Railway medical with high bmi

[LETHLFH]

Hi all,

Just a word of advice for people who aspire to be drivers/guards. I had a medical for northern today for a trainee drivers job and was declared fit although I have a very high BMI. The lady taking the medical advised although it was high she could see I was mobile enough and wouldn't have a problem with the mile and a quarter. So don't be put off if you are over the recommended 33 bmi if you feel fit and mobile then you are likely fit enough.

Thanks for all the info to get me to this point, hope this post helps somebody.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yeah, worth noting that a bodybuilder or rugby player will have a very high BMI despite being healthy. It's not a great measure.

 

[boro10]

this a job In the north east ? good luck with it !

 

[JohnFM]

Hi all,

Just a word of advice for people who aspire to be drivers/guards. I had a medical for northern today for a trainee drivers job and was declared fit although I have a very high BMI. The lady taking the medical advised although it was high she could see I was mobile enough and wouldn't have a problem with the mile and a quarter. So don't be put off if you are over the recommended 33 bmi if you feel fit and mobile then you are likely fit enough.

Thanks for all the info to get me to this point, hope this post helps somebody.

33 is the absolute max before the Doctor exercises their discretion and starts to delve deeper. Glad you got sorted out.

Yeah, worth noting that a bodybuilder or rugby player will have a very high BMI despite being healthy. It's not a great measure.

Whilst it is easy to criticise the BMI system it is worth nothing that there is not any perfect way to measure medical fitness and you have just demonstrated the easy misunderstanding of what a BMI means.

The BMI is to be used in context.

Larger, more muscular, folk such as rugby players may well be over their ideal BMI but many are not and they don't use the BMI system anyway! Being able to run around a rugby pitch does not mean you're "healthy" as a large fat percentage still increases your risks of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Words of one Doctor always stays with me "You can be fat and fit but still be fubar'd"

Some bodybuilders I have encountered during my RAF days were excellently ripped Adonis specimens but so unfit they could not pass their fitness test!

There are other systems but the BMI is averaging out as near as possible and is used for Fire, Police and the three Services and is, along with medical understanding, the only system that is near enough.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Being able to run around a rugby pitch does not mean you're "healthy" as a large fat percentage still increases your risks of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Rugby players tend to be very muscular in build - I wasn't referring to fat ones

 

[LETHLFH]

I understand 33 is the top end of the scale before discretion, the message I was trying to get across is the doctor does not interrogate you or delve deep. All they want to see is that you are generally fit(ish), mobile enough to walk the mile and a quarter without struggling and can manoeuvre in and out of the cab easily. At least this is what I was told today.

Yes this is a north east based job.

 

[Spankthemonkey]

I understand 33 is the top end of the scale before discretion, the message I was trying to get across is the doctor does not interrogate you or delve deep. All they want to see is that you are generally fit(ish), mobile enough to walk the mile and a quarter without struggling and can manoeuvre in and out of the cab easily. At least this is what I was told today.

Yes this is a north east based job.

Docs are also doing height/waste ratio in medicals if the candidate is a bodybuilder or rugby type!

The issue they consider is that candidates new to the industry, particularly those with a propensity to gain weight, will invariably put on further weight during the months of classroom training.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Docs are also doing height/waste ratio in medicals if the candidate is a bodybuilder or rugby type!

The issue they consider is that candidates new to the industry, particularly those with a propensity to gain weight, will invariably put on further weight during the months of classroom training.

Presumably there would need to be consideration of the job they are moving from, as well - if it's office or home-based it is quite possible that they will get more exercise during the training then before. I imagine I would!

 

[Rebel Rocker]

Hi all,

Just a word of advice for people who aspire to be drivers/guards. I had a medical for northern today for a trainee drivers job and was declared fit although I have a very high BMI. The lady taking the medical advised although it was high she could see I was mobile enough and wouldn't have a problem with the mile and a quarter. So don't be put off if you are over the recommended 33 bmi if you feel fit and mobile then you are likely fit enough.

Thanks for all the info to get me to this point, hope this post helps somebody.

Great post PH89 and congratulations.

I exceed the magic 33 number but also passed the medical for trainee driver recently. I found no fuss was made about my weight, although I appreciate this is because I was otherwise perfectly healthy. From reading other threads and posts on here I thought it was going to be a major issue and went to the medical very worried so it's good to have this on here to counteract the scaremongering in other threads.

So to the other 'fit fatties' out there worried about it. As long as you are otherwise healthy you'll be fine in the medical.

 

[LETHLFH]

Great post PH89 and congratulations.

I exceed the magic 33 number but also passed the medical for trainee driver recently. I found no fuss was made about my weight, although I appreciate this is because I was otherwise perfectly healthy. From reading other threads and posts on here I thought it was going to be a major issue and went to the medical very worried so it's good to have this on here to counteract the scaremongering in other threads.

So to the other 'fit fatties' out there worried about it. As long as you are otherwise healthy you'll be fine in the medical.

Thank you that is the idea behind the post as I was worried pre medical that I may have failed due to BMI. I just wanted to share my experience so others don't have to worry as much as I did

 

[FlyinScotsman]

The issue they consider is that candidates new to the industry, particularly those with a propensity to gain weight, will invariably put on further weight during the months of classroom training.

So true! Always been around 12St. Low and behold, 6 month's in and I tipped 15! Now joined a gym for the first time in my life!