Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

39.6% of Americans are obese.

31.6% of Americans are overweight.

7.7% of Americans are severely obese.


https://frac.org/obesity-health/obesity-u-s-2#:~:text=The%20latest%20data%20indicate%20that,7.7%20percent%20are%20severely%20obese.)


The problem is that since the majority of adults in this country are at least overweight, people like OP have difficulty recognizing what that even looks like!

So then they get super confused. It's a grave health crisis when the "norm" doesn't coincide with the health standard.

And, if you are within a normal range people might make comments about how thin you are, in a bad way. All of it is a game to avoid reality, just like participation trophies.

Anonymous wrote:Yes there are. You have to leave the DMV and go where people actually live their suburban lives - not just major cities or resorts full of other DMV upper middle class people - aka rich in “regular America”.

I am a size 14 and I am nearly always the largest woman in the room at work or my kids’ school events. Where I grew up in the semi-rural Midwest, I am average sized. I almost never see a chubby or overweight child in my NoVa community. When I see pictures my HS and college friends post of their kids, it’s easier to count the kids who are NOT chubby.

Anonymous wrote:

39.6% of Americans are obese.

31.6% of Americans are overweight.

7.7% of Americans are severely obese.


https://frac.org/obesity-health/obesity-u-s-2#:~:text=The%20latest%20data%20indicate%20that,7.7%20percent%20are%20severely%20obese.)


The problem is that since the majority of adults in this country are at least overweight, people like OP have difficulty recognizing what that even looks like!

So then they get super confused. It's a grave health crisis when the "norm" doesn't coincide with the health standard.

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 5'7 and 150 and I look and feel plump. Not bothered enough by it to take injections, though. Just good old fashioned eat less, move more and try to drop 10-15 by summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yet it is for 90% of people, and we still get all these dumb references to professional athletes by people who are none of those things. 90% of obese people in the US have very high body fat percentages for their gender and age, and low relative muscle mass. Nobody needs a study to realize that to be true.

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+).

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 wrote:Yes, everywhere. Look around.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Uh, the way you are using it is by ignoring it and claiming it doesn't apply to you. So yeah, you weren't meant to do that.

If you're so set on proving that obese is healthy, just ask your life insurance agent to lower your rates to reflect this. They know better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might be surprised at what counts as clinically obese. At 5’8” and age 19, I was borderline clinically obese at 150 pounds. This was taken during a college exercise course.

But yes, Americans have a weight problem.

This is not even close to accurate.

I'm also 5'8. At 150 lbs BMI is 22.8, well within the "normal" weight category. To be in the overweight category you'd have to be at least 165, and that's 0.1 into the overweight category. To be in the obese category you'd have to be at least 198 lbs, and again that is 0.1 into the obese category. So basically 50 lbs more than what you said.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Uh, the way you are using it is by ignoring it and claiming it doesn't apply to you. So yeah, you weren't meant to do that.

If you're so set on proving that obese is healthy, just ask your life insurance agent to lower your rates to reflect this. They know better.

Anonymous wrote:

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.