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WHY #BMI NEEDS TO GO - THREAD:
(after this thread lie my biased reasons for caring/knowing about this but let& #39;s first focus on objective reasons)
- over-diagnoses obesity without taking other health factors into account
- says nothing of psychiatric risk
#mentalhealth
(after this thread lie my biased reasons for caring/knowing about this but let& #39;s first focus on objective reasons)
- over-diagnoses obesity without taking other health factors into account
- says nothing of psychiatric risk
#mentalhealth
- Rapid weight loss = major risk: can be missed if one loses weight rapidly from higher/“normal” BMI
- Doesn’t note risks of regular purging
- BIG issue using it for service access: sometimes they don’t check MARSIPAN Health criteria in people with BMIs not considered low
- Doesn’t note risks of regular purging
- BIG issue using it for service access: sometimes they don’t check MARSIPAN Health criteria in people with BMIs not considered low
- Psychiatric staff unaware of MARSIPAN/complex physical risk factors can be falsely reassured by BMI
- BMI cut off for "normal" is 18.5. This was reduced from 20. Very few people have a BMI below 20 without restrictive eating
#mentalhealth #eatingdisorders #BMI
- BMI cut off for "normal" is 18.5. This was reduced from 20. Very few people have a BMI below 20 without restrictive eating
#mentalhealth #eatingdisorders #BMI
- Reliance on BMI = discharge from care at “healthy” weight when experts agree best to restore BMI between 20-22
- we need a better/more useful statistical numeral alternative to measure weight/health because doctors do need it but there must be another method
#BMI #mentalhealth
- we need a better/more useful statistical numeral alternative to measure weight/health because doctors do need it but there must be another method
#BMI #mentalhealth
PERSONAL REASONS:
my BMI was measured every school holiday between the ages of 8 and 10 years old because I was "obese". What was ignored was WHY WAS I USING FOOD. No talk about that - so all psychiatric help was ignored. Instead I became obsessed with losing weight
#mentalhealth
my BMI was measured every school holiday between the ages of 8 and 10 years old because I was "obese". What was ignored was WHY WAS I USING FOOD. No talk about that - so all psychiatric help was ignored. Instead I became obsessed with losing weight
#mentalhealth
Aged 14 diagnosed with anorexia. The illness made sense. Losing weight = good, right? (see previous tweet) 1st hospitalisation aged 15. Sectioned aged 17, a month away from dying. Aged 19 binge eating disorder: size 4 to size 20 in 6 months. BMI cared not for how suicidal I was
BMI measures body mass, not psychological distress
In my 20s I was bulimic for years, putting my internal organs under huge stress from daily binging and purging let alone my psychological distress and shame. No treatment because BMI = healthy so it doesn& #39;t count or matter
In my 20s I was bulimic for years, putting my internal organs under huge stress from daily binging and purging let alone my psychological distress and shame. No treatment because BMI = healthy so it doesn& #39;t count or matter
I& #39;ve discovered the liberation of not weighing myself to be the BIGGEST past of my recovery from eating disorders. Weight does not equal health or well-being. I could be a size 20 and be happy and healthy. I wasn& #39;t because of the circumstances in which I& #39;d reached that body.
BMI = an outdated way of measuring treatment criteria & physical & psychological health. New methods must be found or else life-threatening eating disorders will not receive treament & unnecessary fixations on unhelpful terms like "normal" weight, overweight, obese will persist
BIG thanks to @scousepie @AdrianGarciaMH for helping me think this through
