BMI needs to be lower for surgery. Help.

[Ty23]

After visiting the breast care unit, the doctor told me my bmi needs to be at 25 for the surgery to take place. I'm 6ft1 and weigh 16 stone 4. I have a lot of muscle. Big quads and big back. They said I would need to lose another 3 stone. I am on a diet but that is lots to lose. If I lost all my body fat I wouldn't be that light as I don't have that to lose. He said I could write to the health board to explain I'm mostly muscle. has anyone been in e same situation?  Thanks

[shaknbake]

That seems off to me.  BMI isn't an exact measurement because it doesn't take into account the musculature or bone density of each individual which can very greatly from person to person.  Someone who works out, can weigh the same as someone the same height who doesn't, but is more on the fat side (since muscle weighs more than fat).  Same thing for bone density.  The denser the bones, the heavier the person even though he may look exactly the same as someone who has less dense bones.  Sounds like your doc may have to take some other factors into consideration here.  BTW - my BMI puts me in the obese category, and believe me, I am NOT obese.  I'm a big guy at 6"5" and a solid 260lbs.  I don't know what that works out to in Stones, but either way, I'm far from being obese as the BMI scale would indicate.  Overweight?  Sure, a little I guess.  I'm not sporting a 6 pack (of beer maybe) and I won't be gracing the cover of Men's Fitness magazine any time soon LOL!  My point is though, BMI is a rough guideline at best, and should be taken with a grain of salt.

[Azure]

Do you need to have it done there? I'd find another surgeon. You're obviously fit enough to have the surgery done. BMI as Shaknbake says is not a very valuable or accurate measurement, especially in your circumstances where its use for deciding whether or not your a surgical candidate teeters on the most obscure rationale I've ever heard.

[Ty23]

Thanks for your comments. Unfortunately I don't have the funds for the surgery so nhs is the only option for me. I have a review in 3 months where I hope to have lost more body fat, lost 10 lbs so far hoping to lose as much as possible. My doctor told me these are just the rules for surgery under the nhs for gynecomastia. He said when I have my next evaluation we can look at options. He suggested writing to the health board telling them about my situation and that I am not obese but just have a lot of muscle. I will ask if they would consider my body fat levels rather than bmi as I am never going to get to 13 stone as I'm 16 stone 2 now and not hold too much fat. Fingers crossed 

[shaknbake]

Hopefully they will listen to reason in your case.  Good luck!

[Azure]

Understood, Ty. The NHS, just like OHIP here in Ontario are a law unto themselves. There's no rhyme or reason to their cut-off's but I think you're right in challenging them by using body fat levels as a better indicator for your situation.

I would also add that they might be better persuaded by providing some pictures so that they can clearly see how lean you are.

Let us know how you get on as you work through all that NHS red tape!