The BMI is used to classify the degree by which a person departs from the “ideal” weight for a person’s height. Many people today, including physicians, use BMI as an indicator of health or for medical diagnosis, particualrly because it is an extremely easy calculation.
BMI is calculated as follows:
BMI = weight in pounds/(height in inches x height in inches) x 703
The result is often grouped into the following classifications:
| BMI | Category |
| Less than 15 | Starvation |
| 15 to 18.49 | Underweight |
| 18.5 to 25 | Ideal |
| 25.01 to 30 | Overweight |
| 30.01 to 40 | Obese |
| Greater than 40 | Morbidly Obese |
The BMI has come under fire recently on several fronts. In particular, a recent study found that people with a higher BMI actually live longer. Another recent study also found that overweight (as classified by the BMI) young women may have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer.
Additionally, BMI makes no distinction between body weight from muscle and body weight from fat. Listed below are many famous individuals who are either classified as obese or overweight. Obviously, they are neither.
| Name | Height | Weight | BMI |
| Tom Brady | 6’4″ | 225 lbs | 27 |
| Kobe Bryant | 6’6″ | 200 lbs | 25 |
| George Clooney | 5’11″ | 211 lbs | 29 |
| Matt Damon | 5’11″ | 187 lbs | 26 |
| Johnny Depp | 5’7″ | 190 lbs | 27 |
| Vin Diesel | 6’2″ | 200 lbs | 26 |
| Lebron James | 6’8″ | 240 lbs | 26 |
| Michael Jordan | 6’6″ | 216 lbs | 25 |
| Nick Lachey | 5’10″ | 180 lbs | 26 |
| Yao Ming | 7’6″ | 310 lbs | 27 |
| Brad Pitt | 6’0″ | 203 lbs | 28 |
| Keanu Reeves | 6’1″ | 223 lbs | 29 |
| Andy Roddick | 6’2″ | 197 lbs | 25 |
| Nykesha Sales | 6’0″ | 184 lbs | 25 |
| Will Smith | 6’2″ | 210 lbs | 27 |
| Denzel Washington | 6’0″ | 199 lbs | 27 |
| Tom Cruise | 5’7″ | 201 lbs | 31 |
| Steve McNair | 6’2″ | 235 lbs | 30 |
| The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) | 6’5″ | 275 lbs | 33 |
There is a push for using waist circumference as a better indicator of health.
From a fat loss perspective, BMI can be flawed, especially if you are begining a weight training program. As you put on muscle, your BMI may stay the same, or increase slightly – indicating no progress. As evidenced by the list of athletes and thespians above, you can lose a great deal of fat, and still be classified as overweight or obese.
I personally use waist circumference and several “hand” calculations/estimations of body fat % (which takes into account both weight and waist size, among other factors) to monitor my progress. I find these to be more “directionally” correct, and a better measure of my overall appearance.
Filed under: Burning Fat, Health, Health and Fitness, Miscellaneous, Weight Loss Tagged: | Health, Weight Loss
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Some of the weights given on the chart seem false. I find it very hard to believe that Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are pushing 200 lbs.
I fully agree that BMI essentially suffers from quantization errors as it fails to consider fat/muscle ratio, but, as Jason mentioned, the weights in the table are highly suspect.
Sure, some of them seem a bit high, and some a bit low, and it depends on when they were weighed. Who knows, Tom may have been bulking up for some role whenever this weight was published. After all, this post is over 4 years old.
For example, I literally bumped into Michael Jordan at a Bobcats game a few months ago, and i am sure he is heavier now than what’s listed above. The point being, even if you drop Tom Cruise to 165 pounds, which might feel better for you, his BMI would still be “overweight” with a BMI of 26 (ish). It doesn’t change the fact that the BMI is a bad measure of fitness.
Jason,
I think the listed weights for Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt could be accurate. I’m 5’10″ and weigh 205. Admittedly, I should be around 200, but I’m back to lifting/running consistently, so that’ll take care of itself soon. If you saw me in person, you would probably underestimate my weight by about 15-20 lbs. like most people do. It’s just the way I carry muscle mass on my frame. I’ve never seen Tom Cruise in person but I can pretty much guarantee he’s more ripped than I. I hate the BMI because it definitely underestimates muscle mass.
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Interesting list. Of course BMI can show misleading results when used as a measurement for weight lifters. I think BMI is a very good indicator and weight categorization system for most people.
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