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BMI & medical

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Monkeyfuzz

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i have my medical next week for a conductor role but I’m currently at 31 BMI, I run so have moderate fitness and am a little worried this will fail me :( any experience?
 
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Siqulme

Siqulme

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I had a medical a couple of weeks and asked about BMI out of curiosity as lots of my friends are rugby players and there BMIs are all over the place. I was told it’s not something to worry about really.
 
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Stigy

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Monkeyfuzz said:
i have my medical next week for a conductor role but I’m currently at 31 BMI, I run so have moderate fitness and am a little worried this will fail me :( any experience?
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You’ll be fine. The BMI alone won’t be a fail. I had my driver Medical last week for GWR and my BMI is 32.7. I’m quite active and otherwise healthy. For drivers (for GWR at least) the highest is 33, but anything above that is discretionary by the doctor. I think as long as you’re generally fit and healthy even BMI of 34/35 would be okay. I was made to promise I’d lose half a stone in 3-months or he’d ‘have a go at me’. I will lose the weight, but I’m not sure I’ll even be invited back for a follow up appointment, especially since in three months, if all goes to plan I’ll be on a course so not sure where there will be time? (I’ve worked on the railway long enough to know how it works). I’ve been signed off as fit to drive trains nonetheless.

You cannot use BMI as an accurate measure of one’s fitness, as muscle weighs more than fat generally speaking and this means some of the most physically fit people have higher BMIs. Mine however is not muscle, I’m just obese.
 
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Blueben

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Stigy said:
You’ll be fine. The BMI alone won’t be a fail. I had my driver Medical last week for GWR and my BMI is 32.7. I’m quite active and otherwise healthy. For drivers (for GWR at least) the highest is 33, but anything above that is discretionary by the doctor. I think as long as you’re generally fit and healthy even BMI of 34/35 would be okay. I was made to promise I’d lose half a stone in 3-months or he’d ‘have a go at me’. I will lose the weight, but I’m not sure I’ll even be invited back for a follow up appointment, especially since in three months, if all goes to plan I’ll be on a course so not sure where there will be time? (I’ve worked on the railway long enough to know how it works). I’ve been signed off as fit to drive trains nonetheless.

You cannot use BMI as an accurate measure of one’s fitness, as muscle weighs more than fat generally speaking and this means some of the most physically fit people have higher BMIs. Mine however is not muscle, I’m just obese.
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So glad I read this post! I’m awaiting my medical at the moment. My bmi has concerned me. I’m overweight, but fit and strong. I have to do a lot of heavy physical work in my current role. So guess that’s why I have a lot of muscle under this winter jacket .

Started to run again and will be watching what I eat. But I have no date as of yet for my medical.

Can I ask what they check in the medical?

Guessing
Hearing
Eye sight
Colour blindness
Blood pressure
Height
Weight
 
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baz962

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Blueben said:
So glad I read this post! I’m awaiting my medical at the moment. My bmi has concerned me. I’m overweight, but fit and strong. I have to do a lot of heavy physical work in my current role. So guess that’s why I have a lot of muscle under this winter jacket .

Started to run again and will be watching what I eat. But I have no date as of yet for my medical.

Can I ask what they check in the medical?

Guessing
Hearing
Eye sight
Colour blindness
Blood pressure
Height
Weight
Click to expand...

They definitely don't check guessing
 
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Stigy

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4,964
Blueben said:
So glad I read this post! I’m awaiting my medical at the moment. My bmi has concerned me. I’m overweight, but fit and strong. I have to do a lot of heavy physical work in my current role. So guess that’s why I have a lot of muscle under this winter jacket .

Started to run again and will be watching what I eat. But I have no date as of yet for my medical.

Can I ask what they check in the medical?

Guessing
Hearing
Eye sight
Colour blindness
Blood pressure
Height
Weight
Click to expand...
I understand what the doc was saying though, and fully agree my level of activity will probably decrease due to the nature of train driving (I’m in an active job at the moment which sometimes requires me to run/jog too), therefore I’ll likely put weight on, so if I can lose some now I’ll be in a better shape.

