posted
So I was droppiong out of hotmail, and I noticed a link to a somewhat outdated CBC article on obesity. Seeing as MSN has me tagged as a overwieght Canadian, I checked it out. Now you can too.
None of these numbers are new to me, but reading this reminded me of the time I visited the dietician(sp!) and did the whole Body Mass Index thing. I'll be the first to admit that I am overwieght, and would benifit from losing wieght, but the BMI has me pegged at 6 foot nothin', so my ideal body wieght is 180 or so pounds. (I'm writing imperial for the benifit of clear thinking and for all you yanks.)
I'm sure there are a lot of people here who have thoughts on this - because my thought is that if I ever wieghed under 200 pounds, it would be because I lost a couple of limbs. People have always called me big boned. (and I always promptly reply: Bones Don't Jiggle!) But that's not just them being nice, it's true. I'm built like a line-backer but twice as goofy looking.
How many of you are 6 foot and male? How many of you think 180 something pounds is what every physicaly(sp!) healthy 6 foot male should wiegh?
And while we're on the topic, is obesity the problem that the media makes it out to be? I'll admit that obesity and lack of physical activity add medical and other kinds of stress to our society, but is the "obesity plague" being blown out of proportion?
Comments, critisisms, jokes, and wieght loss plans are welcome.
Posts: 353 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
See, I get scolded by my health care team when I say I want to lose weight.
In terms of my body fat percentage--it's low.
My BMI, on the higher end.
Why?
BMI doesn't take into account an athlete's build. Athletes have lean muscle tissue filled with water. This muscle tissue weighs more than fat. So, your body-fat ratio is lower but your BMI is higher, so your BMI will tell you to lose weight.
There's other things too. Society values, your own values.
I know that I have a slight problem with my own outlook. I want to get down to a size eight (I'm a ten, in case you were wondering). I consistently weigh about 150. I've talked to a dietician. She says my workout routine is great, my dietary knowledge is good, and that when I follow it, I do well. She ALSO said that I will never drop below 140 unless I become anorexic with my body type.
posted
Well, as a medical student, I hear about the Medical Concerns of Obesity often. About as often as I hear about the Concerns of Smoking and Concerns of Studying Too Much (okay, not so much on the latter).
I looked up obesity on emedicine (obesity is considered a disease). Here's the edited version of Increased Health Risks
quote:Acute complications
Sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing are common in children and adolescents with obesity.
Pseudotumor cerebri also may occur with increased frequency in children with obesity.
A number of orthopedic disorders, including genu valgum, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, and tibia vara, are observed more commonly in children with obesity.
Evidence of liver dysfunction, with elevated plasma concentrations of transaminases, is observed in 20% of children with obesity; the liver dysfunction most commonly reflects hepatic steatosis, but cirrhosis may develop in rare instances. Cholelithiasis is more common in adults with obesity than in adults with normal weight. Although gallstones are unusual in childhood, nearly one half of all cases of cholecystitis in adolescents are associated with obesity. Cholecystitis may be even more common during rapid weight loss, particularly with very controlled–energy diets.
Emotional and psychosocial sequelae are widespread.
Obesity during childhood and adolescence is associated with a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including hyperinsulinism and insulin resistance, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, reduced levels of HDL, and hypertension. Adolescent girls with obesity also demonstrate a hyperandrogenic profile. The clinical picture resembles that of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Among sexually mature adolescents, changes in serum lipids and androgens seem to correlate more strongly with body fat distribution than with absolute weight. Thus, adolescents with central obesity (ie, android or abdominal fat pattern) are more likely to manifest these cardiovascular risk factors than individuals with peripheral obesity (ie, gynoid or gluteal pattern).
Long-term complications
Obesity during childhood and adolescence is associated with an increased risk of obesity during adulthood, with its attendant long-term health risks.
The dramatic increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes among adolescents with obesity is likely to be accompanied by a host of diabetic-related complications in adulthood and a reduction in life span. An increased risk of death from all causes and from coronary artery disease (CAD) has been observed consistently in males, but not in females, who had obesity during adolescence. Gout and colorectal cancer increased among men who had obesity as adolescents, and arthritis increased among women who had obesity as adolescents.
Psychosocial dysfunction in individuals who have obesity in childhood and adolescence is a serious concern. Among teens and young adults who were tracked after 7 years, overweight females were found to have completed less schooling, were less likely to have married, and had higher rates of household poverty compared to their nonoverweight peers. For overweight males, the only adverse outcome was a decreased likelihood of being married.
posted
The thing to remember with BMI is although it's a pretty accurate measurement, it will depend on your muscle:fat ratio.
I for example have a BMI of 21 (and right now I'm about 4 kilos heavier than I usually am). I've had a BMI as low as 19. This doesn't mean my body is healthy - I have no muscle. All my weight is bone and fat. So really, I could healthily stand to gain weight (cos muscle weighs more than fat...) and look better for it. And be much much healthier.
