Destroying the Earth ?

[Handley_Page]

This is likely to cause a certain straining of the belts. . .

The interesting bit is half way down the page; about BMI .

"Unfortunately the entire edifice of their argument is based on the long-discredited Body Mass Index (BMI), a frankly bizarre method of assessing how fat people are which was developed by an obscure Belgian social scientist without any medical qualifications in the early 19th century. "

 

[mcguinness]

Yeah -- the BMI has been widely held in contempt for a while now, and rightly so.

 

[SamScribble]

According to something else I read (sorry - can't recall where), the BMI idea was on its way out until the diet industry suddenly realised this and put its considerable bulk and budget behind the BMI's restoration

 

[Boxlicker101]

Because these are government employees, this idea is worthy of a Tammany Award.

 

[R. Richard]

In a previous life, I was a computer programmer. I had to generate a BMI calculator, for a client. I got things checked out and then I fed the relevant dimaensions for the Mr. Olympia winning Arnold Schwarzenegger into the tested calculator. It turns out that the Mr. Olympia Schwartzenegger was grossly obese, opr that the BMI concept is insane.

 

[sr71plt]

Orrrr that Mr. S was packed with dense steroids.

 

[R. Richard]

Orrrr that Mr. S was packed with dense steroids.

Ummmm, the point was that Schwarzenegger wasn't obese, not how he got that way or why.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Yeah, anyone who uses the BMI to assess their physique is underweight between the ears.