Body size and the brain

Replies

  • weakaaron
    weakaaron Posts: 11 Member
    that is really intersesting. thanks for sharing
  • cannonsky
    cannonsky Posts: 850 Member
    the brain is neat... isn't it?
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    One thing struck me about that article.

    If you asked me to pick how I looked, I would choose a normal silhouette, but if you take my height and weight, my BMI says I am overweight. So according to the research in this article I have a warped body image.

    The thing is I am not fat, I'm 6' 1", 93kg and a 32" waist, my extra weight is muscle mass. I don't know what the selection criteria was for participants who took part in the research, but I think the big flaw is associating weight with shape. For a given weight, you can have many different body shapes, depending on the composition of the weight and how it is distributed.
  • cannonsky
    cannonsky Posts: 850 Member
    I put little credence into the BMI scale, but I get what you are saying. I think the point of the article was to point out how easily the mind can play tricks on us and how skewed our perception of health is.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Interesting read, thanks for the link.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    I'm not fat, I'm big brained!

    Edit: I recall a study in which they intentionally skewed the width of a subjects picture and asked them to put it back to normal. Those with eating disorders always put it much wider than what their reality is.

    It's normal for our brain to make us feel better about ourselves.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    interesting, and sadly not suprising... overweight and obese have become 'normal' these days...

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