Newsletter

Can Athletes Trust BMI?

Playing sports is good. Even better is measuring the effects on your body. Dietitian Pierre Thomas explains to you if calculating BMI is a good way to monitor all of this.

Whether they practice to perform or simply to keep the figure, all athletes watch their weight. And Body Mass Index, this small data quickly calculated by dividing its weight by the square of its height, often appears as a good tool to evaluate it. But is this really the case? Non” Pierre Thomas, specialist in sports dietetics, responds straight away. “This is interesting data in general medicine, because it gives an indication of your state of health. For athletes, it’s different. “

On the same subject

False data for some athletes

“Attention ,continues the expert, I’m not talking about all athletes, but all those who exercise more than ten hours a week or practice disciplines that develop muscles. “

Why ? Quite simply because if you are a follower of bodybuilding, for example, the BMI becomes a false data: “it doesn’t take into account the difference in density between fat and muscle. muscle weighs heavier than fat. If yours are very developed, you will be heavier than the norm and therefore your BMI will be higher than it should. “

In short, if you do one or two jogs a week or practice archery, this famous clue should suffice. If you are pro, semi-pro, or lift a lot of cast iron, you better rely on other tools. But which ones?

Bet on impedancemetry

“The ideal thing is to take measurements of impedancemetry, which in particular make it possible to assess body fat.” But beware: most of the impedance meters sold in stores are unreliable.

The best indicator remains in my opinion your own feeling of form, details the dietitian. And for the measurement of fat mass, it is better to use pliers, which are reserved for professionals. The $ 1 or $ 2 plastic models you find on the market aren’t reliable either. “

The solution, then? Go see a health professional. “Without going as far as follow-up, you can already do a little check-up that will allow you to have all the necessary data on your body. It costs between 50 and 80 euros, and you leave with personalized documents. Take charge of your health. , it is important.” But that, you probably guessed already!

Read also:

Loading widget

Subscribe to the Top Santé Newsletter to receive the latest news for free

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending