Obese but Not Really??

I've been kicking some butt recently on my weight loss, and my boyfriend has been checking his own stats using the scale and the internet, as I have been. He is concerned because everything he's looked into says he is obese...i tend to disagree with it, though.

He's always had a solid body. By that I mean he's got more muscles than your average joe (I don't count the cast of Jersey Shore as average, either), but he's not huge. I asked how he's feeling physically and he says he feels good, healthy. The last time he gave blood the results said his cholesterol was great.

I'm not sure what to do here. Obviously, if he gets to the point that he wants to start a diet/workout I'm going to be supportive of it, but I don't want to push him in that direction if he's feeling fine about the way he is (been there in the past, it's not fun at all).

Thoughts?

If you're going by BMI, that doesn't take into account body composition at all so it's not always accurate. The classic example is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is obese by that measure. That man really needs to think about working out more, right? Speaking from personal experience, I'm in the healthy range by body fat % but still overweight according to my BMI. The real answer to the question is in his body fat %- I'd measure that and see where he stands. If it's high, then he could definitely benefit from a gym routine. In any case, though, there's no harm to eating better and being more active- I would support him from the angle of general health rather than putting much emphasis on weight loss. Since you're obviously working on the same goals yourself, it's great that he's interested. Make him a gym buddy and get into healthy eating together. So many people post about how frustrated they are by not having a supportive partner and it sounds like you're lucky in that he could be a great ally in this process

I don't thnk BMI take into account bone size. Some people have naturally large bones and will weigh higher. I have a neightbour who is 5'9" and 205 pounds. According to all statisics he is obese but when you look at him he looks like he is in good shape. If he doesn't look fat then he is not fat.

Have him do a little research on the web.

Even the CDC website says the BMI index is a tool to calculate body mass for "most people".

The trouble with it is that it cannot distinguish between muscle mass and plain old fat. It's a calculation based on weight and height. It doesn't know what that "weight" consists of.

BMI does not take into consideration bone structure and muscle mass. You can check your BF bone structure. If you have large frame your BMI can be 10% higher and still normal. Also the taller you are the more off BMI gets. Same actually applies to petite people, or those with small frame. They have to decrease BMI by 10%. So BMI is just an average number for an average person. If you really want to know if you are overweight or not you have to calculate your body fat percentage. Unless you are anorexic and a have distorted body image or in denial, most of us can figure out just by looking at a naked body, if there is too much fat in the wrong places and do not confuse fat with extra muscle.

I think some of those measurements are too generic. So long as he feels good and continues to take good care of himself and is happy... pfft on some BMI.