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Re: Obesity rate may be worse than we think
By that standard, a 5-foot 6-inch woman and a 5-foot 11-inch man would be considered obese at about 150 and 200 pounds, respectively.
At 5'8" I'd have to weigh 158# to be a 24 on the BMI scale. That weight puts me solidly into a size Med clothing. Oh yeah. Heiffer with cheese right there.
Only clothing designers would call me "Obese" at 158#. Every normal person would think I'm in a normal to smaller weight range.
For reference, the NHI puts BMI ranges currently at:
At 122# (an 18.5BMI) my DH would have an intervention. There is no way I could look remotely healthy that small.
Call me Kat =^..^=
well yes
So the answer is to teach your child how to be active and eat healthy. I am not disputing that.
Smoking impacts my daily health even if I am not the one smoking. Someone else being fat does not. It doesn't put me at more of a risk healthwise because I am interacting with them.
Smoking is shamed in public because it impacts others directly. Being obese does not, which makes it a much more complex issue. We can't outlaw fatness.
This is what I agree with the most. I don't think its coincidental that in countries with less packaged sh!t, people aren't fat.
But I still stand firm that our views on what is 'fat' have also changed, and people refuse to acknowledge they could be overweight because a) they don't want to; and b) everyone else is even bigger, so how could they be overweight??
And again, this is from someone who was overweight pre-pg. Im not some sk!nny b!tch coming in this thread. I know what its like to be fat. And I'm sure i will know it even MORE post-pg
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
I didn't dispute whether that would be considered overweight, I just don't think that is obese. neither do the current charts and moving down the pendulum to make it "obese" doesn't help anything in my opinion. I am having a hard time viewing the weight epidemic as being due to the 5'6 people that are 150 pounds.
Actually it does. Let me see if I can find the study about social groups and the impact it has on food choices and weight.
I get what you're saying and even the op admitted the smoking thing is not the best analogy.
But yeah, obesity does affect all of us directly. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in our country. And we're ALL paying for it in our health costs, just like we pay for those who get lung cancer from smoking and skin cancer from tanning beds.
Legit question: Is it possible to wage a war on obesity without shaming and alienating the obese?
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1646997,00.html
I'd be very interested to see such a study. I am very skeptical of its findings and correlations vs. causations.
Yes, of course there is.
And that's by not defining someone's worth (health-wsie) by the size they are.
I didn't read anything in this post after I saw that 5'6' and 150 lbs was obese.
That is insane to me.
Why bother changing BMI when we already know it's worthless? Just as there are people with currently "normal" BMIs but high body fat percentages, there are those with overweight/obese BMIs and very low body fat percentage. BMI is an overly simplistic height/weight ratio that just doesn't include enough information to be taken seriously. Why not abandon it and find better ways to measure overweightness/obesity than tweak a standard we already know is so often misleading?
+hawkeye+ - you're newer to P&CE right? Did you know that Tuesday's are called Fat Tuesdays in these parts?
Just wondering because this post is well timed.
I'm sure I am considered obese by these charts. Yet, I don't feel like it, and most certainly do not look it. I feel like we need that chart with pictures of people at certain weights and heights.
Zuma Zoom
That's bullshit. And it's the same thing that could be said for ANYTHING in a friend group. I am not responsible for making my friends fat. They're responsible for eating to keep up.
Legit question: Is it possible to wage a war on obesity without shaming and alienating the obese?
I have no idea but I like to think yes. Maybe I am being naive.
I think our food source is a big big thing. But can that be changed without govt intervention? Then people will all be "lay off my twinkies" and I am not sure if anything could be solved.
It is cultural. Can we change it without shaming? I don't know.
Yes, I'm newer here. And no, I had no idea about Fat Tuesdays. What is the story behind that?
Yeah, but it's also not coincidental that people with less access to food in general have less access to packaged sh!t. And people with less access to food in general are well, less fat.
Also, fat is a measure of wealth. It makes sense that a country that is ridiculously well off in comparison to other countries has a higher obesity rate.
In some ways the obesity debate is similar to the racism one. Everyone is too busy saying Nooooooooooo, *I'M* not fat that we aren't getting anywhere in the discussion. Uhm one, you (in general) probably are fat and two, we aren't discussing whether you (in general) are fat. We're discussing whether people are fat.
