# can my weight affect my medical?



## Eric Wang (14 Sep 2015)

Hello, I am wondering if my weight can affect my medical test. I don't think I am "Obesed" but more like "a big guy" my weight is 197, but I do have some excess fat. I can run pretty fast, can't run for too long. I get tired after running two laps straight of a 400m track so I don't think I am the best at cardio. However, I can do a lot of military push ups, hands 30cm apart from each other, feet together. The most military push up I did was around 30-40 without taking a break. The least I did was 20-25. I can do many sit-ups about 50 in 1-2 min? least I did was 35-40? I do workout a lot, lifting weights/practice push-ups/sit-ups, I am also in my school sports team (Basketball, and Football) My BMI says I am "Obese"  am I going to fail my medical exam because of my weight? I am very healthy. No diabetes, no high blood sugar, no high blood pressure, no asthma, nothing. My only concerns are my eyes and my weight.


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## mariomike (14 Sep 2015)

I am Canadian said:
			
		

> My BMI says I am "Obese"  am I going to fail my medical exam because of my weight?





			
				I am Canadian said:
			
		

> My only concerns are my eyes and my weight.



There are vision, BMI and weight discussions you may find of interest,

Vision Questions Megathread, Categories, Problems etc.
http://army.ca/forums/threads/432.0
30 pages.

BMI:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarm.ca+spec&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=fnf3Vb-pA82psASy05ZQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+BMI

Weight:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=site%3Aarm.ca+spec&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-CA:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7GGHP_en-GBCA592&gfe_rd=cr&ei=fnf3Vb-pA82psASy05ZQ&gws_rd=ssl#q=site:army.ca+weight

As always, best to contact Recruiting.


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## KerryBlue (15 Sep 2015)

During my medical my weight wasn't so much an issue, so long as I could prove that I was healthy. I was a lot bigger then you, 6'5 290lbs football player, according to the BMI scale that they used I was "morbidly obese." I had to go get my doctor to do blood work, and and EKG to prove that I was healthy, even though I knew I was. So so long as your are physically in shape your weight should not be an issue. 


Side note, does anyone know why we even bother with BMI? BMI to me just seems useless as is doesn't take into consideration the fact that muscle weighs more then fat and is more dense then fat.


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## PMedMoe (15 Sep 2015)

KerryBlue said:
			
		

> Side note, does anyone know why we even bother with BMI? BMI to me just seems useless as is doesn't take into consideration the fact that muscle weighs more then fat and is more dense then fat.



AFAIK, we don't anymore.  I believe there's a thread where medicineman made a post about using the waist-to-hip ratio vs. BMI.


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## medicineman (15 Sep 2015)

Contrary to popular belief, BMI does in fact mean something when used correctly - back in the day when we were putting people on categories for it, if you're BMI was within a certain range, you were sent for body fat measurements and a dunk test.  Now, we will look at the BMI and the waist hip ratio as mentioned by Moe.  These are indicators of risk for metabolic syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes and increases in blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease.  The number in and of itself is a trigger to investigate things.  Funnily enough, when BMI measurements were the be all and end all, there was a note on the sheet stating that body composition was to be taken into consideration before corrective action was applied.  I also remember those days when the vast majority of people we were getting referred because of their BMI due to needing to see Omar the Tent Maker for their uniforms, were in fact unhealthy - high blood pressure, blood lipids so bad their serum looked like congealed bacon fat, us taking bets on who'd have an MI or stroke first and when, etc.

MM


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## KerryBlue (15 Sep 2015)

medicineman said:
			
		

> These are indicators of risk for metabolic syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes and increases in blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease.  The number in and of itself is a trigger to investigate things.  Funnily enough, when BMI measurements were the be all and end all, there was a note on the sheet stating that body composition was to be taken into consideration before corrective action was applied.
> MM




Interesting, thanks MM. I guess that's why I was sent down for blood tests and EKG by the PO2 doing the medical examination. I however don't think my body composition was taken into account, but oh well.


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## runormal (15 Sep 2015)

Irregardless of everything else, You should improve your cardio before you go to basic. You are setting yourself up for failure for not even being able to run a 1km. I'd aim for 5km in 25 mins.


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## KerryBlue (15 Sep 2015)

runormal said:
			
		

> Irregardless of everything else, You should improve your cardio before you go to basic. You are setting yourself up for failure for not even being able to run a 1km. I'd aim for 5km in 25 mins.




I remember talking to some Infantry guys around the time I was applying and they were saying be able to run 10k minimum if you want to make it in Cbt Arms, but gotta start somewhere and 5k is a great place to start. 

A good beginner running program is the couch to 5k. There are apps for iOS(maybe andriod) which have all the cues for when to run and walk and can help you track your progress. The best I found was Zen Labs 10k trainer, as it is the basic couch to 5k, which takes about two months, and then adds on another 6-8 weeks to get you to 10k


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