"Who's NOT Overweight?"

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    In my area, being overweight is very common and has been normalized. I was in the obese category and did not feel like I stood out as an exception among my peer group. It was only after I lost the weight that I realized just how many people are overweight.
  • fbchick51
    fbchick51 Posts: 240 Member
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    noirelb wrote: »
    It's not the first time I hear that...I'd like to know more about it, like why do they have less mortality rates and I'm wondering what BF% that is.

    Link to the study: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2520627

    NYT summary: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/health/study-suggests-lower-death-risk-for-the-overweight.html

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    So, at a meeting this week, we were all chatting about random stuff and one person brought up her partner was coming onto her insurance because her partner's company's insurance was going to start charging more for smokers (private company). Another one said the same thing, but it was due to health stats like BMI, BP, etc. and they were given notice this would take effect January 1, 2018. Change now or pay more later, I guess.

    The smoking thing didn't phase anyone, but the weight thing did. One of my office mates said, "That's not a fair thing to charge for, I mean, who's NOT overweight?" Myself and one other person raised our hands. Two out of 14 people. I don't perceive anyone being obese, but I really have no idea and don't really think about it. I was obese, lost 100+ pounds and have been in maintenance almost three years.

    It was just an interesting observation for me--even our folks with "active" jobs are probably overweight. Only two our of 14 were a healthy weight.

    I know not everyone works in a office, but with their office mates or stay-at-home-parent folks, is my office an anomaly? Or is it normal?

    I am a stay at home parent have been overweight almost the entire time I have been a SAHP. My dd is not overweight. Our pets are not overweight. My dh is a teacher and is not overweight. Some of his colleagues are and some are not overweight. I don't know which is the majority. Our friends and family are a mixture of weights.

    On a recent visit to a health care center I noticed that all of the people I saw working there appeared to be overweight. There were some overweight patients in the waiting room but maybe half who did not look overweight.

    I would believe that people living in the same area and working the same job may have similar activity levels and eating/drinking habits so the majority of co-workers may be skewed toward one end of the weight range.
    I think if you compare people with different jobs and lifestyles even in the same area the results get more mixed.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited August 2017
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    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    fjmartini wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    My life insurance company charges extra if your BMI is 'obese' or higher. No penalty for 'overweight'. I think it's fair, to be honest, for life insurance - which is basically gambling. You pays your money, you takes your chance.

    Health insurance is rather different. Putting hurdles between people and healthcare because they're unhealthy is absurd.

    But from an insurance perspective, those who are obese are more likely incur more health care costs, just like smokers.

    I'm 6 ft and 200 lbs. my body fat is roughly 10%. My vitals are near perfect. I'm "overweight" and approaching "obese" based on that. Total horseshit.

    Do you really think your stats are the norm though?

    Actually, I know a lot of guys, including myself who are overweight by BMI but are perfectly lean and healthy...I don't think it's that unusual for active males to be overweight per BMI but still lean and healthy. Someone bordering on obese is hitting the weight room pretty hard, which isn't particularly unusual either but probably more of a rarity than just being overweight.

    I'm about 8 Lbs overweight as per BMI but at a perfectly healthy BF%...no love handles, no gut, etc...right around 15%. I'm by no means a body builder as I only lift 2x per week and spend most of my exercise time on my bike...but being active, I have enough muscle mass to class me as overweight by BMI.

    I don't think BMI is total BS or anything, but I think using it as the sole measure to run up someone's rates is pretty asinine.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    fjmartini wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    My life insurance company charges extra if your BMI is 'obese' or higher. No penalty for 'overweight'. I think it's fair, to be honest, for life insurance - which is basically gambling. You pays your money, you takes your chance.

    Health insurance is rather different. Putting hurdles between people and healthcare because they're unhealthy is absurd.

    But from an insurance perspective, those who are obese are more likely incur more health care costs, just like smokers.

    I'm 6 ft and 200 lbs. my body fat is roughly 10%. My vitals are near perfect. I'm "overweight" and approaching "obese" based on that. Total horseshit.

    Do you really think your stats are the norm though?

    Actually, I know a lot of guys, including myself who are overweight by BMI but are perfectly lean and healthy...I don't think it's that unusual for active males to be overweight per BMI but still lean and healthy. Someone bordering on obese is hitting the weight room pretty hard, which isn't particularly unusual either but probably more of a rarity than just being overweight.

    I'm about 8 Lbs overweight as per BMI but at a perfectly healthy BF%...no love handles, no gut, etc...right around 15%. I'm by no means a body builder as I only lift 2x per week and spend most of my exercise time on my bike...but being active, I have enough muscle mass to class me as overweight by BMI.

    I don't think BMI is total BS or anything, but I think using it as the sole measure to run up someone's rates is pretty asinine.

    I agree with the bold but have a question about your first sentence--Are active males the norm? In my corner of the world, they are not. I don't think that many guys around me are in the overweight category BMI-wise due to their activity (actually muscle) level.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    fjmartini wrote: »
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    My life insurance company charges extra if your BMI is 'obese' or higher. No penalty for 'overweight'. I think it's fair, to be honest, for life insurance - which is basically gambling. You pays your money, you takes your chance.

    Health insurance is rather different. Putting hurdles between people and healthcare because they're unhealthy is absurd.

    But from an insurance perspective, those who are obese are more likely incur more health care costs, just like smokers.

    I'm 6 ft and 200 lbs. my body fat is roughly 10%. My vitals are near perfect. I'm "overweight" and approaching "obese" based on that. Total horseshit.

    Do you really think your stats are the norm though?

