"Who's NOT Overweight?"
Replies
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i don't work, but i live in an area (in usa) where alto of ppl are overweight. i would say prob like 6 out of 8 are very heavy. i would say working in an office would be about the same rate.
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In my office most people are not overweight, I wonder if its because its a construction office where most employees worked construction prior. Maybe a good amount of muscle on their frames has kept them a little leaner.0
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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.
NYC tends to have thinner people on average as well.
Hmmm, I’m from NYC and still live here and I feel like I see more overweight than thing day to day. Granted some may be tourists but here are my general observations:
1.) In College: A fair amount of overweight people- maybe more than half but of course many of my peers aren’t from NYC originally.
2.) At my internship (office setting): predominately overweight. See same 20 or so people daily, 4 are slender (no extra weight) and 3 are fit (muscle tone, etc). The rest are chubby at best, likely overweight.
3.) At my job (at a club / bar): Mostly slender with few overweight individuals in the crowd.
4.) In trains: About half and half.
These are just my observations of course I’m sure different people here see different things.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »OliveGirl128 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.
Even if we aren't the norm, we exist and depending on where one lives, we exist in larger numbers...if insurance rates were raised simply based on BMI, there'd still be quite a few people basically being punished for being fit.0 -
BMI is good enough for an estimate and applies and fits most. However, if I'm going to be charged more money for something, it better be an exact equation that holds every person under the same scrutiny. It also better account for people who are just outside of the ranges. I workout regularly, but I could stand to lose some weight. I would have a major problem if my insurance is trying to tell me to regulate my food intake when I'm not unhealthy. I could see if they applied this to MORBIDLY obese people, and I'm talking like extreme cases. Even then, I don't think that's fair. This type of premium should be to encourage you to get healthy and reward vs. penalize.
Back to your question, I've never seen that before. I live in a dense city, I see far less overweight people here than when I go back home in rural Ohio. I see a lot of overweight people on a day to day basis, but not overwhelming as in your situation.
When I was traveling in Europe, I noticed a lot less overweight people. It could have been the day/time/place and it was purely coincidental, but I found that interesting.1 -
It doesn’t affect our health care but my office is say most are not overweight. Maybe 70/30 split, not sure if it matters but we have a lot of international folks (I’m in the US) but my last office was about 90 overweight, 10 not.0
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Queenmunchy wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »That makes sense. Isn't around two thirds of the States overweight and obese? Six out of seven being overweight is higher but it could be demographics.
The SAHMs I know tend to be normal to overweight. There are a few obese. My guess is that it is a slimmer group than average for our age. I am one of the larger ones at 158lbs and 5'8". Normal BMI.
I'm a sahm as well and I literally do not know another sahm that's not overweight/very overweight. I'm definitely the odd one out in that sense, in my little circle.
It's almost backwards where I live. Most of the SAHMs I know are pretty darn skinny.
I'm on maternity leave right now, but definitely not part of that trend
I was going to say the same. Where I live (Colorado, south of Denver) the SAHMs in my neck of the woods are fit and look fantastic.0 -
Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.7 -
Queenmunchy wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »That makes sense. Isn't around two thirds of the States overweight and obese? Six out of seven being overweight is higher but it could be demographics.
The SAHMs I know tend to be normal to overweight. There are a few obese. My guess is that it is a slimmer group than average for our age. I am one of the larger ones at 158lbs and 5'8". Normal BMI.
I'm a sahm as well and I literally do not know another sahm that's not overweight/very overweight. I'm definitely the odd one out in that sense, in my little circle.
It's almost backwards where I live. Most of the SAHMs I know are pretty darn skinny.
I'm on maternity leave right now, but definitely not part of that trend
I was going to say the same. Where I live (Colorado, south of Denver) the SAHMs in my neck of the woods are fit and look fantastic.
I live in New Mexico and we certainly have our fair share of obesity here...but we have a lot of active people around here too that are pretty fit. Our weather is pretty much ideal almost year around (Dec/Jan kinda suck) and it's kind of an outdoor person's paradise. Hiking and rock climbing and mountain biking and skiing are pretty huge here. In Albuquerque we have around 50 miles of multi-use trails...that doesn't even include the bike paths on the road, and they're adding more and they're always full with people having fun and staying fit.
So while it's not unusual to see obese people out and about, it's also not unusual to see healthy and fit people out and about.1 -
Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.3 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Queenmunchy wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »That makes sense. Isn't around two thirds of the States overweight and obese? Six out of seven being overweight is higher but it could be demographics.
