are there really that many obese people out there???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

This is the denial that is perpetuating the epidemic, tbh.

[Anonymous]

At a population level BMI provides good data, despite everybody on these forums somehow being the exception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At a population level BMI provides good data, despite everybody on these forums somehow being the exception.

Who on this forum claimed to be the exception?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

I’m 5’8” and 198-201 pounds. I am obese, if just barely. I am a size 12-14 and I dress in a way that flatters my shape or at least doesn’t call attention to my size. I am fit - I’ll run the Cherry Blossom 10M in a few weeks in 90-95 minutes. I don’t have a “fat face”. When I am standing up straight, I don’t have any rolls or folds in my skin. My spouse and children are slim which I think helps people not think of us as a “fat family”. I have always had a larger body and frame. When I weight 180 - 17 pounds overweight on the BMI chart - I wear a size 10-12 clothing and get a lot of compliments. When I weigh 165, still technically 2 pounds overweight, I am still a size 10, but people ask my husband about my health behind my back or ask me about my job
stress to my face.

Exception 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

Exception 2

This is just this thread. I probably didn’t even find them all. Everybody is an exception. It comes up every time BMI is discussed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

I’m 5’8” and 198-201 pounds. I am obese, if just barely. I am a size 12-14 and I dress in a way that flatters my shape or at least doesn’t call attention to my size. I am fit - I’ll run the Cherry Blossom 10M in a few weeks in 90-95 minutes. I don’t have a “fat face”. When I am standing up straight, I don’t have any rolls or folds in my skin. My spouse and children are slim which I think helps people not think of us as a “fat family”. I have always had a larger body and frame. When I weight 180 - 17 pounds overweight on the BMI chart - I wear a size 10-12 clothing and get a lot of compliments. When I weigh 165, still technically 2 pounds overweight, I am still a size 10, but people ask my husband about my health behind my back or ask me about my job
stress to my face.

Exception 1

How are they “exception 1” to being labeled obese based on BMI if they state their height/weight/clothing size and admit they’re obese?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

Exception 2

This is just this thread. I probably didn’t even find them all. Everybody is an exception. It comes up every time BMI is discussed.

Ok let me rephrase: an exception to what? These posters both admit they’re obese so how are they claiming to be an exception in a thread asking if a lot of people are obese?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

Exception 2

This is just this thread. I probably didn’t even find them all. Everybody is an exception. It comes up every time BMI is discussed.

Ok let me rephrase: an exception to what? These posters both admit they’re obese so how are they claiming to be an exception in a thread asking if a lot of people are obese?

The purpose behind these lengthy explanations is an effort to infer BMI as a metric isn’t useful. It is.

[Anonymous]

Epidemic in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

What?! Maybe if your 5' tall. At 5'6, the like of overweight for me if 154. Ideal from a health perspective is probably about 130. Obese is 185. That is 32 pounds above the upper limit of a healthy BMI, but nobody ever said the upper limit is ideal. Right in the center of the healthy range probably is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

+2

I’m a DC native living in West Virginia. Here, I am on the slimmer side and I am obese (postpartum) wearing a size 10/12. When I visit family at home I definitely feel big.

The difference is shocking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

Exception 2

This is just this thread. I probably didn’t even find them all. Everybody is an exception. It comes up every time BMI is discussed.

Ok let me rephrase: an exception to what? These posters both admit they’re obese so how are they claiming to be an exception in a thread asking if a lot of people are obese?

The purpose behind these lengthy explanations is an effort to infer BMI as a metric isn’t useful. It is.

As one of your exception posters, that’s not the point at all. The point is OP asked “are there really that many obese people ?” and we are saying Yes there are. There are people all around you that are clinically obese that you may not register as obese because as a society most of the overweight range of the BMI chart is seen as normal and what visually reads as overweight is often clinically obese.

[Anonymous]

Muscular, in-shape people also qualify as overweight and obese in the general statistics. Michael Jordan at peak fitness was well in the overweight range. Russel Crowe while filming gladiator was obese. Add those people to people who are muscular plus a little overweight, and then add in the people who are fat, and you’ve got a large percentage of people. BMI is a pretty crappy measure individually but can show general population trends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

This is maybe true if you’re extremely short like 4”9-4”11 but it’s not true for most people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to other states. I think in the DMV people are much more fit than the rest of the country. I don't want to pick on the midwest or south, but nearly everyone is obese. And obese is just 30lbs more than your ideal weight.

Yes, I think people sometimes have this idea of what obese looks like, but someone who is 5’7” and obese at 195 is not going to look that huge, really (especially if your mental image is 300+).

Yup. I am 5'6" weigh 197 lbs and am clinically obese. I look like a healthy yet chubby middle aged woman, but according to the BMI charts, I am obese.

Exception 2

This is just this thread. I probably didn’t even find them all. Everybody is an exception. It comes up every time BMI is discussed.

Ok let me rephrase: an exception to what? These posters both admit they’re obese so how are they claiming to be an exception in a thread asking if a lot of people are obese?

The purpose behind these lengthy explanations is an effort to infer BMI as a metric isn’t useful. It is.

Only on a population level, not an individual level. It was never meant to be used the way we are using it.