Have people's concepts of normal become too fat?
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"In 2003-2004, 17.1% of children aged 2 to 19 years were at or above the 95th percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) compared to 5-6% in the 1970s ... "
And these numbers are a decade old. I doubt this trend is going to fix itself.
Source:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/workshops/child-obesity/0 -
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I agree with this.
And being from the UK, I do not think it's considered normal to be fatter there at all, but I'm from London where every one aspires to be very thin. Apparently, in northern parts of the country the average sizes of people are bigger.
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?%!! What a massive generalisation. If londoners are slimmer than us up north its got more to do with london's rediculously inflated housing prices and polution from the millions of cars on your roads. It might smell of cow and sheep muck up here but at least its fresh!
On a serious note, I think regardless of where you live, it *can* cost more to eat an all fresh 'clean' diet. Its the poorest communities, partly through misconceptions and lack of understanding how the human biology works but also partly fact - that suffer from obesity and poor health because they feel they have no choice but shop at discount stores where most food is poor quality processed junk not fit for a dog to eat. But also poverty is self perpetuating, so because they grew up poor its the only food they have ever known.0 -
Who cares if being fat is more acceptable? Are fat people making you fat? Making your kid fat? Eating all your food? Stealing your jobs or otherwise inhibiting your life in some manner beyond making you look upon their overweight forms? As far a I'm concerned it just means more clothes available in my size; sounds like a win to me.
I care, NO, YES, as they think it is perfectly fine to be a size 16+ now(it's not, it's not healthy), NO,( I eat healthy foods)YES, they are raising my health premiums higher than they have ever been. As the burden of cost of health care for obese people skyrockets, as you and everyone else thinks it is okay to be obese these days. It is not, it is not good for ANYONE.
I suggest you find something else to care about
If people being bigger is making your kids bigger I'd say a breakdown In communication and/or some manner of parenting failure has taken place. Teach your kid about proper nutrition and fitness and stop letting the media/Joe blow on the street build their self image.
Well thank God you eat healthy food or else those obese slobs might yank it right out if your hands.
My healthcare costs remains the same. Maybe you have crap healthcare? And its not like other non-obesity health issues are on the rise or anything. It's not like people are living longer than ever and thus require more healthcare for longer; it's all about fat people.
I suggest what I care about is not your problem. It's what I choose to care about.
My kids do know all about healthy eating and habits. But when they go to school, their friends want to try and make fun of them for what they eat, and tease them for trying to eat healthy, and not just wolfing down pizza,chips and soda for lunch. Because being a size 16+ is now "acceptable". It's okay if they can't run the entire fitness run, they let them walk it now... because it's ok to be obese..... I have a complete home gym, elliptical, stairmaster, bikes,weights, squat rack, ect ...you name it .....and my kids know how to use it. My son is a personal trainer, my kids jog around my 12 acres almost daily. What about yours?? TV and video games I bet ... GREAT parenting!! We don't even own video games in my house.....And I have a great job, with awesome benefits....but the rates went up this year do to the overall fitness of the people on the plan...ie..obesity. Being obese is unhealthy, you have no facts to argue any different .... SO, it is not okay to make believe it is okay to be obese, it is not ......You are in la la land ....0 -
And this is exactly why having plus size models, clothing stores & the like have got to go. People now complain if they get charged more on a plane cause they are fat. They complain if there is no 'flattering' clothing to fit them in their size. They complain then when exercise equipment is not built for their weight.
It's become a world of fat people, an nobody bats an eye at it.
Like on the movie Wall-E. How all the humans are fat and ride those cars and can't walk. Wall-E is looking at them like WTF?0 -
First and foremost: I don't care if other people are fat, it doesn't hurt me. Just want to get that out there so I don't forget. My grandma died at 56, so I'll probably outlive her, which is where the end of my concern regarding how long people live ends.My favorite kind of fat shaming is "concerned fat shaming". You know, when random folks comment on overweight people but insist it's not how they look that upsets them, it's genuine concern for their health. How dare they try to learn to accept and be happy as they are at a UK 16/US 12; what about their health?
Oh and one time someone told m to eat a burger and it hurt my feelings. How dare these overweight people lash out with even a fraction of the venom the world has heaped on to them; they're not allowed to be bitter and mean; after all I'm slim/athletic/skinny and they should aspire to be more like me because I am closer to the ideal.
