BMI Test - Out of Touch Method?
Having read the recent news of the introduction of the BMI test anually by the RAF it reminded me of the trouble I had with this inacurate method of measuring my fitness and general health. All it compares is a height to weight ratio and decides if you are the correct weight or not!. This was my sitiuation:
I was a rugby player having come from playing international school and college rugby who trained at least 45mins on the weights and 45mins CV a day, 6ft tall and 15.5st in weight. I had 14% body fat (at the bottom of the normal range) and was pleased with acheiving 15.7 on the bleep test 63/min press-ups and 45/min situps during OASC at Cranwell, Clearly not just muscle bound.
My jaw nearly hit the floor when the president of the medical board called me in and said i was, according to the BMI charts, clinically obese for a person with a large frame and was therefore unfit for trade. She insisted i lose 20lbs if i was to stand a chance when i asked how as i was already at the bottom of the fat percentage range, she advised me to STOP training so i could lose my muscle. According to the charts the way i was to become fit was to stop physical exercise and lose my muscle.
Going by the BMI charts a person who was tall and underweight be it not for the beer belly he had to balance it out and smoked 40 a day would be considered in the normal range and more suitable them myself.
Why is the RAF adopting this out of date comprimsed method? The best method of testing is obvious, body fat percentage measuring recognised world wide since it differentiates between the weight of muscle mass and that of the fat mass while BMI lump all masses into one figure.