Overweight is the New Normal Weight

Replies

  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
    truer words were never spoken
  • slender_sunshine
    slender_sunshine Posts: 42
    "While national surveys show that 67% of Americans are overweight or obese, a new survey of 1,000 Americans by Russell Research commissioned by Pollock Communications, showed only 52% of Americans believe they are overweight."

    Yes, and how many think they are overweight when they are really underweight? I'm not sure there is a "normal" anymore -- our body perceptions are very individualized. Both rates of obesity and rates of anorexia/bulemia are going up. I also think it depends on where you live in the US. I live on a college campus, and most people here are at a healthy body weight or extremely fit. Overweight and obese people are accepted, but it's not the norm here.
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
    I was just thinking about the reality of this when I watched a couple movies from the late 70s/early 80s over the weekend. Everyone was SO THIN! Sure, they were movies, so I am not saying that was reality, but they all seemed thin even for being movie stars! I'm guessing it might be because (with a few exceptions) even our movie stars/celebrities are slightly larger than before (not that they are typically overweight, but just a few pounds more than a couple decades ago).
  • Scottlass
    Scottlass Posts: 6
    Scary and I think they're right....
  • isyslove
    isyslove Posts: 64 Member
    Good thing I am starting to hangout with my sisters that are model thin.

    Thanks for the article.



    PS. OMG! YOU LOOK AMAZING! CONGRATS IN YOUR LIFE CHANGE!!
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    Society has gotten lazy. Lots of people are just giving up on trying to live a healthy active lifestyle.

    America is a fast food nation.

    Stuffing their faces with greasy Big Macs and Supersizing their meals is cheap and quick but unfortunately, what a lot of people lean towards. This in turn seems to lead to obese people, who end up being depressed with their weight, so in turn they just keep stuffing their faces, eating their emotions. Vicious circle.

    No one is as active as they used to be. Foods are crammed full of processed crap and chemicals.

    Investigate a bit further and take a peek at what obesity rates used to be like 50 years ago, before 80% of the food we ate was processed junk and we relied heavily on cars and little scooters to cart our fat *kitten* around.
  • azlady7
    azlady7 Posts: 471 Member
    not so sure i agree with this article....at least not their reasons for why there is a growing trend. I, personally, feel like I stick out like a sore thumb whereever I go. I am usually the fattest person in a room.....And I am not freaky huge (230 which is scary but I am saying in comparison to 300+ which I used to be....geez hope i am not offending anyone). Anyways, most of my friends are thin, and they arent gaining cause of me.....

    I think the issue is this.....what used to be considered chubby is now fat and what used to be considered fat is now obese, and what used to be obese is now considered morbidly obese. so if our standards have changed then, yes, all these little muffin tops running around dont consider themselves fat or obese since that wasnt the standard. I think america is still obsessed with beauty and still finds chubby, fat, overweight, obese people gross and this is just another example as how to ostrasize (sp?) us.

    If I am going to take the blame for my weight AND my friends weight then where do we draw the line? I am in debt cause my friends are....I am on welfare for life cause my friends are....I have stds cause my friends do....I mean really, self accountability applies not only to me, the fat person, but also to my skinny friends, even if they end up fat. Which is funny cause I am gonna end up thin because I took accountability for my choices :D

    I love a good article like this! thanks for posting :D
  • CherryTop
    CherryTop Posts: 41 Member
    I have 50lbs to loose with very little support. I am faced with comments like "You look great , why bother?" , "You look great to be a Mom of 4." , "BMI , Smh , who cares about that , it is not about #s it's about how you feel & look." ... I find more sabotagers than supporters. It is my guess I am not alone. It is like a learning curve ... societies fat curve.
  • hml1976
    hml1976 Posts: 64
    I think this article is right on. I'm excellent at convincing myself that I don't need to lose weight. At 165lbs and 5'2.5" (small frame) I thought I was chubby until I really looked at pictures and really started feeling the health effects of my weight.

    Now that I've lost some weight I've noticed too that clothing sizes have changed. I have size 4's from a decade ago that I'm just now squeezing into but I've been a size 4 for months in new clothing. Everything stretches now, I often think we could really help along healthy eating and fitness if we just mandated non-stretch waist bands :) As much as I love my yoga pants!

