Where are you on the global fat scale?

I did the calculator and was surprised. Anyhow I did it again with the numbers I had when I was 21 years old.... 33 inch waist, 17 1/2 inch arms, 52 inches at the shoulders and 236lbs, running 3 miles a day and a bench press of about 350lbs and I was obese with a BMI of over 100% of males in my age group. Nice.

It is true though that a women's aerobics class did kick my ass during that period.

 

friendorfoe, that sounds like me. I wasn't 236 but I was 220 and benching 350.
I did not run 3 miles a day though.

 

Now I'm still 100% over men in my age group, I wear size 38 in the waist, 54-56 inch shoulders (depending upon jacket cut), I haven't measured my arms in years but they aren't 17 1/2 inches anymore (still bigger than my wife's though and that's what counts ;p...), I still can bench a respectable 285lbs and I weigh 238lbs at 5'11 tall and I don't run unless I'm being chased by someone armed. My plantar tendon sees to that.

I'm trying to drop weight though to about 200 to 210 which would still be considered way overweight by their BMI calculations (so far I've lost 16 lbs at last weigh in). The problem is that at 200lbs I am packing very little fat. What they don't take into account is somatototype. I am most definitely a Mesomorph, these calculations seem to think everyone is an Ectomorph or should be to be healthy.

Somatotype and constitutional psychology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Hi
One problem with body-fat scales is that they are often inaccurate. Many variables affect the results, including how hydrated you are, when you last ate and exercised, and even whether your feet are highly calloused or dirty, as well as the type and quality of the product itself. Studies have found that different body-fat scales produce widely varying readings and that these often differ from standard methods of fat measurement. (Devices that also have hand electrodes tend to fare somewhat better.) In a study published in Obesity Facts in 2008, scales with only foot electrodes underestimated body fat in people with lots of body fat and overestimated it in leaner people. Even the manuals say the devices may be less accurate for elderly people, highly trained athletes, children and people with osteoporosis, among others. Consumer Reports no longer tests body-fat scales because of their inaccuracies.