Politics & Current Events
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: Obesity rate may be worse than we think
This is awesome. There hasn't been an epic fat post in way too long.
My "happy weight" is 148 at 5"2--27.5 BMI. That's somewhere around a size 8-10 in most brands for pants, and 6-8 on top. I am waythefuck above that now two months post-partum, and am squarely obese by the old definition.
Again, I'm not sure what lowering the BMI threshold is going to accomplish except making many more people "obese". This doesn't seem well-thought-out, just kind of spiteful. If people are so convinced that 5'6 150 is horribly obese and the problem really is about personal choice, than they can do their damndest to make sure that their children never become that fat and it shouldn't be a problem to succeed at that. Let everybody else be fat and live your life (and enjoy the extra roomy seats!).
LOL, right?
I mean, we have a wholefucking economy based on people spending billions of dollars to eat and drink totalshit and then spending billions of dollars to companies to help them lose weight or buy pills to treat the problems that result. It's not about me. It's about society.
Think about it: If everyone in the country stopped buying junk food and Coors Light, tons of people would lose their jobs. How screwed up are we as a society?
Oh I totally know. I kind of went on a tangent there.
I wish that the fashion industry would set their own standard and get their shits together with sizing. It would actually make me buy more if I knew that all sizes were the same from store to store b/c then I could just shop online.
Ha, i was just about to ask about the store "369" and was wondering if it was the mathie's version of 5,7,9
You know, I've heard of self-control, and I've heard of responsibility, but never self-responsibility. Is that something new? Maybe if I try that, the last 20 pounds of baby weight will melt right off.
/i know, I know--have at it
This thread is killing me. Too bad my daughter is going to wake up in a minute. But before I go, can I please put in a request that we let overweight people and pregnant ladies keep their clothes, but stop making clothes for this body type?
Mmkaythanks.
Ok, I will bite.
FTR, I am not obese nor would I be considered overweight. I run, we eat well and have access to great medical care. We don't struggle trying to put food on the table so not much Velveeta crosses our table (unless I want frozen fish, shells and cheese and Killians).
That gives me a somewhat distinct advantage calories in and calories out myth.
Yes, but not always in the way one would think. At any weight, I'm more likely to find success with J Crew pants than with ON.
Women's sizing has never been standardized, as far as I know. Companies make their sample size based on their consumers (or desired consumers), so not all clothing is designed for all women.
The easiest way to shop online for clothing is to keep an accurate measurement of your hip, waist and bust, then compare it to each brands sizing charts. I've had a lot more luck with buying clothing online since I started doing this.
Wait, are we quoting a site that links penis size to obesity?
http://www.obesitycures.com/obesity-and-penis-size.html
But seriously, this site is Op/Ed all over the place so I am not sure if it is being thrown down as akin to, say, AMA or AAP, but I hope not.
That's not a bad idea. I always have the worst luck finding pants. I don't know why I haven't done it in the past.
Yes. Please shame him into wearing no clothes. Ever.
FWIW, I'm 5'4" and 155 pounds. I'm a dress size 14 (but pants size 10). If I'm suddenly obese and have to wear mumus, there is nothing that will stop me from bonbons and doritos. Nothing.
Ok, how about this one: The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/about/index.html
Then why did you engage me?
As for your don't talk to me but answer my question second paragraph, clothing companies are not "fat shaming" people. If there were some kind of intentional movement afoot to fight the obesity epidemic by giving people the choice between being skinny and being naked, I would oppose that, as I have opposed a number of fat-shaming ad campaigns that we've discussed on this board.
Some clothing companies do not make plus sized clothing because it is expensive and changes their profit model since it requires more fabric and more sewing and a different cut to account for an entirely different body-type. It's not just like if you're obese you get a bigger cut out of the same shirt. The design of the shirt has to be different. Like it's not necessarily going to be longer, but it is going to be wider, and the sleeves are going to be bigger, but they aren't going to be longer... That is expensive. Additionally, the higher end the manufacturer, the less likely they are to make clothing for people who are overweight because they want there to be a kind of status to their clothes. I ran into this when I worked retail and was told pretty bluntly that the reason that company didn't make clothes in higher than a size 12 was because the owner of the company didn't want his clothes on people who wouldn't look good in them. It was bad advertising for the company.
So is it right for companies to have a malicious intent in making clothes such that they are intentionally trying to make people fat feel bad? No. Are they doing this? No. They're making a business decision.
Some thoughts on the topic:
I thought there was research recently that showed in general people in the "overweight" category are often not prone to any increased health risks than those at the healthy weight.
Personally, at 5'7", I was 155lbs and had a fat percentage of 19%. I could see eliminating BMI as useful, but this is just changing it to a less useful, more depressing number.
As a now obese person, I would be more than happy to talk about losing weight with my GP if she said anything more useful than "you should probably lose some weight". Gee, thanks, I had no idea. I've even been to a RD who basically just told me to eat breakfast. Awesome. That was totally helpful. How many doctors does the OP think obese people should obliged to see?
Quite honestly, I'm pretty disturbed by the OP's comments. She clearly has little empathy for the situation.
I would say the same thing, though this site is clearly marked that their agenda is for acceptance. The other is not as clear (in that they do not have an About Us to make it easy to pinpoint), imo.