The SAHMs I know tend to be normal to overweight. There are a few obese. My guess is that it is a slimmer group than average for our age. I am one of the larger ones at 158lbs and 5'8". Normal BMI.
I'm a sahm as well and I literally do not know another sahm that's not overweight/very overweight. I'm definitely the odd one out in that sense, in my little circle.
It's almost backwards where I live. Most of the SAHMs I know are pretty darn skinny.
I'm on maternity leave right now, but definitely not part of that trend
I was going to say the same. Where I live (Colorado, south of Denver) the SAHMs in my neck of the woods are fit and look fantastic.
I live in New Mexico and we certainly have our fair share of obesity here...but we have a lot of active people around here too that are pretty fit. Our weather is pretty much ideal almost year around (Dec/Jan kinda suck) and it's kind of an outdoor person's paradise. Hiking and rock climbing and mountain biking and skiing are pretty huge here. In Albuquerque we have around 50 miles of multi-use trails...that doesn't even include the bike paths on the road, and they're adding more and they're always full with people having fun and staying fit.
So while it's not unusual to see obese people out and about, it's also not unusual to see healthy and fit people out and about.
I lived in Albuquerque as a teen, my dad was Air Force and I think our areas are very similar. I have access to tons of outdoor activities, great weather (we also ski/snowboard and snowshoe), tons of hiking, lots of parks, etc. And don't get me wrong, we have plenty of obesity but my area is mostly people who work to stay in shape.0 -
eliciaobrien1 wrote: »Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.
Not to mention that the average size 16 clothing are WAY bigger than size 16 was back in the day with vanity sizing....3 -
eliciaobrien1 wrote: »Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.
I'm not sure if I've ever met someone who is a size 16 who doesn't want to or isn't trying to lose weight. I think that statistic "average US woman is size 16" is more towards fashion houses to produce fashionable clothing in bigger sizes. I obviously haven't spoken to ALL women that size, but in my experience that quote is to reflect the need for designers to provide clothing that aren't just boxy, baggy, grandma-y. Being overweight doesn't mean you can't enjoy nice things in life, like having a variety of options in clothes IMO, so I don't find that quote particularly problematic.
I also never hear overweight women deny their health risks, I just always see them trying to love the skin their in and live life to the fullest like the rest of us. I don't think anyones happiness/enjoyment of life should be postponed till they are X size or X pounds. Again, this is all based on my personal experiences with people throwing around that statistic.11 -
EllieElla2015 wrote: »eliciaobrien1 wrote: »Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.
I'm not sure if I've ever met someone who is a size 16 who doesn't want to or isn't trying to lose weight. I think that statistic "average US woman is size 16" is more towards fashion houses to produce fashionable clothing in bigger sizes. I obviously haven't spoken to ALL women that size, but in my experience that quote is to reflect the need for designers to provide clothing that aren't just boxy, baggy, grandma-y. Being overweight doesn't mean you can't enjoy nice things in life, like having a variety of options in clothes IMO, so I don't find that quote particularly problematic.
I also never hear overweight women deny their health risks, I just always see them trying to love the skin their in and live life to the fullest like the rest of us. I don't think anyones happiness/enjoyment of life should be postponed till they are X size or X pounds. Again, this is all based on my personal experiences with people throwing around that statistic.
There is literally a whole movement based on the idea that a size 16 is healthy, that you can't tell if a person is obese just by looking at them (the thing is you definitely can). Browse social media and you'll see the way the masses think.
The statistic "the average US woman is a size 16" is literally the average size of US women.
I hear overweight women deny their health risks on a daily basis.
I have a friend who is getting close to the 300s and she asks me how I lost weight and I tell her all I did was count calories and she says "I don't have the time for that" and that she "actually doesn't care about her weight". I know she is lying obviously but these women are in denial.
If the average woman is obese then obviously they don't care about their health enough to actually lose the weight. I didn't for a long time. I was a size 18. It's okay to love yourself the way you are but you can't deny being unhealthy. That's all I was saying.
There are definitely A LOT of women out there who think they are perfectly healthy at a size 18. And that's scary.6 -
eliciaobrien1 wrote: »EllieElla2015 wrote: »eliciaobrien1 wrote: »Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.
I'm not sure if I've ever met someone who is a size 16 who doesn't want to or isn't trying to lose weight. I think that statistic "average US woman is size 16" is more towards fashion houses to produce fashionable clothing in bigger sizes. I obviously haven't spoken to ALL women that size, but in my experience that quote is to reflect the need for designers to provide clothing that aren't just boxy, baggy, grandma-y. Being overweight doesn't mean you can't enjoy nice things in life, like having a variety of options in clothes IMO, so I don't find that quote particularly problematic.