So I guess a heap of guys who are 6 foot and quite muscly will weigh more than 180 pounds and be very healthy.
And... hang on a minute. There are meant to be different BMI charts for women and men as well as ones based on age. That might account for the difference, cos the 180 pounds does seem a little low.
Edited: Mack beat me to it. Must be a slow typing day for me today.
posted
i look like i weigh about 150. i actually weigh about 200. yes, i would like to actually weigh 150, but at that point, i would probably start to look a little thin. or else my body fat is laced with lead.
i don't know enough about BMI to know what i should weigh for my stature. i'm also five five, but mac didn't say specifically what ideal weight for that height is. anyway, despite my "obesity" my cholesterol is great, and as far as i know, my heart is fine. i can't think of what else losing weight helps with right now. i try to go by what feels healthy. like i said, i am trying to lose weight, but if i get down to 150, even though that's probably twenty pounds or so over "ideal", i'll be a happy kid.
BMI is for the birds.
Posts: 1090 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
One more thing... the site you linked to had a message board on it "Do you think obese people should get an extra seat for free when they fly?"
(or words to that effect)
I should just state here: Airplane seats are stupidly small. I think we should all get the first class size.
All the same, last time I flew from LA to Sydney, I was put in a row of three with a clinically obese couple.
The effect was my seat was half taken, and I spent a good 20 hours squished onto the window. Of course, I don't have a solution to this problem.. just a general whinge.
(I also hate being sat next to crying babies. Or people with B.O. issues. Maybe I'm just a grumpy flier.)
posted
What probably matters more than weight is what exactly you eat each day. We've had some nutrition lectures where they give us an example of a 24-hour recall (what the patient has eaten in the last 24 hours). Some people eat really poorly. Here are some uber-quick comments before I go to sleep (for the general reader, and to no one in specific):
Do you go out to eat more than once a week? Restaurant food is expensive and generally incredibly unhealthy. The portions are often oversized.
Do you eat fruits and vegetables each day? I'm horrible about this, but I'm conscious of the attempt to alter my diet each day.
Do you eat too much starch? When you're supposed to eat X number of starch servings a day, they actually count about 1/2 a cup of COOKED pasta as a serving. That's small! Lots of people in the US eat too much pasta at a meal.
Eat fish once or twice a week if you can. It has good oil (especially blue fin, mackerel, and salmon). So does olive oil and canola oil. Stay away from peanut oil, coconut oil, generic vegetable oil, lard... Or use very little at a time (a teaspoonful?). ------- If you want to lose weight, one suggested method is to look at your dietary habits, and make small changes that you're willing to abide by on a daily basis. Don't use creamer in your coffee, switch to diet soda, stop eating out at restaurants, eat an apple instead of a candy bar... Little things. Choose what's important to you in your daily eating habits, and allow yourself to change the other parts. And get exercise. Something like half an hour a day, three or four times a week. Walk, ride a bike, go to the gym, jump rope. Something.
posted
I've always thought those height/weight comparisons were totally bogus. There are just so many other factors to consider, not the least of which is the fact that muscle weighs more than fat, and bone density varies from person to person.
Back in High School Health class, determining BMI included height, weight, and some mathematical formula that included your numbers with calipers. You can also weigh yourself underwater to get the same BMI number, I think. That's how they determine if you're overweight in the military, from what my teacher told me once.
Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
The military uses height/weight ratios, then BMI, and THEN body/fat ratio. If your height/weight is out of ration, you have to get body/fat taken quite often to prove you aren't "out of shape." At least, that's the way it was in ROTC.
You also have to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test every six months. This consists of pushups, situps and a two-mile run. For women (it varies by age), it's 18 pushups, 60 situps, and 2 miles in 18:22 (I was 19 for those requirements). As I recall, I usually got just enough or just over the pushups, maxed out situps, and barely, barely passed the run. Now, I could fly through the run without a problem, as well as the pushups and situps.
*shrug*
I also don't eat pasta. Nor do I drink juice or regular soda. I eat a ton of fruit and veggies (when I do eat. meds I'm on lately make me not want to eat. o_O ).
I have good cholesterol, low blood pressure, and a low resting heart rate (in the lower 60s).
posted
If only physical health translated into mental health...then you and I could be sane again, mack. Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
BMI is what Weight Watchers uses to determine when you should stop losing weight, unless you have a doctor's note that says otherwise. I've gone from a BMI of 30 (obese!) when I started to 27 (overweight). The weight I'm trying to get to will land me a BMI of 21 (healthy).
I think it's a very reasonable number. Before I started WW, I knew I was on the heavy side, but thought I carried it well and looked much smaller. No, I was kidding myself. I was fat. For the vast majority of Americans, who rarely or never exercise, the BMI is quite accurate.
And yes, I do think obesity is something to be concerned about. It's a major medical risk. People are dying young from complications arising from obesity more and more today, and it's such a tragic, unnecessary cause of death.