All right, I know all of this, but this has nothing to do with my question, which stemmed from Hawkweye's comments that companies should no long make plus size clothing because it reinforces the idea that being fat is okay.
But you're right, I shouldn't engage.
Yes, I believe there are studies that say that overweight actually may be better than normal weight for some illnesses. Of course that doesn't include obesity.
I may have eaten a fat slice of walmart red velvet cake while reading this thread. I washed it down with a tall class of non-organic milk and then swiped a half piece of leftover bacon from the fridge. That's all I've eaten today and aside from a few glasses of diet dew it will probably be all I eat until I cook up burgers and cheese fries for dinner.
The idea that society automatically assumes I'm healthy because my ass fits in a size 6 pair of lucky's is ludicrous.
Also, I'm mad at Ludacris for making the proper spelling of the word look weird to me.
Click me, click me!
First of all obesity IS related to penis size because abdominal fat will surround the base of the penis and you get a "turtle effect," for lack of a better word. The actual figure I've heard quoted is that for every 35 pounds a man is overweight, he loses 1/2 inch of erect penis length. But to your general point, that is not supposed to be an "authoritative" website. All it is supposed to be is an example of the "obesity acceptance" discussion in this country. It exists, it's not distinct from "fat acceptance", and it's not a good idea.
I never said that plus size clothing should be taken out of production completely!
I simply think that the more we make it mainstream and widely available in every store and trendy, the more we are putting our stamp of approval on being obese.
I also have more of an issue with the huge expansion of the junior's plus size market than I do the adult's.
I'm just going to say again how I don't think it is a matter of expense in making or designing the clothing. Unless it is a cashmere cape for a size 24 woman, there isn't really going to be that much more fabric for a size 16 or 18 in comparison to their 12 or 14. If you're comparing a 0 to a 24, yeah. But the median range? not as much.
Also from personal experience, when I do have to order a size 16, it's online. I often have to pay full price, even when the store is having a sale on the exact same item for like a dramatic amount. JCrew had this dress that was originally $178. I managed to fit into the 12 in-store. It was a bit shorter than I'd like, so of course I went online to see if the price was the same. It was still full price. I bought the dress for $40 in the store, and wouldn't think of buying the full priced one.
So even for the extra inch or so of fabric the fact that the customer has to pay shipping and often more than the store price is freaking annoying. I asked my dad who is a lawyer if there could be anything legally done about it. I was disappointed when he said no.
I do think you're spot on about the people advertising the company in a way they don't want. I also think that when you get to larger sizing, it does become more difficult for one piece to be translated the same on a smaller body vs. bigger. It can almost make the piece alter too far from the original style concept. If that makes sense.
Zuma Zoom
It's doesn't change the actual length of the penis, though.
And how is this not a good idea, from the NAAFA website:
Our Vision
A society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality in all aspects of life.
Our Mission
To eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment though public education, advocacy, and support.
Our Promise
NAAFA will be a powerful force for positive social change. Using our collective will, talents and resources, we will improve the world ? not just for fat people, but for everyone.
This is.. I just...
I just can't.
Since we're not engaging, I'll just point out that it actually answers your question as it was directed to me.
So you are basically still saying that shaming is necessary to stop people from being fat. I think we all would agree here that taking something out of the mainstream is marginalization, which we on this board tend to be not okay with when it comes to people's access to necessities (and yes, I would argue that clothes that look like skinny clothes are necessary, since one must dress professionally at work and such). Expanding mindset this down to the juniors department is simply cruel. Look, despite what the numbers say, kids STILL get made fun of for being fat, never you fear. Kids do the shaming themselves, so you don't have to.
You've got me there.
So, fatties of the world, if you need to buy clothes, please don your scarlett letters and head to the darkened, hidden corner of the store where you can get your tents and mumu's?
I don't understand. Why are people not allowed to look nice simply because someone is overweight?
Just say it.
Fatties have no business trying to be attractive. Burlap for all!
ETA: The bold is just mean. Straight up. If my daughter was obese it's nice to know you are there to police her into a size 2
The only foray into clothing making I have suggested that it the profit margin on "specialty clothes" can be pretty low. Semi-tangent, but when I was pregnant, I was pretty irritated that the only competitive maternity bathing suits were in black and blue and were hideous. I also wish they made competitive swimsuits with the nursing clips on the straps. Those are not on the market at all. So I "designed" a couple suits and then contacted a friend of a friend who owns a specialty high end tennis store to ask her about creating a line of fun-patterned competitive suits. She said, don't do it, you'll never make any money. Why? Because you will need to sell 1000 of each suit in order to cover the cost of manufacturing them. And that's for each pattern and each size. Honestly, I hadn't even thought of the size aspect. I was just thinking size = maternity. But duh, of course, it would be maternity size 26, maternity size 28 etc...
So, I think for companies like BR, ON, Gap, they can have higher sizes because they're selling more items overall. But a company like Theory, it's going to be hard for them to justify making a size 18 because they're only selling 4 size 6's per store as it is... If that makes sense.
But even with all of that, the bigger issue is that we advertise the clothes we wear and trust that BCBG does not want fat people "advertising" their clothes.