BMI is another way in which body fat is measured, BMI stands for body mass index. It is completed by a simple sum which is a persons weight in kilograms divided by a persons height in metres squared. You then take that number and put it into the BMI scale which will give you a result of either underweight, overweight or normal range. Underweight is split into three categories, severe thinness, moderate thinness and mild thinness. Overweight is then split into pre-obese and obese, with three different levels of obesity.
Advantages
The test is very quick and simple to complete with basic sums. Results are easy to put into context as it is just a simple read from a BMI graph.
Disadvantages
BMI is biased against high muscle mass athletes, for example due to the high weight nature of rugby players most of them would come into the overweight even though they are in good shape but just high in muscle mass. Bone and muscle weigh in less than fat so its very possible for people to score high on the BMI graph but still have a low body fat mass.
Advantages
The test is very quick and simple to complete with basic sums. Results are easy to put into context as it is just a simple read from a BMI graph.
Disadvantages
BMI is biased against high muscle mass athletes, for example due to the high weight nature of rugby players most of them would come into the overweight even though they are in good shape but just high in muscle mass. Bone and muscle weigh in less than fat so its very possible for people to score high on the BMI graph but still have a low body fat mass.