I also never hear overweight women deny their health risks, I just always see them trying to love the skin their in and live life to the fullest like the rest of us. I don't think anyones happiness/enjoyment of life should be postponed till they are X size or X pounds. Again, this is all based on my personal experiences with people throwing around that statistic.
There is literally a whole movement based on the idea that a size 16 is healthy, that you can't tell if a person is obese just by looking at them (the thing is you definitely can). Browse social media and you'll see the way the masses think.
The statistic "the average US woman is a size 16" is literally the average size of US women.
I hear overweight women deny their health risks on a daily basis.
I have a friend who is getting close to the 300s and she asks me how I lost weight and I tell her all I did was count calories and she says "I don't have the time for that" and that she "actually doesn't care about her weight". I know she is lying obviously but these women are in denial.
If the average woman is obese then obviously they don't care about their health enough to actually lose the weight. I didn't for a long time. I was a size 18. It's okay to love yourself the way you are but you can't deny being unhealthy. That's all I was saying.
There are definitely A LOT of women out there who think they are perfectly healthy at a size 18. And that's scary.
I think a lot of that is to end judgement. I have seen “you can’t determine health by looking at someone”. I haven’t seen “obese”. When I have seen it, it’s been followed by comments of overweight women saying they’re runners, can lift, etc. I have no stamina- I can’t run. My 5’2 190 pound friend outruns me by far. I think overweight women face a lot of judgement and this is a shield from that judgement. You can’t look at someone and say they can’t run a mile- everyone thinks I can but I can’t. You can’t look at someone and tell them they have diabetes (yes, you could assume they’re at higher risk for it, but you don’t even know if they’re trying to combat the issue). That’s the context I’ve heard that in. In a “don’t judge me because of my weight” way, which I think is valid especially when it comes to vocalizing those opinions which I’m sure a handful of people do.
I’m sure you’ve seen what you seen, and yes in that case I agree with you in those examples. You absolutely can tell if someone is obese. And it’s not healthy to deny health risks. I’m just saying I’ve seen mostly (well, honestly only) less “radical” body positivity with a goal of ending judgement and for big companies to cater to their measurements. I also just generally think we shouldn’t put anyone down and feeling like you’re being judged all day is quite the put down. This movement allows those who feel judged to develop a widespread support system and I don’t think it’s wrong. Like with any movement or idea, you’ll have radical thinking in some individuals or even just different interpretations. I don’t think that should speak to everyone who partakes in the movement, though.
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I'm overweight at 126 pounds, at my height. Nevermind that my health is stellar and I got muscle; sure, just charge me more for this arbitrary metric of health.
BMI is a terrible way to determine insurance premiums.
Exactly, how anybody could think it's a good idea is beyond stupid. Sure, if you wanna start charge people extra, you better find better ways than BMI to determine how fat people are.2 -
Skipjack66 wrote: »As the topic of waist to hip ratio has come up, I have a question for anyone out there who knows a little more about the topic. Are there any adjustments for age or height? It seems to me as a very tall but post-menopausal woman, what is said about my ratio seems wrong to me. Those calculator sites tell me I'm "at risk". Yes, my weight distribution has changed, but this is common for most post menopausal women, often for even the thinnest women (like my mother at 100lbs and 5'8"). Fat redistributes itself to the tummy/waist instead of the hips. It just happens because of less estrogen!
So I'm 5'11.5" (lost an inch this decade) and 149 lbs which puts my BMI at a healthy 21, in the lower range of "normal". Yet my waist is 35" and hips are 40. Maybe my waist was a couple of inches smaller ten years ago, but no more, and heck, I'm really tall so my frame is always gonna be larger! My waist could never be that small, and 35 is the cut off!
Anybody have a similar issues with their waist to hip ratio? Just curious is all.
My sister is 6 foot tall and she probably has similar waist measurements. She is built like a guy that way. Tall and slim legs and thighs and a smaller butt. But her waist is not very defined. Low rise pants suits her the best. A pair of men's classic 501's fits great on her.0 -
EllieElla2015 wrote: »eliciaobrien1 wrote: »EllieElla2015 wrote: »eliciaobrien1 wrote: »Obesity rate keeps rising, and yet instead of trying to solve the problem, we are just accepting it. Clothing sizes just keep getting bigger, food portions at restaurants keep getting larger.. when are we going to say, "no, it is not healthy to be overweight, let's do something about it". ?
