bmi is everywhere
September 5, 2008 by angelique
Filed under Women's Health
I just returned from taking my son to his annual doctor’s appointment. And guess what was one of the measurements they announced? Noneother than his body mass index (BMI).
He’s five years old, folks. He’s active, healthy and fit as a fiddle. So there are no worries, but I can’t help but wonder if this is yet another “test”, another random number, used by medical personnel to pigeonhole us?
Sigh.
To be fair, for most people, the BMI isn’t a big deal; yet for those suffering from eating disorders (and that could be millions of us), a lower-than-low BMI is another numeric goal to achieve. And let’s face it — the BMI isn’t conclusive proof of health. My husband, a tall guy with muscles, is considered “overweight”. Yeah, and Bigfoot lives next door.
Dang. I hate all this quantification. Even for those of us who are recovered, it’s a tad bit of a trigger.
(Just as an FYI, my BMI is on the low side of normal. And sometimes I’m really upset that it’s not lower, because it has been in the past. It’s a sickness, the way ana makes your mind crazy about numbers, whether they’re on a scale or the result of a calculation. A real sickness.)
Like this topic? For more Breaking the Mirror BMI articles here, check out:
Is your body image distorted?
Would you rather be anorexic or obese?
Recovery from an eating disorder isn’t all about gaining weight
You know what infuriates me?
The fact that even good, reputable docs (yes, even at the Mayo Clinic) use this chart. Fortunately I have a great nutritionist who is working her hardest to keep me out of the hospital b/c my real bmi is nowhere near what ‘The Chart’ declares.
And pushing this stuff on 5 year olds is just too, too much. Let kids be kids.
e:
I know! Kids shouldn’t have to be dragged into worrying about numbers… he’s FIVE. And he’s HEALTHY. He’s actually only about 30 percentile weight-wise, so why bother with bmi at all? I suppose if he were off-the-charts or obviously unhealthy (as in obese), perhaps I could understand it. But he’s just your regular kid. UGGGH.