BMI > 35, new medical rules

wheelsup

wheelsup

Well-Known Member
Apparently March 2nd began the day where if you have a BMI over 35, you have to be tested for some sort of sleep issue.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...ices/aam/ame/guide/dec_cons/disease_prot/osa/

Wonder how many guys at the majors will be impacted. There are quite a few overweight guys sitting in the seat, however a BMI over 35 is quite large. Probably not many as you'd think.

Overall I wonder if the FAA is going to start requiring this testing for everyone, by the way they wrote their copy I would think so. They said 30% of those with a BMI under 30 have a sleep condition, which seems quite a large percentage to me.
 
wheelsup said:
They said 30% of those with a BMI under 30 have a sleep condition, which seems quite a large percentage to me.
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It says 30% of people with OSA have a BMI <30, meaning you're correct in assuming that'd be a large percentage. Important distinction there
 
BMI alone is NOT a trigger for ANY sleep test.

https://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=81444

From the above link...

Based on feedback from industry on the FAA’s draft guidance, the new guidance does not rely on BMI alone and allows a pilot to keep flying during evaluation and treatment. The FAA plans to publish the new guidance in the FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners on March 2, 2015.
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BTW, this new policy will make it easier to keep your medical if you have sleep apnea. The FAA feels it is being under reported and just wants it treated.
 
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Seggy said:
BTW, this new policy will make it easier to keep your medical if you have sleep apnea. The FAA feels it is being under reported and just wants it treated.
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Glad to see a shift to that. As a guy who's been borderline hypertensive for a while, I told my doc that if I have to go on meds, put me on meds. The FAA just wants it treated.
 
Ugh, Health should not be based on a simple math equation.

I am 5'10" 230 pounds. I have a BMI of 33, Yes I am overweight, No I don't look like an obese person. I can sprint a mile in 7:30 and a 5K around 25-26min, 10K in under an hour. Work out 2-3 times a week. The whole BMI thing is BS, its used just because its EASY. You can find a bunch of skinny people in the healthy BMI that are far from being healthy as well.
 
skypilot6 said:
Ugh, Health should not be based on a simple math equation.

I am 5'10" 230 pounds. I have a BMI of 33, Yes I am overweight, No I don't look like an obese person. I can sprint a mile in 7:30 and a 5K around 25-26min, 10K in under an hour. Work out 2-3 times a week. The whole BMI thing is BS, its used just because its EASY. You can find a bunch of skinny people in the healthy BMI that are far from being healthy as well.
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Like me. 5'10", 170lbs (not really skinny anymore). The only thing I have right now health wise that's good is my blood pressure. But I don't have sleep apnea, and because my BMI is low, I won't have to be checked for it either.
 
skypilot6 said:
Ugh, Health should not be based on a simple math equation.

I am 5'10" 230 pounds. I have a BMI of 33, Yes I am overweight, No I don't look like an obese person. I can sprint a mile in 7:30 and a 5K around 25-26min, 10K in under an hour. Work out 2-3 times a week. The whole BMI thing is BS, its used just because its EASY. You can find a bunch of skinny people in the healthy BMI that are far from being healthy as well.
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I'm sure you'll find "skinny" people that can't run as quickly as you, but that isn't the issue with sleep apnea. From my understanding it has to do with the excess tissue around the neck and throat closing the airway off during sleep. This excess tissue isn't there in "skinny" people and as such they have a much lower incidence of the disease.
 
in trucking the medical examiners all had to be recertified to continue and have new guidelines to follow. over age 50 and slightly overweight a sleep apnea test is required and if a CPAP is ordered, a 3-6 week period of use before the medical is issued. the doctors are paid referrals to order the tests.
I tell folks to go 2 months early for their renewal.
 
Its easy when you're skinny and no one is gunning for you over some arbitrary ratio that has nothing to do nor is based on the health of an individual, to throw stones and make the funny.
 
Dugie8 said:
Its easy when you're skinny and no one is gunning for you over some arbitrary ratio that has nothing to do nor is based on the health of an individual, to throw stones and make the funny.
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I think the FAA's point is that it has nothing to do with health - simply carrying extra weight seems to be a primary leading cause of the disease.

The number I saw was a BMI over 40, 90% of patients had sleep apnea. That's a pretty "heavy" correlation.

A BMI of >35 is fairly lenient - if someone has that BMI they are massively overweight to begin with.

Personally I'm amazed that the agency finally having this conversation with the public is the FAA...
 
skypilot6 said:
Ugh, Health should not be based on a simple math equation.

I am 5'10" 230 pounds. I have a BMI of 33, Yes I am overweight, No I don't look like an obese person. I can sprint a mile in 7:30 and a 5K around 25-26min, 10K in under an hour. Work out 2-3 times a week. The whole BMI thing is BS, its used just because its EASY. You can find a bunch of skinny people in the healthy BMI that are far from being healthy as well.
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That's impressive, I am about the same size. Last time I could post speeds like that I was 200 lbs. I ran a marathon at that weight, while still obese. The last time I was not overweight according to BMI was when I wrestled in high school.

If the FAA does pursue this and creates BMI restrictions, I can see the days leading up to the physical looking like a scene from the Ultimate Fighter leading up to the weigh in day. "Coach just get me down to BMI 34.9."
 
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