In any case, I maintain that as a whole skinny or fat, most people in this country suffer from some form of disordered eating or another. With the exception of those who actively seek to eat healthy AND keep up a decent activity level, most of us are a product of our genes. That's why it's distracting to use BMI or even whether one is fat as a metric of good health.
I'm 5'7 and 130 lbs. I am not fat. But damned straight I am not healthy. But my doctor is giving my ass a pass and not looking nearly as closely at my overall health just because I'm not fat and neither is society. Meanwhile, there are plenty of women who are healthy at larger sizes who are made to feel like useless, gluttonous slobs because they wear bigger jeans.
And now some a-hole in this post things they should dress in tents.
Yeah.
Click me, click me!
You know, I liken this to "studies" that say divorce is contagious.
I wonder if we can change by shaming people. I feel like the odds are stacked against us. We put soda machines in schools, give crappy lunches to kids, reduce the amount of time for recess, make PE a joke, peddle things like nutella as nutritious, tell parents their kids will be kidnapped if you let them play outside unattended and then wonder why kids can't overcome it and still play kickball?
And as a bonus you get labeled as lazy for not overcoming all those things. Yay society!
Click me, click me!
Hey, I fully admit to being fat.
Which is why talk of getting rid of plus size clothing almost kind of scares me.
It started when I was first beginning to lurk on P&CE, I think anyway. There was this post about Sesame Street not having bigger kids on their show so they could promote healthy examples or something. It was one of the more epic threads on the topic.
It started a few spin offs, and it was on a Tuesday.
A lot of our days get categorized by pattern. Abortion Monday (I think it is anyway), Fundie Friday, etc.
Zuma Zoom
I agree the BMI has to be used with something else. I'm a 5'2" smaller frame that weighs 117-120. That puts me at a very healthy BMI...I think around 21-22. However, I don't have any illusions that I have about 5 extra pounds around my belly and belly-fat is actually the most lethal.
Does that mean, that b/c my BMI is healthy that I shouldn't worry about the fat that is accumulating around my mid-section? Not IMO, I would hope that my doctor would have an honest discussion with me about why that fat, even if genetic, is the most unhealthy to women and give me some tools/advice on how to reduce that. I'd also hope that they would then schedule follow-up appts just for that issue - to check up on my progress to reduce my belly fat - even if that means I end up weighing more by gaining muscle to lose that fat. Has a doctor ever said that to me - even when they see my belly pouch? No - never. I have even brought it up and been dismissed b/c I am not "fat." However, doctors also have bigger problems with people who are actually obese and have obesity related diseases to control (i.e. diabetes, joint/mobility problems, heart issues, etc.).
It's okay to be happy with where your body is and how you fit in clothes and still strive to be even healthier. IMO that is a good self-image, not all rainbows and unicorns about it or where you are at and pissed when somebody (doctor or random friend/family) brings up weight at all, but being realistic that you are working toward a healthy goal (healthy heart exercise, reducing fat in places that can hurt your health the most, and eating quality foods) while still understanding where you can improve.
Are you united with the CCOKCs?
You know, she has a point. If I can't find a decent suit to wear to job interviews, then I'll just have that much more time to exercise and that much less money to spend on food! Maybe it really will solve the obesity epidemic!
Speaking of plus sized clothing, why does it have to be different? I get so annoyed by that on a completely superficial level I admit. But why in the hell can't a damned store make all their clothes available in all their sizes?
Why does there have to be a "normal" section with one line of clothes and a plus sized section with a different line of clothes?
I get pissed off when I see a cute dress in the plus sized section but not in the so called normal section so I can only imagine it's worse if you're on the opposite side.
Click me, click me!
Because, I guess, some skinny folks would be too embarassed to buy clothes in a store where the sizes go up past a 10.
I distinctly remember a store in the mall when I was growing up called 369, which indicated the size the store had.
Also, plus size clothing costs more (more fabric, stitching time, etc).
Good point!
I ask myself this all the damn time. Especially because I'm two sizes apart on top and bottom. It would be nice to go into a store and be able to put together a suit by buying matching Fattie pants and a Not-Quite-As-Fattie jacket. I can only imagine that would make things easier for ladies with busts that are significantly larger than their hips.