Who cares if being fat is more acceptable? Are fat people making you fat? Making your kid fat? Eating all your food? Stealing your jobs or otherwise inhibiting your life in some manner beyond making you look upon their overweight forms? As far a I'm concerned it just means more clothes available in my size; sounds like a win to me.
How about billions of dollars in healthcare costs? Driving insurance rates up for everyone else, or even worse, just straight out charging it to tax payers if they are on public assistance. In United States, 40% of all healthcare costs are attributed to just one disease -- diabetes. And a lot of those people still eat junk as they are receiving treatment. So, yes, I think that taxpayer money should not be wasted on those who don't even want to help themselves and they are taking away something from those who got sick through no fault of their own.
You sound like the sort of person who rages about food stamps and welfare as well.
"Also, side bar: Myth: If you are overweight or obese, you will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.
Fact: Being overweight is a risk factor for developing this disease, but other risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age also play a role. Unfortunately, too many people disregard the other risk factors for diabetes and think that weight is the only risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes, and many people with type 2 diabetes are at a normal weight or only moderately overweight." http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-myths/
That part about 'too many people...'? I think it's talking about you. The ADA is not amused. I, however, am amused. I even chuckled out loud.
The obesity epidemic has undoubtedly added to the cost of healthcare. An overweight person with type 2 diabetes who doesn't eat healthy and doesn't exercise will most likely have a harder time controlling their blood sugars. This results in higher rates of complications, more office visits, and more hospitalizations. It doesn't stop at diabetes-- try to name a chronic disease that is not negatively impacted by being overweight. Hypertension, coronary artery disease, stroke, fibromyalgia, a host of joint problems, kidney failure caused by uncontrolled hypertension and/or diabetes, etc. The #1 reason for a liver transplant today is metabolic syndrome. Due to our lifestyle choices, it's been predicted our generation will not live as long as our grandparents.
The increased cost of healthcare has been everyone's burden. Granted, obesity is not the only reason for the growing expense. But I think a lot of people are frustrated when an overweight/obese person has the attitude of "I don't care. It doesn't hurt you." People should care. Poor health impacts everyone in the community.
Second: Lots of things contribute to the increased cost of healthcare: People live longer and spend longer in retirement which is a burden on the community. People have children they can't afford which means more children under the umbrella of state paid insurance and more women having their childbirth bills (which are pretty considerable) being covered by the state, not to mention the cost of state/food assistance. People become disabled every day and we cover those costs as well. Criminals get medical care, we're covering that as well! Jails and prisons are more crowded than ever, think of all the tax payer dollars.
But. I don't care about any of the crap either. I pay my taxes, I pay my health insurance, and I keep it moving.
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If healthcare costs become so high that you could no longer afford it, would you still not care? I don't know if you've been reading the papers, but that's where the US is headed...0 -
I'm not thin by any means and I'll admit I'm on of these "fat" people , but I'm doing something about it. Before you judge anyone as some of you have been doing from reading previous posts, I wish you all could walk a day in someone's shoes who is obese. Do you not think they don't know, they have low self esteem from it and hear the snide remarks daily? I'm not by any means saying that being so large you can't walk is right, but please don't judge. A lot of these people most likely are trying to help themselves and how do you know the people you see when you are out haven't lost 10,15,20 lbs. and are working their way towards being healthier. I think as a nation America has become so fixated on being as thin as a Victoria's Secret model ( and hey if you want to be thin like that go for it nothing wrong with that) that anyone who isn't a size 0-4 is considered to be "fat". As for the plus size models most of them are by no means plus size how is being on average taller than 5'9 and around 150-160 lbs. fat? As far as plus sized clothing, would you like us to be walking around with everything hanging out? I don't know I just think people need to worry about themselves and let the rest be, some people are happy being large and some people like myself and trying their best to make a change and sometimes things come easier to others.0
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I have a 4.5 year old son, Kynan. Everyone tells us he is "too small". It didn't bother us until he started school this year, when we noticed bc a lot of people pointed it out infact he is smaller than other kids, not a lot smaller, but smaller none the less.
So we talked to his doctor about it...this is what she said. "He is perfect. I just weighed him and measured him. He is average for his age, he is exactly where he should be for his weight and he is a little bit above average for his height. Please keep in mind that Kynan may in fact be smaller than the other kids in his class, that's okay actually that is better than okay. The numbers for child hood obesity, in fact obesity in all ages is alarming. Obesity is an epidemic...Chances are the people who keep pointing this out to you need to realize that in fact their children might be overweight."
It was at that moment that I realized that society's perception of NORMAL is not infact normal at all.0 -
Who cares if being fat is more acceptable? Are fat people making you fat? Making your kid fat? Eating all your food? Stealing your jobs or otherwise inhibiting your life in some manner beyond making you look upon their overweight forms? As far a I'm concerned it just means more clothes available in my size; sounds like a win to me.
I care, NO, YES, as they think it is perfectly fine to be a size 16+ now(it's not, it's not healthy), NO,( I eat healthy foods)YES, they are raising my health premiums higher than they have ever been. As the burden of cost of health care for obese people skyrockets, as you and everyone else thinks it is okay to be obese these days. It is not, it is not good for ANYONE.
I suggest you find something else to care about
If people being bigger is making your kids bigger I'd say a breakdown In communication and/or some manner of parenting failure has taken place. Teach your kid about proper nutrition and fitness and stop letting the media/Joe blow on the street build their self image.
Well thank God you eat healthy food or else those obese slobs might yank it right out if your hands.
My healthcare costs remains the same. Maybe you have crap healthcare? And its not like other non-obesity health issues are on the rise or anything. It's not like people are living longer than ever and thus require more healthcare for longer; it's all about fat people.
I suggest what I care about is not your problem. It's what I choose to care about.
My kids do know all about healthy eating and habits. But when they go to school, their friends want to try and make fun of them for what they eat, and tease them for trying to eat healthy, and not just wolfing down pizza,chips and soda for lunch. Because being a size 16+ is now "acceptable". It's okay if they can't run the entire fitness run, they let them walk it now... because it's ok to be obese..... I have a complete home gym, elliptical, stairmaster, bikes,weights, squat rack, ect ...you name it .....and my kids know how to use it. My son is a personal trainer, my kids jog around my 12 acres almost daily. What about yours?? TV and video games I bet ... GREAT parenting!! We don't even own video games in my house.....And I have a great job, with awesome benefits....but the rates went up this year do to the overall fitness of the people on the plan...ie..obesity. Being obese is unhealthy, you have no facts to argue any different .... SO, it is not okay to make believe it is okay to be obese, it is not ......You are in la la land ....
Yes x 100 . The parents of today need a wake up call.0 -
Who cares if being fat is more acceptable? Are fat people making you fat? Making your kid fat? Eating all your food? Stealing your jobs or otherwise inhibiting your life in some manner beyond making you look upon their overweight forms? As far a I'm concerned it just means more clothes available in my size; sounds like a win to me.
I care, NO, YES, as they think it is perfectly fine to be a size 16+ now(it's not, it's not healthy), NO,( I eat healthy foods)YES, they are raising my health premiums higher than they have ever been. As the burden of cost of health care for obese people skyrockets, as you and everyone else thinks it is okay to be obese these days. It is not, it is not good for ANYONE.
I suggest you find something else to care about
If people being bigger is making your kids bigger I'd say a breakdown In communication and/or some manner of parenting failure has taken place. Teach your kid about proper nutrition and fitness and stop letting the media/Joe blow on the street build their self image.
Well thank God you eat healthy food or else those obese slobs might yank it right out if your hands.
My healthcare costs remains the same. Maybe you have crap healthcare? And its not like other non-obesity health issues are on the rise or anything. It's not like people are living longer than ever and thus require more healthcare for longer; it's all about fat people.
I suggest what I care about is not your problem. It's what I choose to care about.
My kids do know all about healthy eating and habits. But when they go to school, their friends want to try and make fun of them for what they eat, and tease them for trying to eat healthy, and not just wolfing down pizza,chips and soda for lunch. Because being a size 16+ is now "acceptable". It's okay if they can't run the entire fitness run, they let them walk it now... because it's ok to be obese..... I have a complete home gym, elliptical, stairmaster, bikes,weights, squat rack, ect ...you name it .....and my kids know how to use it. My son is a personal trainer, my kids jog around my 12 acres almost daily. What about yours?? TV and video games I bet ... GREAT parenting!! We don't even own video games in my house.....And I have a great job, with awesome benefits....but the rates went up this year do to the overall fitness of the people on the plan...ie..obesity. Being obese is unhealthy, you have no facts to argue any different .... SO, it is not okay to make believe it is okay to be obese, it is not ......You are in la la land ....
Sigh. Where to begin.
You can care about whatever floats your tiny angry boat sir, but the people you spend so much time fretting over don't care in return.
If your kids eat well and engage in proper fitness then you don't have to worry about A) Them sometimes unhealthy snack food (No one has ever become obese by occasionally eating chips, my goodness.) i'm glad your kids are active and fit and such (Sounds like they need better friends though. What kind of friends mock your good choices, how gross.) I myself don't have children,* but it sounds like if I did you'd wish them all kinds of ill will/hope I was a bad parent.
I didn't say being obese was healthy, I said it's none of your business Angry Internet Man, and it's none of mine either (I'm, after all, not obese. I'm on high end of normal, assuming you give BMI any credence.*)
*I don't believe in children
*I also don't believe in BMI
*I do believe in concern trolls. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=concern+troll (It's not that I have a problem with fat people, but they really aren't healthy and....)0 -
If you happen to see any film footage of regular people in the 1950's, 60s, 70s, it becomes immediately apparent that our standards have changed. They look so uniformly skinny to today's eyes. Remember how Ralph Cramden was supposedly so fat? Take another look at him-- just slightly overweight.
Personally, I don't think it's a good thing. That's why I'm not crazy about the fat acceptance movement. Not to shame people, but let's keep a clear-eyed perspective of what's a desireable healthy weight.0 -
I rather suspect it's actually that our idea of 'ideal weight/body shape' has become too thin. The 'ideal' displayed by Hollywood, the music and print media industries is actually representative of an underweight or very-low-range 'normal' BMI*, in most cases (I'm speaking predominantly of females here), with a very low body fat percentage (unhealthily low for women of childbearing age in many cases) and reflects (again, in general) a physique that is only physically-achievable by less than 5% of the population.
The 'ideal' figures of most of the last century were much, much closer to the 'average' female form, and were achievable or at least emulatable in a healthy way by more women, thus the contrast between 'ideal' and 'realistic' was much less startling. Compare celebrities of the past such as Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, Jayne Russell, Doris Day or Marilyn Monroe to Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway et al, and this becomes evident very quickly. Even a young Meryl Streep or Diane Keaton was much closer to 'average' in size than the current crop of ultra-thin actresses.
*Which is not a good measure of individual health, but this isn't the place to go into that!
No, the actresses aren't getting thinner and the bodies of actresses back in the day certainly aren't more easily attained than actresses today. Let's compare measurements of the actresses you named, yes?
Reese- 5'2; 34-25-33
Kristin- 5'6; 33-23-34
Anne- 5'7; 34-26-34
Meryl- 5'6; 34-26-36
Ava- 5'6; 36 -23 -37
Sophia- 5'8; 38-24-38
Jayne- 5'8; 38-24-36
Doris- 5'7; 36-25-36
Marilyn- 5'5; 36-22-35
For the most part, no huge differences, except that busts were a bit bigger & waists were smaller in the older set than the newer set.0 -
when i que behind fat people it always seems longer but i seem to get served quicker !0
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What is "too fat"? It's all social construction.
Right on.
I won't even discuss "health" since most studies show that slightly "overweight" people on the BMI scale actually are the healthiest and live the longest.....0 -
I've read all the posts and no one mentions anything about being healthy. Skinny unhealthy people put as large a drain on the healthcare system as overweight and obese people. But is it because they don't shop in the plus sized section that everyone thinks it's OK?
I know people who would be classed as overweight and obese who are damn healthy and would run rings around most of the people posting their tripe in this thread. But because they weigh more or have a larger BMI we automatically assume that they are fat and lazy?
This thread is the problem with society today. Why do we have to be hung up on the way we LOOK rather than how healthy our bodies are? As one poster said we should be promoting healthy lifestyle/food/exercise choices (from a young age too) and not shaming and judging our fat/skinny/average brothers and sisters.
There is so much more to being fat than just being lazy or eating too much. I find it hypocritical that those of you who were fat seem to be the biggest fat shamers.
All this coming from a 104kg mum of 3 who is trying to educate her children to make healthy choices about food, exercise and their lifestyle, which is something my mother didn't do for me (so while I educate my kids I'm trying to re-educate myself and my body!). She was one of those skinny, unhealthy (or skinny-fat) people I mentioned above (a smoker, pot-head, junk food addict who never once broke out in a sweat while doing exercise in the whole 18 years I was living with her). I don't know how she managed to stay shopping in the kids clothing section of the department store for as long as she did.0 -
To state that real women have vaginas basically discounts trans women and the issues they face in society. You're calling them 'fake' women with your statement, which is extremely bigoted and just as bad as large or curvy women saying that their smaller or less curvy counterparts aren't real women.