    Even on MFP I see people who post that they like being plus-sized etc. I think everyone has a right to look how they want but the health effects are real. I wonder how much of the "health care crisis" we could fix if everyone ate some produce and went for a nice long walk everyday. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, so much could be fixed with some veggies and a good walk.

    I say this as someone who spent years not managing to do just that, but I wish I could share what I've found.
  • DeBlue
    DeBlue Posts: 254 Member
    Agree everything is geared toward helping us "feel better" about our weight. The size 10 I wore in high school is easily a size 6 now. So if I were wearing a size 10 today and feeling good about it I would probably be 30 to 40 pounds overweight.

    I tried on a pair of 6 jeans this week and they were WAY too big. It may be a rush to think I'm a size 4 now, but reality check is that I have the same bones and blood - time to remember it is the sizes that have changed.
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    And we demand bigger seats on the planes!
  • mama050709
    mama050709 Posts: 100
    Thanks. I found it a little crazy myself... but honestly when you go out next time take a look around you! There are sooo many over weight people and it seems like this is the NEW American lifestyle! I get called boney and get accused of having a eating disorder all the time now since I've lost weight... but I think it's funny when I was over weight people had no problem with what was going in my mouth and had nothing to say about the way I looked - at least to my face ;)
  • msjamartin
    msjamartin Posts: 148
    I'm starting to get some of the same responses. I have 60 lbs to go for my goal but having lost so much weight, friends and family say things like, "you don't look like you have 60 more to lose", etc. I look around at work, church, even the gym and so many are justifying being "larger" as the norm. My goal weight is very reasonable, not over the top and not unreachable. Yet many people are expressing their thoughts that it is too much and I won't be able to maintain that low of weight etc. Baloney! When I reach my goal, my body will level out as I transition from weightloss to a healthy normal. I've made a lifestyle change and I'm not on a "diet".

    America is scary! Everything is in the extreme and everyone wants instant results. We didn't get this way overnight and we won't change it overnight.

    Keep it up everyone!!!!
  • millionsofpeaches
    millionsofpeaches Posts: 372
    That is pretty interesting and I can see the validity behind it... If everyone is overweight then that would be considered the new norm. It is rather appalling to read the percentages and realize that so many people are overweight or obese. I am afraid to say and this is my vanity talking but I know that I will never let myself fall into that "overweight" category again and I will never ever be "obese". I think more people need to look at the bigger picture and think about their overall health... It is awesome to see so many wonderful people on MFP taking charge of their health!
  • PalmettoparkGuy
    PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
    I totally agree. Now that I'm at a healthy weight, I am so tired of the the negative comments about me looking sick.
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    Although I think we can all agree that America is a "fatter" country, I DO think we need to go back and look at the standards of about 50 years ago. Take a look at women, in particular, in bathing suits and models of that day. They weren't stick thin, they were 'healthy', they had a little meat on their bones. A little belly was considered pleasing........now, if you don't have rock-hard abs, you're FAT.

    Because I weigh 30 lbs over my "healthy" BMI, I am obese? That's ridiculous...........

    I think weight and health should be analyzed by many factors - other health indicators, family genetics, body type. The obsessions we have with weighing a certain amount seem so unhealthy to me :(
  • mama050709
    mama050709 Posts: 100
    I totally agree. Now that I'm at a healthy weight, I am so tired of the the negative comments about me looking sick.

    Ya seems the way it is for some reason.... they always have negative things to say when your feeling on top of the world!
  • gerritnking
    gerritnking Posts: 42
    its true....scary....but true.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
    "Research published in scientific journals has found that obesity appears to be socially contagious. For example, Harvard Medical School researchers found that your chances of becoming obese are 57% greater if you have a close friend who is obese. Researchers at Arizona State University also found that women who had someone in their social circle who was overweight or obese were more likely to have pounds to lose too."

    Socially contageous...social circles... - I find this statement to be a bit broad. Were the looking at all demographics here? Sex of the poeple in the study, income, where they lived, etc.


    However, I do agree that it may be slowly becoming the "social norm" because so many Americans go for quick rather than quality when it comes to food, exercise. etc. And that does reach across the demographic board, its not just people with little money who have to buy processed foods in order to keep their family's eating, its people of higher incomes too, all areas of the country.

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