The terms "obese" and "overweight"
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xKoalaBearx
Posts: 181 Member
We hear these words said all the time and they are now associated with a negative connotation as well as an implication that someone who is obese or overweight are lazy or bad people.
These words by themselves are objective neutral terms. But people have perverted their original meanings to insult people.
Objectively, overweight refers to a BMI greater than 25.0 and less than 30.0. Obese refers to a BMI greater than 30.0. And the reason these terms and number ranges were selected originated from insurance companies who figured out that people in the overweight range had a higher risk of death from illnesses like strokes and heart attacks than those in the healthy range. And people in the obese range had an even greater risk of death.
So really when NS or anyone else uses these terms objectively they are not trying to be insulting but merely objectively categorizing the risk of death and/or illness based on BMI and nothing else. And as you may or may not also know, BMI isn't even the best indicator of overall health either.
It's mean people perverting the words that suck. They don't know what the words really mean. So, try not to take offense at the terms alone.
These words by themselves are objective neutral terms. But people have perverted their original meanings to insult people.
Objectively, overweight refers to a BMI greater than 25.0 and less than 30.0. Obese refers to a BMI greater than 30.0. And the reason these terms and number ranges were selected originated from insurance companies who figured out that people in the overweight range had a higher risk of death from illnesses like strokes and heart attacks than those in the healthy range. And people in the obese range had an even greater risk of death.
So really when NS or anyone else uses these terms objectively they are not trying to be insulting but merely objectively categorizing the risk of death and/or illness based on BMI and nothing else. And as you may or may not also know, BMI isn't even the best indicator of overall health either.
It's mean people perverting the words that suck. They don't know what the words really mean. So, try not to take offense at the terms alone.
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Well said and very true.0
