Discovery Health - Vitality & Team Vitality plus everything else you need to know

[Veebee]

I think they adjusted through BMI range also, need to read again.

 

I am 2kg out from what I should be, think I will wait it out until I loose those extra pounds then do the test.

[carbon29er]

I think they adjusted through BMI range also, need to read again.

 

I am 2kg out from what I should be, think I will wait it out until I loose those extra pounds then do the test.

They almost force you to do the medical early as the PnP/Woolies cash back at 25% gets cut to 15% until the medical is completed for all adults on vitality.

[lechatnoir]

I think they adjusted through BMI range also, need to read again.

 

I am 2kg out from what I should be, think I will wait it out until I loose those extra pounds then do the test.

 

Do a quick 3day fast, THEN go for the test. you'll be golden. i'm going to do that, but it'll be more like 2weeks... 

[Christofison]

BMI is stupid simplistic and incoherent, but nonetheless here is how Vitality categorise it:
18.4 and less is considered underweight and you won't get points.
18.5-24.9 is ideal.
25.0-29.9 is overweight but they will check if your waist is less than 94cm for men or 80cm for women.
30.0 and up is obese and I don't even think they take your waist into account, unless you contact them and complain like Mark Pilgrim did.
I can't remember the number for morbidly obese.

Edited January 11, 2017 by Christofison

[carbon29er]

It's a massive generalisation to say BMI is stupid as a measure to indicate fatness or obesity.

 

Yes, it's not a perfect science. But actuaries do need a starting point to check if someone is in range and BMI is pretty good for that in the general population.  Most anomalies occur in the designated fat zones, rarely in the too skinny zones.

 

There will definitely be outliers or exceptions to the general classification, such as muscle bound people. But even Springbok prop forwards have shed masses of weight once they stopped playing. Was that all muscle? Or was some of it fat?

 

If someone has a BMI over 25 then I believe it is valid that the "patient" is examined further to assess health. In 9 times out of 10 there are no extenuating factors and they ARE packing a bit of fat.

 

Over a BMI of 30 I reckon the fat quotient moves to 99/100.

 

At 35, well, stop kidding yourself that you are big boned. Or muscle bound. Particularly if you are not very tall. BMI tends to skew towards the higher ranges for taller people.

 

Women do tend towards to bottom of the 18-25 range while men tend towards the top of that range. This is for similar body fat numbers.

 

But there are obvious exceptions: Froome weighs in at around 67kg at the start of the TDF. That gives him a BMI of 19.5. I doubt he could lose another gram, never mind 5.4kg to make him officially too skinny. Quintana has a BMI of 20.7. To match Froome BMI he would have to lose 4kg.

 

But like the 220 - age heart rate, it should only ever be a guide.

[Vetplant]

Got a response from Discovery regarding the expected availability of Mugg & Bean as a rewards option, see the discussion below:

 

Me: "When will we be able to get @Mugg_and_Bean as a reward for our #ActiveRewards? Thought it'd be active by now"

 

Them: "we are waiting for all partner stores to be fitted with the correct system for redeeming rewards before we launch."

 

Me: "Do you have an ETA for the launch? Are you expecting to be online by the end of the current week/month or before end of 2017?"

 

Them: "We will let our members closer to the time of launch during the course of 2017."

 

Figures, "Coming in 2017" actually means, "before 1 January 2018".

 

Don't hold your breath...

[Frosty]

No offence to any M&B coffee drinkers, but IMO their coffee is 

[Hamstring]

I say go now cos then you can get two health assessments in a year and get more points

[Hamstring]

As per intacare you can do it every 6 months. that's a min. 30000 points.

Edited January 11, 2017 by Hamstring

[Christofison]

Fixed:

BMI is stupid simplistic and incoherent, but nonetheless here is how Vitality categorise it:
18.4 and less is considered underweight and you won't get points.
18.5-24.9 is ideal.
25.0-29.9 is overweight but they will check if your waist is less than 94cm for men or 80cm for women.
30.0 and up is obese and I don't even think they take your waist into account, unless you contact them and complain like Mark Pilgrim did.
I can't remember the number for morbidly obese.

 

Reasons why BMI is stupid in RED:

It's a massive generalisation to say BMI is stupid as a measure to indicate fatness or obesity.

