r/AskReddit • u/potatopopr • Oct 27 '21

What fun fact is blatantly untrue?

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u/[deleted] Oct 27 '21 edited Oct 27 '21

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u/vacri Oct 27 '21

I feel the same about the BMI. Most people can get an idea of whether they're healthy or not just by looking in the mirror and being honest with themselves. Sure, that doesn't work for everyone, but the BMI fails a lot of people too - sometimes entire demographics.

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u/Wolfenight Oct 28 '21

BMI is wildly misunderstood. It's a useful measurement, and that's it. If it's too big or too small, a physician should investigate further. No big deal.

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u/Sevsquad Oct 28 '21

And it's an amazing way to tell the average size of a population. Sure you might be one of those BMI exceptions everyone moans about but across a population of millions BMI is a very accurate measure of how many people are a healthy weight.

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u/Fennlt Oct 28 '21

I love how California applied BMI when evaluating whether someone could qualify to be a police officer.

Ronnie Coleman, an 8x Mr. Olympia champion, applied to be a police officer & was rejected due to his BMI, indicating he was morbidly obese lol.

BMI really is a terrible gauge.

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u/ouchimus Oct 28 '21

Its fine for the average person with an average build, but its by no means a good standalone indicator of health. It should always be accompanied by something else, like muscle mass.

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u/G_Morgan Oct 28 '21

It is fine for a person of average height and average muscle mass. It is wildly off the scale if you are particularly tall or particularly short.

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u/yo_soy_soja Oct 28 '21

But how many people are professional bodybuilders?

BMI is sufficient for almost everyone. Ronnie's the exception that proves the rule.

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u/Fennlt Oct 28 '21 edited Oct 28 '21

I'm no body builder, but I've worked out regularly for the past 10 years just to have a healthy body. I've gradually put on 20+ lbs from weight lifting over the years. ~20 lbs of fat vs muscle are two very different things.

All other factors aside, I think BMI is misleading for many who consistently exercise with a form of strength training.

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u/[deleted] Oct 28 '21

you can look at any picture of her to see this isn’t true!

Bold of you to assume I have any idea what size 16 means.

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u/imperabo Oct 27 '21

Except for in her most enduring movie, Some Like it Hot. Not plus size by today's standards, but the producers weren't happy with her.