For sure, but most people are not 6'10. For 95%+ of the population it works fine...

klooney · on Oct 12, 2023

You're too generous, that's over the 99th percentile. 95th is 6'2"- https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2/chart-07.pdf

It's fine if BMI breaks down at the 99.99th percentile, doctors can use their eyes.

RC_ITR · on Oct 12, 2023

Just to be clear, the formula for BMI is

'weight (lb) / [height (in)]^2 x 703'

and all the talk of "it's the cheapest and easiest way" ignores the fact that we could add other cheap measurements (like hip and shoulder circumference, or Age) or we could reexamine the formula without adding new variables to make it better.