I just don't care about the 'obesity epidemic'

DamePiglet

Not comparing myself to Marilyn Monroe but at obese weight as I mentioned my waist was 73cm
33inches is 82cm

So as you say quite small well 10cm less than that is obese according to bmi calculations and she was only 3 inches taller than I am.

Here is a BMI calculator that accounts for taller than average and shorter than average people.
Maybe your numbers are different here:

http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi_calc.html

And here is one that takes gender, age and pants/ jeans size into consideration.

http://people.maths.ox.ac.uk/trefethen/bmi_calc.html

Just thought it was interesting.

Qski

I hadn't read the revised and smaller Marilyn Monroe sizes, apologies to her.
and I wasn't trying to compare myself to her or to say I wasn't obese
just that to me at the time, I wasn't flabby or disproportioned and definitely not unhealthy and surely this would not make me some sort of unique specimen. There would be many more that are similar at that classification.

So I believe (especially at the bottom end of the BMI obesity classification) that it seems a bit over the top in the categorisation.

Also I know plenty of people with healthy BMIs and I definitely do not think any of them are too skinny, if I did my goal for weight loss would not be inside my healthy BMI range. But my goal weight is set based on vanity and not on what I think will make me healthy.

My fitness goals are totally different they are about what being healthy means to me - being able to exercise without being puffed out, getting a good night's sleep, having some cardio vascular fitness to have fun doing physically active things and to be physically strong.

As for people we see on silver screens and flat screens - there are some healthy versions but there are a few WTFs there too...
Angelina Jolie (who I adore) BMI 17.9 (underweight)
Arnold Schwarzenegger BMI 30.8 (obese)
Gwen Stefani 18 (underweight)
Gwyneth Paltrow 17.28 (underweight)
Miley Cyrus 18.4 (underweight)
Cameron Diaz 18.2 (underweight)
The Rock 34 (obese)
Mike Tyson 34 (obese)
Matt Damon 26.8 (overweight)
Hugh Jackman 26.7 (overweight)
George Clooney 29.9 (borderline overweight/obese)
David Boreanaz 29.7(overweight)
Brendand Fraser 29.2 (overweight)
Vin Diesel 27.1 (overweight)


ETA - oh and FYI to the tax dollar crazies - I have only been out of work for 6 weeks since I was 16 due to a stay in hospital, I earn great money and am happy about my tax dollars that go to people who need medical assistance and those who are unable to find work (Australia so free medicine for all and tax discounts for those who earn more and choose to be covered by private health insurance , unemployment as long as you need it, As well as a minimum wage you can actually live on). It's a lot of the other places my taxes go that I have issues with.

txteva

There's a movement of this pro-obesity. It's okay to be obese. This is more of a problem health wise... It's not any better to be obese than it is to be a smoker. If people can tell me that smoking is gross and that it's going to kill me, I should be able to say the same thing about obesity, but I can't because people get butt hurt and are sensitive about their shape?

There is a lot about perception in how people speak to people who are overweight.

Smoking is bad - but smokers aren’t perceived to be the problem – it’s the cigarettes that are bad. No one tells a smoker they are an ugly smelly lump of cancer – that would be rude!

Overeating* is bad – but it’s the overeaters that are seen as the problem and the bad thing not the overeating.

I would be very happy for someone to tell me my overeating is a problem but they don’t – they say I am the problem, I am the ugly obese lump of fat. See the difference?

They also normally follow this with “oh it’s so easy to lose weight”... well gosh if it was then I would never have struggled with it. People giving up smoking are given far more support (in the UK it’s often free) than people giving up overeating. There is some support for healthy eating but there is still a perception issue.



(* - Being overweight is more than just overeating but the term fitted best in this scenario)

arcana7609

Obese people cost 40% more a year in health care related expenses than a "normal" weight person. As a rule they do not pay more for health insurance than a "normal" size person, i.e., there is a cost that is spread to people who can push away from the table. Statistically obese people call in "sick" to work more often and file more workers comp claims (not to mention health care workers who are injured taking care of obese patients-happens all the time), so again, money.

It isn't about aesthetics, it's about money.

You might be interested to know that 1.35 million children visit an ER a year for sports related injuries, but no one is crying about atheletes driving up the cost of healthcare. It's all bs. People hide behind the guise of concern to hide their prejudice. The fact is people make choices and sometimes they cost other people money. Fat people are an easy group to villify.

health.http://www.piedmontorthocomplex.com/new-survey-finds-1-35-million-children-visit-er-each-year-due-to-sports-injuries/

On a personal note. I weigh 390 lbs I have perfect attendance at my job and I rarely go to the doctor. Some people are fat and lazy and some people are skinny and lazy. You'll have these sorts of varations given that everyone is an individual.

paperpudding

"Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean they're any more healthy. Skinny people have medical problems and die everyday too, did you know?"

no, as a skinny person I have no medical problems that will cause me to die. Healthy or not, I won't die from something like diabetes or anything caused by obesity.

