being skinny is more unhealthy than being fat?

124

Replies

  • laynunugawa
    laynunugawa Posts: 108 Member
    correlation-vs-causation.jpg?w=495&h=382
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • Avandel
    Avandel Posts: 283 Member
    Do these people who write this crap realize there are not two types of weight but three. :grumble: How about this concept, underweight, overweight & a healthy weight. (you know, the one in between) duh!

    They did use "normal weight" people as controls in the study.

    I didn't say Normal, as each person's healthy weight is going to be different all depending on each person, height, age, etc.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Do these people who write this crap realize there are not two types of weight but three. :grumble: How about this concept, underweight, overweight & a healthy weight. (you know, the one in between) duh!

    They did use "normal weight" people as controls in the study.

    I didn't say Normal, as each person's healthy weight is going to be different all depending on each person, height, age, etc.

    The study was based on BMI (which includes height as part of the ratio), and included samples from 51,000 people of varying ages. Please, just admit you didn't read the article.

    Also, diabetes and hypertension WERE taken into consideration.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Yes we know "being unhealthy is unhealthy." The question is WHAT DEFINES UNHEALTHY.

    You people make the internet(tm) such a frustrating place.

    The definition of unhealthy is simply the lack of good health in the current moment. You cannot define it much further because so many independent variables are involved. People are saying "being unhealthy is unhealthy" AT ANY WEIGHT.

    What's frustrating is that "health" is frequently measured by weight (is skinny more unhealthy then being fat -- no, because health shouldn't be measured by weight alone) - which is why the debate needed to stop with unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight.
  • mielchat
    mielchat Posts: 41 Member
    You can be unhealthy at any weight. Both the extremes obviously carry their own risks, but I wouldn't say either one is 'healthier' than the other.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member

    The definition of unhealthy is simply the lack of good health. You cannot define it much further because so many independent variables are involved. People are saying "being unhealthy is unhealthy" AT ANY WEIGHT.

    What's frustrating is that "health" is frequently measured by weight (is skinny more unhealthy then being fat -- no, because health shouldn't be measured by weight alone) - which is why the debate needed to stop with unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight.

    Of course it would be ignorant to say that weight (to put it simply) has no bearing on health, and it would also be ignorant to say that weight is the only factor involved in health. But the purpose of a scientific study like this is to find a link between a variable and an effect, with the understanding that there will always be exceptions, genetic mutations, what have you. It helps to have a society that understands basic rules based on scientific study in order for individuals to make better decisions. Would you argue that maintaining a healthy size is not important? Okay, well how do we figure out what a healthy size/weight/mass is? By scientific study. The goal is not to conclude whether someone should strive to be fat or skinny, the goal is to continually reevaluate the standards by which we deem ourselves to be "healthy" or "unhealthy" based on longevity and predisposition to disease.
    the debate needed to stop with unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight.

    So what if scientific study concluded that being 15lbs "overweight" actually has no negative effect on a person's health? You don't think that is worth talking about?
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member

    The definition of unhealthy is simply the lack of good health. You cannot define it much further because so many independent variables are involved. People are saying "being unhealthy is unhealthy" AT ANY WEIGHT.

    What's frustrating is that "health" is frequently measured by weight (is skinny more unhealthy then being fat -- no, because health shouldn't be measured by weight alone) - which is why the debate needed to stop with unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight.

    Of course it would be ignorant to say that weight (to put it simply) has no bearing on health, and it would also be ignorant to say that weight is the only factor involved in health. But the purpose of a scientific study like this is to find a link between a variable and an effect, with the understanding that there will always be exceptions, genetic mutations, what have you. It helps to have a society that understands basic rules based on scientific study in order for individuals to make better decisions. Would you argue that maintaining a healthy size is not important? Okay, well how do we figure out what a healthy size/weight/mass is? By scientific study. The goal is not to conclude whether someone should strive to be fat or skinny, the goal is to continually reevaluate the standards by which we deem ourselves to be "healthy" or "unhealthy" based on longevity and predisposition to disease.
    the debate needed to stop with unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight.