    Actually, I know a lot of guys, including myself who are overweight by BMI but are perfectly lean and healthy...I don't think it's that unusual for active males to be overweight per BMI but still lean and healthy. Someone bordering on obese is hitting the weight room pretty hard, which isn't particularly unusual either but probably more of a rarity than just being overweight.

    I'm about 8 Lbs overweight as per BMI but at a perfectly healthy BF%...no love handles, no gut, etc...right around 15%. I'm by no means a body builder as I only lift 2x per week and spend most of my exercise time on my bike...but being active, I have enough muscle mass to class me as overweight by BMI.

    I don't think BMI is total BS or anything, but I think using it as the sole measure to run up someone's rates is pretty asinine.

    I agree with the bold but have a question about your first sentence--Are active males the norm? In my corner of the world, they are not. I don't think that many guys around me are in the overweight category BMI-wise due to their activity (actually muscle) level.

    IDK...Probably not...I know a lot of them, but that's probably because I spend a lot of time outside on my bike or in the gym or rock climbing and the vast majority of my friends and family are recreational athletes at minimum so I tend to be surrounded by pretty fit people in my day to day life.

    I'd just think an insurance company should have multiple measures before jacking up rates.
  • vmbourg
    vmbourg Posts: 125 Member
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    My personal trainer is my height and weighs 165lbs. This girl is solid muscle, small waist , excellent health. Me on the other hand.. i am 5'4 166lbs and Let just say I dont looke like her. Body fat % plays a big role. That would sucks for someone who is a health professional and in impeccable health to be penalized for BMI? Hope they take in other factors like waist size! My mother in law jsut had weight loss surgery and is the same height as me and only 2lbs larger.. but I wear a size 8 and she wears a 14.. Too subjective of a measurement.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Were the other 12 people overweight? I realize this may be hard to tell by looking if they are just a little overweight but most of the people that I know who are at a healthy weight think (or at least say) they are overweight.

    Yeah ... I think they are in the over-weight to obese category. Doubtful regarding anyone being morbidly obese. I just never thought about it in those terms. Too worried about what I'm doing.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    Ruatine wrote: »
    Since close to 70% of the US adult population is overweight by BMI standards, I'd say that it's actually quite normal to see more overweight people than normal weight people. My insurance doesn't ding people for being overweight or smoking. They do the opposite. They incentivize people who are normal weight and/or don't smoke through a wellness program.


    I would love this!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I'm in my 40's and I have never been overweight in my life. The highest I've been is near the top of the healthy weight range. I came to MFP several years ago to reverse the upward trend I was on and get back to my ideal. Been maintaining at goal for over 5 years now. Among my friends, I am pretty average, since most of us have always been more fit than average. But I do notice that the majority of people I see when I'm out and about seem to be on the heavy side these days.

    It's not particularly complicated to maintain a healthy weight in my experience. It just takes the commitment and some basic effort. The most important thing is determining your priorities. If fitness is a true priority, you'll make it happen. If not, you won't. Of course, some people have special medical problems that complicate weight management, but most people could do more to stay in shape. They just chose not to.

    I can see why insurance might want to charge more for obesity (especially morbid obesity), considering the numerous conditions and health risks associated with it, but simply being overweight doesn't necessarily increase risks...
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    So, at a meeting this week, we were all chatting about random stuff and one person brought up her partner was coming onto her insurance because her partner's company's insurance was going to start charging more for smokers (private company). Another one said the same thing, but it was due to health stats like BMI, BP, etc. and they were given notice this would take effect January 1, 2018. Change now or pay more later, I guess.

    The smoking thing didn't phase anyone, but the weight thing did. One of my office mates said, "That's not a fair thing to charge for, I mean, who's NOT overweight?" Myself and one other person raised our hands. Two out of 14 people. I don't perceive anyone being obese, but I really have no idea and don't really think about it. I was obese, lost 100+ pounds and have been in maintenance almost three years.

    It was just an interesting observation for me--even our folks with "active" jobs are probably overweight. Only two our of 14 were a healthy weight.

    I know not everyone works in a office, but with their office mates or stay-at-home-parent folks, is my office an anomaly? Or is it normal?

    If they were going to raise my rates because of BMI, I'd be pissed. I'm about 8 Lbs overweight as per BMI, but I'm not fat...I'm not 6 pack lean or anything, but I don't have love handles or a belly or anything like that.

    I'm also hypertensive despite healthy BF% and the fact that I exercise in some manner or another 6-7 days per week...it's a hereditary thing...it would suck to get overcharged for crappy genetics.

    That's why the partners are coming over to our insurance, no "penalties" like that smoking, etc.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    I know it's slightly off topic from your op, but our insurance already has this policy in place-but the bmi to be penalized is high, into the obese range. So those who are just in the overweight category are not penalized on weight alone. Other health markers are also assessed though, like bp/cholesterol etc and you can be penalized based on those.

    Really interesting--I have no frame of reference, our insurance plans don't do that.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    jospen83 wrote: »
    Geography plays a role, too. I lived in Southern California for several years & always felt HUGE compared to other women around me. I moved back to Texas & not only felt like I fit right in, but looked a little smaller than many other women (my BMI when I moved here teetered between obese & overweight).

    I'm still in Texas, but after losing 55# and now sitting squarely in the middle of my normal BMI range, I'm typically one of the smallest (weight-wise) women everywhere I go. I have a feeling I'd finally look about average if I went back to SoCal.

    Funny you should mention SoCal--that's where I live now.
  • mengqiz86
    mengqiz86 Posts: 176 Member
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    I work in one of the largest healthcare companies and I rarely see overweight people in my group. In fact, I say probably 10% is overweight? I also don't know ANY smokers among my coworkers. Most people have
    SOME workout habit (golf doesn't count! :) ) But it may not be representative because we are in the healthcare industry after all.

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