No? Someone should tell that to the thin, supposedly healthy people that have diabetes. Like my cousin. Never overweight a day in his life but still severely diabetic.

Yes, some thin people have diabetes.
Yes, there are factors other than obesity, such as genetics.

But being obese greatly increases your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.
You can't change your genetic risk but you can reduce the component of risk caused by obesity.

hamminit

I'm fat- I go to the doctor everyday just to spite the skinnies!!!! muhahahahahahhah

CipherZero

In fact, I'm sick of reading/hearing about it everywhere. I don't care if you weigh 100 pounds or 500 pounds. I don't care what you eat. I don't care how much you eat. I don't care how often you eat.

Not sure if trolling or serious. I'm going with trolling.

KnM0107

When I was obese I did have a lot of health problems, but my husband and I paid our insurance premiums, when we were without insurance we paid out of our own pockets. Nobody else was responsible for paying for it. We even paid higher premiums at the time because I was obese.

My cousin has never been even overweight. She also doesn't work and continues to have kids knowing she can't afford it. Tax payers support her and her kids.

The problem is that there are to many people who take advantage of government programs. I care about anybody who is draining the system.

DamePiglet

I hadn't read the revised and smaller Marilyn Monroe sizes, apologies to her.
and I wasn't trying to compare myself to her or to say I wasn't obese
just that to me at the time, I wasn't flabby or disproportioned and definitely not unhealthy and surely this would not make me some sort of unique specimen. There would be many more that are similar at that classification.

So I believe (especially at the bottom end of the BMI obesity classification) that it seems a bit over the top in the categorisation.

Also I know plenty of people with healthy BMIs and I definitely do not think any of them are too skinny, if I did my goal for weight loss would not be inside my healthy BMI range. But my goal weight is set based on vanity and not on what I think will make me healthy.

My fitness goals are totally different they are about what being healthy means to me - being able to exercise without being puffed out, getting a good night's sleep, having some cardio vascular fitness to have fun doing physically active things and to be physically strong.

As for people we see on silver screens and flat screens - there are some healthy versions but there are a few WTFs there too...
Angelina Jolie (who I adore) BMI 17.9 (underweight)
Arnold Schwarzenegger BMI 30.8 (obese)
Gwen Stefani 18 (underweight)
Gwyneth Paltrow 17.28 (underweight)
Miley Cyrus 18.4 (underweight)
Cameron Diaz 18.2 (underweight)
The Rock 34 (obese)
Mike Tyson 34 (obese)
Matt Damon 26.8 (overweight)
Hugh Jackman 26.7 (overweight)
George Clooney 29.9 (borderline overweight/obese)
David Boreanaz 29.7(overweight)
Brendand Fraser 29.2 (overweight)
Vin Diesel 27.1 (overweight)


ETA - oh and FYI to the tax dollar
crazies -
I have only been out of work for 6 weeks since I was 16 due to a stay in hospital, I earn great money and am happy about my tax dollars that go to people who need medical assistance and those who are unable to find work (Australia so free medicine for all and tax discounts for those who earn more and choose to be covered by private health insurance , unemployment as long as you need it, As well as a minimum wage you can actually live on). It's a lot of the other places my taxes go that I have issues with.

rml_16

Smoking is bad - but smokers aren’t perceived to be the problem – it’s the cigarettes that are bad. No one tells a smoker they are an ugly smelly lump of cancer – that would be rude!

My SO smokes. I say things like that to him. I want him to quit and it's all true. He watched a clsoe friend die of lung cancer and it wasn't enough.

rml_16

Not comparing myself to Marilyn Monroe but at obese weight as I mentioned my waist was 73cm
33inches is 82cm

So as you say quite small well 10cm less than that is obese according to bmi calculations and she was only 3 inches taller than I am.

?

I can't quite follow your posts the way they're written, but it sounds like you think MM had a 33-inch waist? She had somewhere arounf a 24-inch waist (depending on when, exactly, you're talking about, as she fluctuated a bit in size and was pegnant two or three times).

She was a teeny, tiny woman.

CollieFit

Are any of you going to come into this post with?

1. A background in Healthcare Finance
2. A statistic that isn't some number you regurgitated from an earlier post
3. Any ability to understand statistics or math

Anyone?

