in the future (I think you have to have 12+ months at a weight before they’ll adjust premiums).

Amazingly my first name (Brandon) isn’t taken, but my email address is already linked to NovaEbike. Don’t really want to create a new email for the new account. Can mods really change a name?

Also, I really do appreciate all the support and likes from everyone here. The community has been great and very welcoming through my journey.

[jrenaut]

@Nadine 181260 wrote:

Ooooh did you ever tell your daughter about your disagreement & all the good reasons for it? Your opinion will matter to her a lot.

We talk to the kids a lot about health and body image. The older one is tall and lean, the younger one is stockier – not fat, just the way she’s built. It’s definitely something we’re conscious of, and we try to talk about how both of them exercise a lot and eat well.

[dkel]

@DrP 181251 wrote:

In the end you need a density measure to know for sure.

Most of the people I meet seem very dense.

[Nadine]

@jrenaut 181263 wrote:

We talk to the kids a lot about health and body image. The older one is tall and lean, the younger one is stockier – not fat, just the way she’s built. It’s definitely something we’re conscious of, and we try to talk about how both of them exercise a lot and eat well.

And you bike and often carry them, so they know you’re for real. That’s good. Girls get such ubiquitous impossible messages about body image that even those of us who were never about that can’t shut them out….

Your efforts will probably get yours past them, though. I owe my unapologetic shameless body attitude completely to my parents. (And I have a good story about that, too….)

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[komorebi]

NovaEbike, regardless of whether you change your username or not, I hope you’ll continue to share your story when you feel so inclined. I lost my excess weight before I discovered the joys of biking, but weight maintenance continues to be a struggle every day. Biking helps with that — and so does hearing inspiring stories like yours. Good luck reaching your weight-loss goals. Even though we’ve never met, I’m cheering you on.

[baiskeli]

@Nadine 181201 wrote:

How about Clydesdale?

Or Clyde S. Dale.

[Author]

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