 

Yes, it's not a perfect science. But actuaries do need a starting point to check if someone is in range and BMI is pretty good for that in the general population.  Most anomalies occur in the designated fat zones, rarely in the too skinny zones.

 

There will definitely be outliers or exceptions to the general classification, such as muscle bound people. But even Springbok prop forwards have shed masses of weight once they stopped playing. Was that all muscle? Or was some of it fat?

 

If someone has a BMI over 25 then I believe it is valid that the "patient" is examined further to assess health. In 9 times out of 10 there are no extenuating factors and they ARE packing a bit of fat.

 

Over a BMI of 30 I reckon the fat quotient moves to 99/100.

 

At 35, well, stop kidding yourself that you are big boned. Or muscle bound. Particularly if you are not very tall. BMI tends to skew towards the higher ranges for taller people.

 

Women do tend towards to bottom of the 18-25 range while men tend towards the top of that range. This is for similar body fat numbers.

 

But there are obvious exceptions: Froome weighs in at around 67kg at the start of the TDF. That gives him a BMI of 19.5. I doubt he could lose another gram, never mind 5.4kg to make him officially too skinny. Quintana has a BMI of 20.7. To match Froome BMI he would have to lose 4kg.

 

But like the 220 - age heart rate, it should only ever be a guide.

 

BMI is a massive generalization in itself. Apparently even the guy who came up with the BMI formula 200 years ago said "it could not and should not be used to indicate the level of fatness in an individual".

 

So you say that 1/10 people are incorrectly classified as 'overweight'? Are you sure? I have heard that 97,31% of all stats are made up. That being said, studies have shown that 30% of people with a BMI of less than 25 are actually overweight.

 

There are better ways of determining if a person is overweight or not. Vitality should develop their own formula taking into account height, weight, waist circumference, gender and body fat percentage using a skin fold caliper. This would be way less 'stupid'.

BMI is a massive generalization in itself.

[ScottCM]

So I went down to join the gym today and guess what, joining fee went up to R1725 from R1450. However they say at the end of Feb I should get R500 cash back as a promo valid till 24th Jan.

[carbon29er]

Fixed:

 

Reasons why BMI is stupid in RED:

 

BMI is a massive generalization in itself. Apparently even the guy who came up with the BMI formula 200 years ago said "it could not and should not be used to indicate the level of fatness in an individual".

 

So you say that 1/10 people are incorrectly classified as 'overweight'? Are you sure? I have heard that 97,31% of all stats are made up. That being said, studies have shown that 30% of people with a BMI of less than 25 are actually overweight.

 

There are better ways of determining if a person is overweight or not. Vitality should develop their own formula taking into account height, weight, waist circumference, gender and body fat percentage using a skin fold caliper. This would be way less 'stupid'.

BMI is a massive generalization in itself.

No, 1 in 10 with a BMI > 25 are not overweight. I will not disagree with <25 being overweight, I've never monitored that. Generally the claims of BMI being wrong are from overweight people claiming not to be overweight.

 

I agree that there are more accurate methods available to determine people at risk of being too fat but your height squared divided into your weight is really easy to do.

 

In my case I know I am currently a few kg overweight, I can feel it on my gut and when I climb hills and try tighten my pant button. But my BMI is mid the OK zone. In addition, when I broke my back I lost 5 cm in height. In a few seconds my BMI jumped 21.47 to 22.63. Without gaining a gram. I am also doubtful to ever go below 20.5 as at 21 I have a body fat content of around 4%.

 

So yes I agree it is simplistic but it is a pretty good guide for the inactive who are not in tune with their bodies.

[nonky]

No offence to any M&B coffee drinkers, but IMO their coffee is 

 

Agreed.  They are wholly incapable of making a half-decent coffee beverage (translation: the coffee is k@k).

[carbon29er]

I say go now cos then you can get two health assessments in a year and get more points

 

 

As per intacare you can do it every 6 months. that's a min. 30000 points.

But you are still limited to 30,000 points IN TOTAL for activity, including the assessments. So what is the point of doing it twice if you are active and load your activity?

[Mats]

Taking the BMI and waist measurement I am proud to say I will be joining in the overweight category.

????

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

But you are still limited to 30,000 points IN TOTAL for activity, including the assessments. So what is the point of doing it twice if you are active and load your activity?

Excluding