My husband is almost 6’4”; the BMI chart for him is really not on target. (He’s been at the weight shown on there; and at that weight he looked like a scarecrow.) - For me; however, the women’s BMI chart is probably pretty close to correct. I also am over that “ideal” weight. - I’m in my 70th year and am gonna eat what I want within reason.
Honestly, the BMI scale is the reason why we have such unrealistic body images in modern society. As you pointed out, someone who’s very tall is going to carry more weight overall.
Like your husband, when I was under 230, I looked downright starved. I did not look healthy at all, and even my now-wife used to tell me that I looked like a “holocaust survivor” (apologies if that’s insulting to anyone, I was only using it as an illustration).
Now, clearly if your BMI is 40, 50+, you’ve got a weight problem. Even athletes at peak performance are going to clock in as overweight but rarely breach 30 on the linear scale. Powerlifters, however, often have very high numbers, but remember that the more muscle packed on your frame, the more fat is often necessary to support that muscle. We always know when someone in the gym is juicing, because they drop a lot of fat very quick and become very veiny. Powerlifters are very thick, very heavy, and look more like barrels than funnels.
Having done a lean-out to see how I looked, I’m actually disgusted by the results. You have to practically starve yourself and deprive yourself of liquids to get that taut skin look and it’s all for show. There’s no practical purpose to looking that way.
As far as the flight attendants, I would say they should sue to force the airlines to prove their weights are costing the company money, but I think we all know that’s a pipe dream.