According the generally accepted formula of weight divded by height squared, my Body Mass Index is a 29.2. A BMI of 30.0 or above is considered obese. You might have been able to at least make a case for me being obese 10 years ago, when I was kind of a fat guy. But I’m fairly positive I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, definitely thinner than I’ve ever been, and yet, I am on the verge of being a man-cow.

The trick here is that BMI is frequently being given as a statistical guideline for entire populations, as it’s based on numerical norms and averages. It’s not designed as a guideline for individuals, with their different body types and total body fat. This is why my BMI is telling me I am somewhere between “roly-poly” and “decidedly corpulent” despite the fact that I’m more accurately gauged as “casually athletic.” I’m betting a fair amount of my mass is from muscle (not to toot my own horn here) and probably a similar amount of bone, because my skeleton is definitely a few notches up from standard size. I am a fairly large person by any standard, even now in this decidedly healthier phase of my life, which only serves to work against my BMI.

My problem here is that a lot of attention is given to BMI as a means for self-diagnosis on who may be at risk for things like diabetes and heart disease. You could have a guy like me, or what’s more, a serious body builder who was the same weight as me but significantly shorter, who would both be inaccurately rated as obese. Obviously, me and my theoretically squat bodybuilder are not overly concerned with what BMI says about us, but you could have a tall person who had next to no muscle and a fair amount of fat who would be rated as normal, despite being unhealthy. Unfortunately, the precision method of measuring a person’s total body fat (which involves submersion in a water tank, etc.) is much more difficult to do through numbers alone.

I doubt we’d even need an indicator like BMI if America were a little more self-conscious about its health. Considering I used to be one of the least healthy eaters and exercisers I can think of, I can say without a doubt my life is better now that I’m eating better and regularly making use of my body. I still don’t even eat all that well in terms of what I could be eating, but it’s a significant step up from my college diet and it’s made a difference. I know news media loves charts and numbers and home test, but let’s stop pointing to it all the time as a good indicator of health. That’s not what it was designed for, and it’s not accurate in that context. I doubt BMI is really inspiring anyone to make a change. “My god… I’m a 31.3! I’m heading to the gym right now!” So let’s come up with something more accurate, and leave BMI to the actuaries and statisticians that it was designed for.