BMI is just a single tool in the toolbox of measurements. It isn't intended to be a diagnostic tool all by itself. It provides a baseline, a guideline, a suggestion for the medical professional. For example and for comparison:
A 6-foot heavyweight champion weightlifter who weighs in at 250 can easily have a BMI close to 40.0 and be fit and healthy. A 5'8" non-weightlifter who is getting winded and can't play tennis once a week anymore, and weighs 250 and has almost a 40.0 BMI - is probably solidly in the "obese and needing help" category.
But a person who is only normally active - maybe played tennis once a week and walks to the 7-11 when they're low on milk - who is finding themselves exhausted after walking even a block from home, and who eats a lot of sugary foods, and their hips have developed "muffin-tops" - who has a 40.0 BMI - is PROBABLY extremely overweight and needs assistance in losing it and getting fit again. Not a heavyweight champion weight-lifter.
Your BMI plus your weight, muscle tone, age, activity level, overall experience of health (or lack thereof), and eating habits are all used - in combination - to determine whether or not you're overweight/obese and need to do something about it, or don't need to do something about it.
If everything checks out except your BMI is high, you're probably just fine. If you appear "fat" AND you have a high BMI, AND you lack muscletone, AND you eat a lot of unhealthy foods, then it's time to do something about it.
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