My company just held a health screening for employees. This wasn’t something I really thought I needed, but figured it would be good for a laugh. The $50 reward didn’t hurt either.
I got my results back for BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. All were great (systolic blood pressure was a little higher than normal for me, but I did the test right out of the gym).
The 
BMI I got was 27, putting me squarely in the “overweight” category. The online results showed that bodyweight was my only health risk factor. Really? The attached picture was taken last week at around 9% body fat.
The medical industry seems convinced that BMI is the right way to track whether someone has a healthy body composition, and statistically it might be relevant. However it only tells a small part of the story.
It is for this reason that I tell people that the number on the scale is also not important.
My friend Dave Soucy has a great video explaining his take on the usefulness of BMI. Watch it here.
Over Long Distances 