This. I cannot agree more with this. When I hear, 'The average US woman is a size 16' it makes me cringe. That should be an issue, of course this is a very unpopular opinion for me to share.
Same with, 'real women have curves' or 'men like meat on the bones' although for slightly different reasons.
It definitely is an issue and should be treated as such. Unfortunately, with body positivity comes people thinking because this is the average it's totally healthy. No. Obese=unhealthy.
I'm not sure if I've ever met someone who is a size 16 who doesn't want to or isn't trying to lose weight. I think that statistic "average US woman is size 16" is more towards fashion houses to produce fashionable clothing in bigger sizes. I obviously haven't spoken to ALL women that size, but in my experience that quote is to reflect the need for designers to provide clothing that aren't just boxy, baggy, grandma-y. Being overweight doesn't mean you can't enjoy nice things in life, like having a variety of options in clothes IMO, so I don't find that quote particularly problematic.
I also never hear overweight women deny their health risks, I just always see them trying to love the skin their in and live life to the fullest like the rest of us. I don't think anyones happiness/enjoyment of life should be postponed till they are X size or X pounds. Again, this is all based on my personal experiences with people throwing around that statistic.
There is literally a whole movement based on the idea that a size 16 is healthy, that you can't tell if a person is obese just by looking at them (the thing is you definitely can). Browse social media and you'll see the way the masses think.
The statistic "the average US woman is a size 16" is literally the average size of US women.
I hear overweight women deny their health risks on a daily basis.
I have a friend who is getting close to the 300s and she asks me how I lost weight and I tell her all I did was count calories and she says "I don't have the time for that" and that she "actually doesn't care about her weight". I know she is lying obviously but these women are in denial.
If the average woman is obese then obviously they don't care about their health enough to actually lose the weight. I didn't for a long time. I was a size 18. It's okay to love yourself the way you are but you can't deny being unhealthy. That's all I was saying.
There are definitely A LOT of women out there who think they are perfectly healthy at a size 18. And that's scary.
I think a lot of that is to end judgement. I have seen “you can’t determine health by looking at someone”. I haven’t seen “obese”. When I have seen it, it’s been followed by comments of overweight women saying they’re runners, can lift, etc. I have no stamina- I can’t run. My 5’2 190 pound friend outruns me by far. I think overweight women face a lot of judgement and this is a shield from that judgement. You can’t look at someone and say they can’t run a mile- everyone thinks I can but I can’t. You can’t look at someone and tell them they have diabetes (yes, you could assume they’re at higher risk for it, but you don’t even know if they’re trying to combat the issue). That’s the context I’ve heard that in. In a “don’t judge me because of my weight” way, which I think is valid especially when it comes to vocalizing those opinions which I’m sure a handful of people do.
I’m sure you’ve seen what you seen, and yes in that case I agree with you in those examples. You absolutely can tell if someone is obese. And it’s not healthy to deny health risks. I’m just saying I’ve seen mostly (well, honestly only) less “radical” body positivity with a goal of ending judgement and for big companies to cater to their measurements. I also just generally think we shouldn’t put anyone down and feeling like you’re being judged all day is quite the put down. This movement allows those who feel judged to develop a widespread support system and I don’t think it’s wrong. Like with any movement or idea, you’ll have radical thinking in some individuals or even just different interpretations. I don’t think that should speak to everyone who partakes in the movement, though.
Yes I agree nobody should be judged based on how much they weigh or how they look. But the people you're talking about aren't the problem. It's the people that glamorize obesity that are the problem.
And I don't think big companies should have to cater to their measurements. It's totally up to a designer what kind of clothes they want to design and make available. There are plenty of plus-size clothing stores but unfortunately you're not going to find the latest trends because they don't look good on all body types. Nobody will buy the clothing if it doesn't look good on them. So why make it?3 -
For the record, many women are not obese at a size 18. On me that's not obese. I wear between a 12 and a 16 currently (depending on brand) and am three pounds off from healthy BMI, with a waist less than half my height. And I'm not all that tall, only 5'8". Plenty of women are taller and can easily have less than a 25 BMI while wearing a 16.11
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rheddmobile wrote: »For the record, many women are not obese at a size 18. On me that's not obese. I wear between a 12 and a 16 currently (depending on brand) and am three pounds off from healthy BMI, with a waist less than half my height. And I'm not all that tall, only 5'8". Plenty of women are taller and can easily have less than a 25 BMI while wearing a 16.
You'd have to have some crazy hip bones to not be obese in a size 18. It's circumference not height. I'm sure height plays into sizes but not an 18. That is some woo right there.11
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