I have a background in health and social care service commissioning and procurement. I work in Public Health (UK) and have a half-decent background in statistics (Psychology post-grad... research methods and statistics were compulsory modules, much as I hated them).

I am unfamiliar with US obesity statistics and not sufficiently motivated to look into them. However, the the UK folk, anyone interested in the economic costs of obesity in the UK (including morbidity, mortality, lost days of work etc) is best referred to the National Obesity Observatory. http://www.noo.org.uk/

http://www.bhfactive.org.uk/files/384/NOO_economic-burden-of-obesity.pdf

http://www.noo.org.uk/uploads/doc/vid_19253_Social_and_economic_inequalities_in_diet_and_physical_activity_04.11.13.pdf

UsedToBeHusky

I love reading threads full of people who feel justified in dictating to others how they can live their lives. :happy:

Oh you guys...

Since obesity is such a burden on society, does that mean I can dictate to you how many children you are allowed to have? I mean, after all, over-population is destroying the planet. And a free society obviously isn't working for us... so...

msf74

I love reading threads full of people who feel justified in dictating to others how they can live their lives. :happy:

Oh you guys...

Since obesity is such a burden on society, does that mean I can dictate to you how many children you are allowed to have? I mean, after all, over-population is destroying the planet. And a free society obviously isn't working for us... so...

I think my suggestion of recruiting roving death squad militia to take out the elderly is much better.

We need kids to grow up and become tax payers to plug the hole in State finances due to long term care costs. Focus!

CollieFit

I love reading threads full of people who feel justified in dictating to others how they can live their lives. :happy:

Oh you guys...

Since obesity is such a burden on society, does that mean I can dictate to you how many children you are allowed to have? I mean, after all, over-population is destroying the planet. And a free society obviously isn't working for us... so...

LOL I agree... I think there should be a "child tax" imposed on procreating... That can pay for their education, environmental damage etc...

UsedToBeHusky

I love reading threads full of people who feel justified in dictating to others how they can live their lives. :happy:

Oh you guys...

Since obesity is such a burden on society, does that mean I can dictate to you how many children you are allowed to have? I mean, after all, over-population is destroying the planet. And a free society obviously isn't working for us... so...

I think my suggestion of recruiting roving death squad militia to take out the elderly is much better.

We need kids to grow up and become tax payers to plug the hole in State finances due to long term care costs. Focus!

Yeah... you're right. Or maybe because all the "fatties" are the consumers driving our economy, we could just impose a 20% sales tax increase on everyone with a BMI over 30?

msf74

Yeah... you're right. Or maybe because all the "fatties" are the consumers driving our economy, we could just impose a 20% sales tax increase on everyone with a BMI over 30?

You're not saying that the increased consumption of the fat *kitten* and the contribution to the economy may be offsetting some of the 40%* increased healthcare costs?

Get back to Russia you communist!

*figure an estimate and no guarantee is given on its accuracy. Please do not sue.

Jimaudit

If you think the overweight population is the main driver for your increased healthcare costs, you're wrong.

It's the population who walk into an ER and never pay the bill, it's the poor and illegals who get free healthcare (guess who pays for that) and it's the healthcare fraud (which by mostly estimates costs 50% of the actual cost of healthcare). Obamacrap is going to drive the costs up significantly.

My work notified us that our premiums are going up approximately 25% depending on your plan. So even though I am fortunate enough not to participate in Obamacrap, it still affects me.

Poke fun at the fat, no worries.....it's easy. But look at the drivers of cost and you'll be surprised.

btw: I haven't used a sick day in 5 years for my health (my daughter's, yes) and I have not met my deductible in any year since I have had insurance. So don't blame me, go talk to the government teet suckers who drain the system.

rml_16

You know, I'm willing to pay a little more in taxes or for health care if it means we get to keep that lovely thing we call freedom in the US (I don't know what people in other countries want).

And I figure we're all going to die and will probably get sick before we do -- unless it's sudden and unexpected, which happens, but rarely. So, really, we all contribute to the higher costs just by living.

I like what someone posted about other ridiculous places our taxes go. That bothers me a whole lot more.

UsedToBeHusky

Yeah... you're right. Or maybe because all the "fatties" are the consumers driving our economy, we could just impose a 20% sales tax increase on everyone with a BMI over 30?

You're not saying that the increased consumption of the fat *kitten* and the contribution to the economy may be offsetting some of the 40%* increased healthcare costs?

Get back to Russia you communist!

*figure an estimate and no guarantee is given on its accuracy. Please do not sue.

Well it's seems silly to argue this with a Brit... but um, we do have nationalized healthcare now... so...