    So what if scientific study concluded that being 15lbs "overweight" actually has no negative effect on a person's health? You don't think that is worth talking about?

    I think you're missing my point entirely -- there is are too much emphasis on healthy as it related to weight.

    So, no quite frankly, I don't think it's worth talking about as it was posed here. What I can tell you for certain is this the standard by which we determine "overweight" is irrevocably jacked. I wouldn't find it shocking in the least that somebody 15 pounds overweight suffered no negative impact health-wise. If anything, that just tells you the standard by which we're measuring healthy weights needs adjusted to capture more accurate pictures of health and not higher insurance premiums. If that's what you want to talk about -- dandy, there is a discussion to be had -- but this thread seems to be about weight and health as it relates to the BMI. I don't find that discussion to be helpful at all.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Being underweight will kill you FASTER but being overweight/obese will still get you in the end. A 6 year study isn't a long enough time frame to show that.

    And how did you reach that conclusion?

    Because malnourishment will get you sooner rather than later. Diabetes will get you later rather than sooner. I mean severely underweight.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,467 Member
    I think it's quite a positive article, and the results of the study are interesting. It's good news, isn't it?

    After all, we're not all suddenly going to get to a "healthy" BMI. It's nice to see something encouraging for those of us who don't make it there and our overweight friends and loved ones.

    It seems that as we've got fatter, we're living longer. I know the article conflicts with other information we have, but the issue isn't clearcut. (Google "obesity paradox").
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I think you're missing the point entirely -- there is are too much emphasis on healthy as it related to weight.

    So, no quite frankly, I don't think it's worth talking about. What I can tell you for certain is this the standard by which we determine "overweight" is irrevocably jacked. I wouldn't find it shocking in the least that somebody 15 pounds overweight suffered no negative impact health-wise. If anything, that just tells you the standard by which we're measuring healthy weights needs adjusted to capture more accurate pictures of health and not higher insurance premiums. If that's what you want to talk about -- dandy, there is a discussion to be had -- but this thread seems to be about weight and health as it relates to the BMI. I don't find that discussion to be helpful at all.

    I'm not missing the point. I understand the point of the study. I agree that one of the standards for health, weight, is misunderstood and unreliable as a sole indicator of health. What you are failing to understand is that the PURPOSE OF THE STUDY is to investigate whether our current standard for weight as an indicator of health (and weight IS an indicator of health, just not the only one) needs to be adjusted.

    You don't want to believe it because you didn't read the study, but it's illustrating your exact feelings on weight.
  • airbent
    airbent Posts: 150 Member
    I would rather be skinny my whole life and love myself and die a BIT sooner than be fat and hate myself and live longer. Why would anyone want to live extra while they hate what they see in the mirror?
    Who said everyone overweight hates themselves and everyone underweight loves themselves?

    Its Called an OPINION. I guess I should rephrase:
    Why would I want to live extra while I hate what I see in the mirror?

    Better?

    And yes it is physcological, just as people that think they don't need to lose weight when they do have phsycological issues. The only difference is the fat people are coddled, and the skinny people are victimized all because there are way more fatties than skinnies.

    And I fall right in perfectly healthy BMI so this was just a pondering of mine, I don't ACTUALLY have phsycological issues with myself. I'm healthy and happy.

    The thing is you don't get to determine who needs to lose weight, or who has psychological issues.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I think you're missing the point entirely -- there is are too much emphasis on healthy as it related to weight.

    So, no quite frankly, I don't think it's worth talking about. What I can tell you for certain is this the standard by which we determine "overweight" is irrevocably jacked. I wouldn't find it shocking in the least that somebody 15 pounds overweight suffered no negative impact health-wise. If anything, that just tells you the standard by which we're measuring healthy weights needs adjusted to capture more accurate pictures of health and not higher insurance premiums. If that's what you want to talk about -- dandy, there is a discussion to be had -- but this thread seems to be about weight and health as it relates to the BMI. I don't find that discussion to be helpful at all.