The medical consists of;

  • Eyesight (inc. colour vision)
  • Hearing (in a soundproof room)
  • ECG (heart rhythm etc)
  • Blood pressure check
  • Drug and alcohol test (urine sample)
  • General assessment by the doctor which encompasses most of what’s already been carried out. Includes a sit down chat about any meds you’re on and your general health (the dreaded BMI discussion will come up here).
It’s not as bad as it sounds. I had concerns about my uncorrected vision, hearing (think I have slight tinnitus) and some meds I’m on. I was okay with all of it and the Occ Health nurse raised no concerns with anything. Expect your heart rate to be a bit higher than normal due to ‘white coat syndrome’ too (60-100BPM is normal but expect to be on the higher end of normal).
 
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Blueben

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15 Feb 2019
Messages
95
Stigy said:
I understand what the doc was saying though, and fully agree my level of activity will probably decrease due to the nature of train driving (I’m in an active job at the moment which sometimes requires me to run/jog too), therefore I’ll likely put weight on, so if I can lose some now I’ll be in a better shape.

The medical consists of;

  • Eyesight (inc. colour vision)
  • Hearing (in a soundproof room)
  • ECG (heart rhythm etc)
  • Blood pressure check
  • Drug and alcohol test (urine sample)
  • General assessment by the doctor which encompasses most of what’s already been carried out. Includes a sit down chat about any meds you’re on and your general health (the dreaded BMI discussion will come up here).
It’s not as bad as it sounds. I had concerns about my uncorrected vision, hearing (think I have slight tinnitus) and some meds I’m on. I was okay with all of it and the Occ Health nurse raised no concerns with anything. Expect your heart rate to be a bit higher than normal due to ‘white coat syndrome’ too (60-100BPM is normal but expect to be on the higher end of normal).
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Although I may be less active at work, I won’t be able to visit the cafe or chippy, so I think I’ll shrink
 
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Blueben

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Messages
95
Stigy said:
I think you’ll be surprised....:lol:
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Hahaha, no buddy, my body has to become a temple ‍♂️

Funny old game, had an email to say they’ve requested my medical today. Funny how it all happens.
 
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Stigy

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Blueben said:
Hahaha, no buddy, my body has to become a temple ‍♂️

Funny old game, had an email to say they’ve requested my medical today. Funny how it all happens.
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Which TOC is that for? And is it a driver medical?
 
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Stigy

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Whilst we are here, does anyone know what they’re checking for in the dip test of the urine? I can’t remember what I was told specifically, just that it was for sugar/protein? I assume diabetes would show up at this stage?
 
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Blueben

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15 Feb 2019
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95
Monkeyfuzz said:
Hello :) all passed pending drugs results so very excited now :) thank you
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That’s great news, did they give you those results there and then? Or did the company your applying to get back to you directly.

Really good though pal, I have mine on the 14/5
 
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DD87

Member
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31 Aug 2018
Messages
53
Failed due to blood pressure. :( Not sure if anyone else has ever.
 
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Aivilo

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15 Jan 2014
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Location
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Must be quite bad. I've heard of people being reffered to their GP but not completely failing.
 
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Stigy

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DD87 said:
Well they did say to come back, so we will see. It’s quite disheartening though.
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Sorry to hear this mate! If they asked you to come back, have they given any other advice? Are you on the railway already in another post, or an internal applicant?
 
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Aivilo

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15 Jan 2014
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646
Location
Surrey
Surely then although failed they letting you have another pop after seeking advice. Mine has always read high but it's that white syndrome it's absolutely spot on out of a medical setting
 
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Stigy

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4,964
Aivilo said:
Surely then although failed they letting you have another pop after seeking advice. Mine has always read high but it's that white syndrome it's absolutely spot on out of a medical setting
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They allow a bit of an elevation due to ‘white coat syndrome’. Same as elevated pulse rates.
 
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