BMI or Body Fat at the weight loss camp

Why is BMI an inaccurate way to measure your health?

Although we understand a lot of health services continue to use BMI in practise,  we don’t use it on site at FitFarms or encourage you to.

Instead we measure body fat percentage as it’s a more accurate way in measuring your health and fitness levels, and more precision to you as a individual.

When measuring BMI it doesn’t take into account the difference between excess fat and muscle weight, or the way different individuals carry body fat differently. Furthermore it doesn’t take into account different demographics or races.

At FitFarms, we begin the course by measuring your body fat percentage to give us a more accurate representation of your fitness level and condition of health.

It gives you a healthier mindset than focusing on numbers on a scale which aren’t representative of your health.

For example your body fat percentage may decrease significantly but your weight may increase, as you’ve most likely gained muscle mass. It’s also key to remember different people carry weight differently.

This is often because of genetics and measuring BMI doesn’t take this into account like body fat percentage does.

The NHS has also said that BMI should be stopped to determine peoples health. This was the government response to the eating disorder and obesity crisis in the UK.

BMI not measuring peoples health accurately, makes it harder to spot serious health risks your weight may be having on you, including heart disease.

On either ends of the health scale whether it’s dealing with underweight issues or overweight issues BMI has had a negative impact on both.

As it was used in practise for so long at the NHS many people aren’t aware of the inaccuracy of the test and continue to use it when measuring their weight along their weight loss journey.

So at FitFarms we like to make it clear it isn’t something we encourage you to use on or off the course.

Water retention is a important factor that usually isn’t considered or known of either. Water retention is when water builds up in the body causing bloating. This can add two to four pounds to a persons weight in a single day. Therefore not giving you a accurate representation, again, of your body weight or fitness level.

We want to encourage motivation and determination on your journey at FitFarms and your fitness journey within yourself. Fixating on unrepresentative numbers isn’t only bad for your motivation in continuing your weight loss journey but also your mental well being, and not something our team promote at FitFarms.