    I'm not missing the point. I understand the point of the study. I agree that one of the standards for health, weight, is misunderstood and unreliable as a sole indicator of health. What you are failing to understand is that the PURPOSE OF THE STUDY is to investigate whether our current standard for weight as an indicator of health (and weight IS an indicator of health, just not the only one) needs to be adjusted.

    You don't want to believe it because you didn't read the study, but it's illustrating your exact feelings on weight.

    Ugh. Nope, you're missing my point. What is going on in this forum is that people are talking about how they'd rather die sooner and be thin than live longer and be fat . That's why this thread needed to end with unhealthy is unhealthy.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member

    Ugh. Nope, you're missing my point. What is going on in this forum is that people are talking about how they'd rather die sooner and be thin than live longer and be fat . That's why this thread needed to end with unhealthy is unhealthy.

    Oh this is fun, a game of "who is missing the point"

    It's called intelligent debate/discussion. If it doesn't interest you, you can always go back to posting on Facebook.
  • carriempls
    carriempls Posts: 326 Member
    Being unhealthy is unhealthy. Doesn't matter which side of the spectrum you fall on.

    And that's pretty much it.

    I've known plenty of "normal"-weight folks who were very unhealthy and I know a person or two who are obese but very healthy. While being obese can (and often does) correlate to health risks and issues it's not always the case.

    And someone may have had bad health haibts to become obese but have since taken up good habits and are perfectly healthy.

    I was once obese, now overweight. I eat better than most people I know and exercise regularly. My biometric #s are all great. I want to lose weight to look better and for the long term benefits (easier on my joints) but my doctor isn't even encouraging me to lose.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member

    Ugh. Nope, you're missing my point. What is going on in this forum is that people are talking about how they'd rather die sooner and be thin than live longer and be fat . That's why this thread needed to end with unhealthy is unhealthy.

    Oh this is fun, a game of "who is missing the point"

    It's called intelligent debate/discussion. If it doesn't interest you, you can always go back to posting on Facebook.

    Intelligent debates and discussion are respectful.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,467 Member
    healthy = adopting healthy habits, weight =/= health

    Healthy Habits:
    1. Eating well (plenty of produce, not too much processed sugar)
    2. Staying active (moderate leves of activity, not super intense is required)
    3. Maintain a healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and triglyceride levels
    4. Maintain bone density and functional strength
    5. Maintain functional balance and flexibility

    This may or may not cause you to lose weight and put you in the "healthy" weight range.

    No matter what you weigh, if you follow steps 1-5, you'll likely live a long time, even if you remain overweight.

    This is great advice. I'd love to see a swing to this sort of advice being given to obese people, rather than just "lose weight".
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Intelligent debates and discussion are respectful.

    You posted "END THREAD" before anyone even responded. So, I'm calling BS on your "I said we should end the discussion because the thread wasn't intelligent or respectful" claim.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Intelligent debates and discussion are respectful.

    You posted "END THREAD" before anyone even responded. So, I'm calling BS on your "I said we should end the discussion because the thread wasn't intelligent or respectful" claim.

    I was directly responding to how the information was presented n the initial post because it will directly affect how people respond.

    Believe it or not, you are not talking to and under-educated idiot.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I was directly responding to how the information was presented n the initial post because it will directly affect how people respond.

    No you weren't, all you typed was "THIS. END THREAD". When you type END THREAD I hoped you would have the good sense to leave it. If it doesn't interest you, go away.

    I didn't call you an under-educated idiot. If you don't care to talk about the subject, then stop sh*tting up the thread.

    This is why we can't have intelligent debate on these boards.
  • carld256
    carld256 Posts: 855 Member
    Someone has probably already made this point, but the underweight statistic likely includes anorexics who have the deadliest psychiatric disorder out there. It's six times more lethal than major depression. If the numbers were rebalanced to exclude serious mental disorders on both sides, then I'm betting being seriously overweight would be far worse than being underweight.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I was directly responding to how the information was presented n the initial post because it will directly affect how people respond.

    When you type END THREAD I hoped you would have the good sense to leave it. If it doesn't interest you, go away.