Ummmm... what?
Curvy vs. non curvy is a body type and really a non important issue. However, if God made you a woman He would have given you the parts to be one. I could call myself a squirrel, but it doesn't make me one. I could get surgeries to make myself look more like one and I could spend my days in trees looking for nuts, but still it would not make me one. God made you to be what He wanted you to be. I don't advocated rudeness to anyone, but let's deal in the realm of fact.
I don't believe in your god, your argument is invalid.
Fine, believe what you want, but even without acknowledging God. A squirrel is a squirrel. A woman is a woman. A man is a man. You can alter looks, but not what you actually are.
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There is a difference between gender identity and sex. I'm NOT talking about gender identity. I'm talking about the boxes you check on birth certificates etc. I'm fine with men identifying their gender as women, but they aren't anatomically females-- which is what I was referencing. Anyways, it was a joke.
I do have a sincere question for you, since you seem really passionate about this issue. Do TSs consider themselves women even if they keep their penises?0 -
Mrs Wells, You obviously don't read well ........
.And BMI doesn't mean crap ..... BF% is what is important really.0 -
I agree fat is the new norm. I am at the higher end of the healthy range (BMI of 24) and I have to get slim fit dress shirts or they are baggy around my stomach. There is much less selection in those "normal" sizes as well.Considering I can't go shopping in most "normal" department stores (Macy's, JC Penney, Kohl's, etc.) because their smallest misses size is too big for me and junior's is too young for me....yes, I'd say fat is the new normal. I'm 5'6", 120 lbs, and there's no way in hell I'm a size 0. That's not even a real number!0 -
To state that real women have vaginas basically discounts trans women and the issues they face in society. You're calling them 'fake' women with your statement, which is extremely bigoted and just as bad as large or curvy women saying that their smaller or less curvy counterparts aren't real women.
Ummmm... what?
Curvy vs. non curvy is a body type and really a non important issue. However, if God made you a woman He would have given you the parts to be one. I could call myself a squirrel, but it doesn't make me one. I could get surgeries to make myself look more like one and I could spend my days in trees looking for nuts, but still it would not make me one. God made you to be what He wanted you to be. I don't advocated rudeness to anyone, but let's deal in the realm of fact.
I don't believe in your god, your argument is invalid.
Fine, believe what you want, but even without acknowledging God. A squirrel is a squirrel. A woman is a woman. A man is a man. You can alter looks, but not what you actually are.
There is a difference between gender identity and sex. I'm NOT talking about gender identity. I'm talking about the boxes you check on birth certificates etc. I'm fine with men identifying their gender as women, but they aren't anatomically females-- which is what I was referencing. Anyways, it was a joke.
I do have a sincere question for you, since you seem really passionate about this issue. Do TSs consider themselves women even if they keep their penises?
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Of course they still consider themselves women. A lack of funds to transition or an unwillingness to undergo a risky surgery that could end up with who even knows what happening to your genitals doesn't mean anything regarding how they identify themselves.0 -
If you happen to see any film footage of regular people in the 1950's, 60s, 70s, it becomes immediately apparent that our standards have changed. They look so uniformly skinny to today's eyes. Remember how Ralph Cramden was supposedly so fat? Take another look at him-- just slightly overweight.
Personally, I don't think it's a good thing. That's why I'm not crazy about the fat acceptance movement. Not to shame people, but let's keep a clear-eyed perspective of what's a desireable healthy weight.
Exactly... the young people today just don't see it; because they've grown up surrounded by obesity. The problem is obvious, if you're old enough to remember.0 -
I think this is an interesting concept. I have nearly always thought that I 'look good', except when I hit my top weight, which resulted in my taking action. But when I was there (about 220lbs), I set a goal for myself (180) that was STILL 20 pounds above the top end of my charted optimum weight range.
My recent effort, using MFP, has pushed me further (now 170) and I commented to my wife that while I am happy about my progress, I also had a slap in the face reality check that I thought I looked great while I was 30 + pounds overweight. She very wisely brought up that I was basically measuring myself socially against everyone around me. And it's true, compared to the people I work with and shop with, I did look 'pretty good' but that's not a real accurate way to go about things...
I know that there is much more to it than how I look, but the fact that overweight is so normalized now where I live really did contribute to my complacency.
No offense to the overweight... The struggle endures.0
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