Kapitanleutnant

At my overseas airline, if when taking your Flight Physical you are above a 30 BMI you're required to go thru extra tests, sometimes consisting of sleep study, ECG testing as well as a lipid profile. If you're above 33, you're tempo grounded while doc decides what wasteful, expensive and utterly ridiculous tests outside the company medical clinic he/she can think of for you to be referred to…. and you get below 33.

I'm quite amazed they started at BMI of 40 with the FAA. That's a big boy!!

Last year, I asked the doctor to show me where it said a sleep study was required if I was over 30 bmi for my Flight Physical and a few days later he sent me something saying "should" instead of "Shall" or "Must". Didn't argue…. wasn't going to win.

Our clinic doctors have turned into a bit of the Chinese astronaut physical type doctors. They still think everyone is a 21 year old marathon runner.

Something to know: There is NO treatment required for "Mild Sleep Apnea". Just go on your way.

Can't wait to leave this slave ship!!

Hey… you gonna eat that last slice of pizza?? :-)

Kap

GVGUY

BMI charts are completely inaccurate and wear originally designed for people who don't work out. As a former body builder, this could be detrimental to ones career. I am 6'2" and weigh 260. However, my body fat percentage is less than 1O percent (muscle weighs more than fat). I am in better shape than most people I know.

E2CMaster

Not quite as lean as you GV, about 17% but that's the same battle I fight with flight quacks, health and life insurance, the Navy Reserve, etc.

Al Czervik

You're a BMI of 33.4: you're obese!
Isn't there some sort of caliper test? Some of us don't fit in these charts accurately.

BenderRodriguez

We need to improve the medical retirement payouts. This could be pretty lucrative.

Al Czervik

Get fat, get paid. Like where you're headed with this one.

Facebitten

but the moment they said losing weight was not a faa approved solution then it became apparent their focus is not on flight safety or health but rather surgeries.

........what..........

forgot to bid

if you have a high Bmi and osa and the Feds ground you and you say, hey, let me lose weight and maybe the osa will go away, (according to those who've been down this path) the faa will say no. Losing weight is not a solution, surgery is. Hence, this isn't about weight but osa.

People are getting (understandably) sidetracked over Bmi. The faa doesn't care about your bmi whether you have 20, 30, 40, doesn't matter. They are just looking for osa. So to them:

• BMI 40 pilot, no osa...... good to go.
• BMI 23 pilot, no sleep issues at work, but osa..... grounded required treatment.

So while some may rejoice in fat pilots getting faa scrutiny, truth is, fat pilots with no osa will have a medical, skinny pilots with osa will not.

forgot to bid

Keep this in mind, osa is the target, what causes osa?

sleep apnea is linked to High blood pressure, obesity, aging, alcohol, sedatives, smoking.

Well, if you're the faa and you want to stop all these osa related accidents, you're going to have to test everyone unless you can find a pilot who has low blook pressure, skinny, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, no sedatives and isn't getting older.

shoelu

What happens if you have a BMI of 35 and a 17 inch neck but raise no concerns when questioned by your ME?

Do you snore?---No, never.
Do you sleep soundly throughout the night?---Yes, always.
Do you experience daytime sleepiness?---No, never.
Do you suffer from hypertension?---No.
Do you smoke?---No.

Does the ME simply mark you down as showing no signs of OSA?
If so, won't everyone just learn the correct answers to the diagnostic inquiries?