    ... it's not that the study didn't interest me - obviously I read it and agree with it's findings. It's that it was presented in a way that was going to lead people into nonsense discussions. This discussion is a prime example.If you didn't want to see me post back in this thread so the real debate could happen, you probably shouldn't have engaged me, eh?
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    ... it's not that the study didn't interest me - obviously I read it and agree with it's findings. It's that it was presented in a way that was going to lead people into nonsense discussions. This discussion is a prime example.If you didn't want to see me post back in this thread so the real debate could happen, you probably shouldn't have engaged me, eh?

    "Tu quoque"

    Some of us are able to see this study for the research, not for the way it was presented. If you agree with its findings and want to have an intelligent discussion about it, then why don't you?
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    ... it's not that the study didn't interest me - obviously I read it and agree with it's findings. It's that it was presented in a way that was going to lead people into nonsense discussions. This discussion is a prime example.If you didn't want to see me post back in this thread so the real debate could happen, you probably shouldn't have engaged me, eh?

    "Tu quoque"

    Some of us are able to see this study for the research, not for the way it was presented. If you agree with its findings and want to have an intelligent discussion about it, then why don't you?

    You can't have an intelligent discussions on these boards ever, let alone one with the topic: "Being skinny is more unhealthy than being fat?" which to me just sounds like an invite for trolls, people with seriously disordered eating and body dismorphia to justify their "opinions". The best possible consensus this group could possibly come to is unhealthy is unhealthy at any weight and am real glad to see so many people echoing it.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Hey guys let's go back to talking about the research behind this article

    I kind of hope more people will accept that "a few extra pounds" isn't an unhealthy body type even if it doesn't appeal to them visually
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    Interested in talking about what, exactly? Unhealthy is unhealthy - nobody should want to be unhealthy for any reason. There is not conversation to be had there. Instead you are going to get people who are terrified about being heavy trying to justify the unhealthy they measures they take to stay thin -- or people who are heavy who want to use this as a justification to lead to continue their lifestyle (that likely increases their chances at becoming unhealthy) at some point in the future. There is nothing legitimate to talk about -- just people justifying their unhealthy, warped perspectives.
    whatever it is they're interested in talking about, they've talked about it for 5 pages. so i'm guessing that's an indication of interest in the subject, whether everyone aproves of it or not.
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    i can't help but wonder why someone would stay to argue that we shouldn't bother to talk about a topic.

    surely the sane and reasoned response is to shrug, close thread and find one that interests you?
  • glovepuppet
    glovepuppet Posts: 1,710 Member
    Hey guys let's go back to talking about the research behind this article

    I kind of hope more people will accept that "a few extra pounds" isn't an unhealthy body type even if it doesn't appeal to them visually
    this i would love to see. especially in the popular press. most especially in women's magazines.
  • xSinfulUndeadx
    xSinfulUndeadx Posts: 42
    I would rather be a few pounds overweight than too skinny. Yes I agree that being too overweight is unhealthy but so is being underweight. Alot of women think they have to be really skinny. But really being at a healthy average weight is best. I don't want to be "skinny". I want to be a nice average healthy weight. I love my curves and big butt and don't want to lose them. I am a size 14 and want to be a size 8.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    this i would love to see. especially in the popular press. most especially in women's magazines.

    That would really be great... It seems as though the standard by which we judge a person's weight to be "healthy" or "unhealthy" has become extremely specific, but the human body is more adaptable than people want to believe. Bodies are meant to store some fat, flat abs are not the only model of health!
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Hey guys let's go back to talking about the research behind this article

    I kind of hope more people will accept that "a few extra pounds" isn't an unhealthy body type even if it doesn't appeal to them visually
    this i would love to see. especially in the popular press. most especially in women's magazines.
    '
    Magazines are the WORST. This lady on the treadmill next to me at the gym this AM was looking at one and they had post-baby pics of Jessica Simpson and it was talking about how big she was (this was probably more of a trash mag than a women's magazine, but still). Next thing you know, she'll lose a bunch of weight and the press will be calling her "dangerously thin"

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