GCAA Medical Class 1 for obesity
 

Hello people,
I am going down to Dubai in 3 weeks and obtain GCAA medical class 1.
I heard that GCAA is very strict on BMI 30+ and overweight.
Now I am 25 years old, my height is 187CM and weight is 108KG
According to the BMI calculation my current BMI is 30.88.
Also my waist circumference is abou 108CM which is about 41inches.

I have read the GCAA Aeromedical requirements which was issued by GCAA.
However, it does not state exact limits and so on.
According to that I am classified as obesity.

I am just little bit worried that I face problems with obtaining Class 1 medical.
Does anyone here who are overweight have successfully gone through GCAA Medical class1 cert?
If so, can you give me some advises?

Plenty of obese pilots here, some morbidly so, so no problem holding the Class 1. As for the initial issue, who knows ....

If you need to be below a magical 30 bmi then you have three weeks to lose 4kgs. For your height 104 gives just under 30. If you want EK badly then a crash diet might be worth it. My dealings with officialdom over the years suggests avoiding a limit is better than being over it and having to fight the system. When I lose weight on a protein diet (Atkins, Ducan ) then 1.5 Kgs comes off straight away as less water retention, then the weight reduces another 1.5 kg a week. When you finish the diet the water will return so factor that in.

If it's your interview medical, I don't think you'll make it. Once you've been hired, you can go over 30 BUT.... you will have to jump thru so many hoops it'll be worth starving yourself the month before your medical.

Expect sleep studies, EKG's and numerous other BS things (those hoops) you'll have to go thru before being given your medical.

It's become a Chinese/Astronaut medical IMO.

And the one or two "reasonable" doctors there at the clinic who used to roll their eyes at this nonsense are now forced converts and you have no one on your side.

Oh, and the sleep study is 80 miles away in another Emirate.

So much fun to look forward to IF you're even .01 over 30 BMI.

My fun all started at 30.64. WTF?

As an alumni of the BMI club it's not that big of a deal. BMI 30-34 earns you a visit with a nurse every 3 months to "check" your progress on your weight loss. So long as you are <34 it's not really a big deal. Extra blood test for your medical and that's about it. There may be a catch with the loss of license as they put a clause in there a few years back saying that if you are not following the BMI plan you are SOL.

Loosing a couple of KG to get to 29.9998 is worth the effort if you can manage, but it's not the end of the world if you are over 30.

Mate of mine got just below a BMI of 30 to join a UAE airline, 3 month medicals, he's short and wide, even the clinic agreed he wasn't over weight, but even with spending his whole life keeping super fit his BMI hovered around 33, finally because his neck was large they sent him off for a sleep study, that resulted in having to wear a mask when he slept.

His words, I don't mind what they do with me at work but in my own time having to wear this hideous mask to bed is too much.

Fortunately his bond was 3 years and not 5, he's moved on now.

Make of it what you will!!

Even in China the BMI limit is 32.

BobDole...

The one you mention is lucky. I must have had a Dr. on a bad mood day and was referred to several things including the blood work, sleep study and EKG... for being POINT 64 (.64) over a mystical number.

I'll reiterate: It's becoming more like a Chinese Astronaut Physical in the UAE.

Kap