Best way to measure health and fitness

[smalldon]

A small debate here. What is the best way to measure health and fitness? I say by how you feel but a friend says you should go by the BMI. Who is right here, or is it a combo of both?

[Off Road]

I would measure health as "Not being sick" and all things functioning normally.

Measuring fitness would be tougher as it will mean many different things to many different people. But I guess the basic measurement would be in your ability to perform everyday tasks without difficulty.

And BMI is crap. You could be very unhealthy and have a good BMI. I've known some cancer patients with a good BMI...

[bruteforce]

If you do more than sit on the couch all day, BMI is pretty useless. It would call derek poundstone obese. On the other hand, its much more than how you feel.

I have a very different opinion on what fitness is than a long distance runner would. The whole thing is too subjective for a single definitive answer. Health has very little to do with how you feel though. You may not even know how bad you feel until you get healthier.

[Fazc]

How well I lifted at my last competition, haha!

[Jen]

<--- Popping popcorn for this one.

[JacktheThriller]

how you feel and BMI have very little to do with health and fitness, in terms of health a doctor would say absence of disease is health which is shit, health is a combo of mind body and spirit that when in flow with one another make up this abstract concept called 'health', as for fitness this should be measured with a baseline stress test for your age group, I personally believe anyone claiming they are fit should be performing in the top 10% of their age group in any standardized testing measure. When you consider that these tests are standardized on random sectors of population, being average really means you are overweight and out of shape. According to government 66% of pop is overweight or obese leaving 33% underweight or normal weight pretty ****ing pathetic.

[MC]

Originally Posted by smalldon

A small debate here. What is the best way to measure health and fitness? I say by how you feel but a friend says you should go by the BMI. Who is right here, or is it a combo of both?

Neither. I measure my overall health by my metrics from my physician: Blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol level.

Height/weight and BMI never factor in. I'm the heaviest I've ever been and my BP and cholesterol are the lowest they have ever been.

Now as far as fitness, I guess I could say cardiovascular fitness as measured by endurance-type activities like walking, hiking, running.

[BendtheBar]

Hard question to answer. People slightly higher on the BMI scale than what is considered normal tend to live longer.

Study: Overweight People Live Longer

Based on BMI scores, a 5-foot, 5-inch adult would be considered:

Underweight at 110 pounds or less (BMI <18.5)
Normal weight at 111 to 149 pounds (BMI = 18.5-24.9)
Overweight at 150 to 179 pounds (BMI = 25-29.9)
Obese at 180 to 210 pounds (BMI = 30-34.9)
Extremely obese at 211 pounds or more (BMI = 35 or greater)

In the newly published study, researchers used data from an ongoing Canadian national health survey to follow more than 11,000 adults from the mid-1990s to 2007.

Compared to people who fell into the normal-weight category:

Those classified as underweight were 73% more likely to die.
Those classified as extremely obese with BMI of 35 or greater were 36% more likely to die.
Those classified as obese with BMI 30-34.9 had about the same risk of death.
Those classified as overweight with BMI 25-29.9 were 17% less likely to die.

The study appears online this week in the journal Obesity.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by smalldon

A small debate here. What is the best way to measure health and fitness? I say by how you feel but a friend says you should go by the BMI. Who is right here, or is it a combo of both?

You can be fit but not necessarily healthy and you can be healthy yet unfit. But the simple answer to your question is that neither of you is right because it's more complex than that, as highlighted by the other posters.

[IronWill]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Hard question to answer. People slightly higher on the BMI scale than what is considered normal tend to live longer.

Study: Overweight People Live Longer

Interesting, never heard that before.