Posts: 2220 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
Mack - you sound by your description about a hundred times more healthy than me! And if I might add - by your pictures (which I saw because of your haircut) you don't look overweight in the slightest. In fact, the extent your cheekbones are defined, I'd say you've got a very very healthy body.
I may be relatively slim, but I would much prefer to be heavier and fitter, and more muscly. The problem is I am not, and have never been, an athletic / excercis-y person.
I think our society is too focussed on 'thin' and not on healthy. The most unhealthy I've ever been was when I was at my thinnest, yet some people still said I looked fantastic (trust me, I didn't. I looked gaunt and like I wasn't eating enough.)
I think obesity is a problem, and is probably highlighted because such a large percentage of the population (both American and Australian) are obese. But idolising unhealthily skinny women (or men) is an equally serious problem.
I bought a trashy women's magazine last week that had a cover story of "What Slim Celebs Really Eat in a Day". These celebs are not slim. Rather, they all have a BMI of 18 or less (going down to 16!!) which is grossly underweight and just as much as health risk as obesity.
While I think obesity should be targetted in society, because of the health problems it causes, I totally don't think famous women with unhealthy bodies should be held up as the 'perfect body'. It's just so stupid. Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I've had issues with those height/weight things too. I'm 5'10"/5'11", and I've seen charts that say should weigh in the 160s. The skinniest I ever was was 175, and everybody says I looked anorexic and gaunt. The 160s are an absurd weight goal for me.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Hey! I'm 6'3 and 160. If you were gaunt at 5'11", what does that make me?! I will beat you down, Iccy man!
Posts: 5264 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Wonder Dog, my husband is 6 feet and I can't imagine him getting under 190. I saw him at 190 and he still looked heavy in clothes, but I'm not sure where else he could have lost weight from to make him look any thinner. He was in the Army at the time and in pretty good shape.
My brother, on the other hand, is 6'2" and weighs about 170. My Dad is 6'2' and weighs about 180. My brother looks good and has some muscles, my dad has a bit (little bit) of a pot belly. Of course, my dad and brother both were incredibly thin in their late teen/early 20's. My dad, upon joining the army at 6'2" weight 135 pounds! He gained 20 pounds the first two months in the Army. (And they say everyone loses weight in the Army. )
Anyway, I'd suggest getting to a body weight that you are comfortable with. One that is healthy for you. Make sure your cholesteral is where it should be and that you are getting exercise and then forget about what you "should" weigh.
fiazko, sorry, I don't know if you are a man or a woman. For a man, 5'5" small frame- 121-129, medium- 127-139, large- 135-152. For a woman, 5'5" small frame- 111-119, medium- 116-130, large 125-142.
Icky, the chart I have in front of me says a small framed 5'10" man's low weight is 140 and 5'11" large frame high weight is 179. Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Oh, and Frisco, at 6'3" and 160, that makes you at the low weight of a small framed man. Your ideal weight, small, medium and large frame is 160-171, 167-185, and 178-199, respectively.
::goes back to look at that naked picture of Eddie, as she doesn't remember him being emaciated::
posted
Yeah, see...I'm not small framed. I'm more of a medium. I have wide shoulders, but a small waist. But I'm still pretty healthy, no matter what any tests say.
::goes to look at naked picture of Kayla, just for the hell of it::
posted
I am 6' and weigh about 190. My weight fluctuates between about 185 and 195 and I think that 185 is probably my ideal weight. I don't think it is ideal for all 6' tall people, but based on my build I think it is for me.
Posts: 1336 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Hmmm... I too have pinpointed starches as one of my biggest challenges. A while ago I lost some major wieght, and my goal wieght was (and still is!) 250.
What worked for me? (I say worked becuase I'm not eating the way I was when I lost wieght. Shame on me!) Lots of water and vegetables, beig a lot more controlled with the size of my portions all around, and, most important, someone I really cared about coaching me on. I think that was the cinching factor.
All my life (well, at least from 6 and up) my wieght has been an issue. In grade 2 (I'd be 7) we did a unit on weight and measurement, so everyone in class got to wieght themselves in front of the class. I wieghed in at 125 pounds. Even my teacher gasped. That was when I first realized my size was a huge issue (pardon the pun).
I'm sure you all can guess what my childhood was like - few friends, low self-confidence, lots of teasting, etc. Not that I'm playing the pity card, just showing that the major issue I see with obesity is the mental impact, epecially the impact on children.
It's only in the last few years, after serving a mission and accomplishing my own goals, that I've started to gain the confidence I need to a) be a happier person inside (I was always happy on the outside :0) and b) feel a lot more comfortable with my body. That doesn't mean I don't want to loose wieght - 'cause I still do in a major way. It means I'm simply a lot more content with life.
That change in my self worth had a lot to do with some key people - parents, leaders, etc. - dealing with me with care and patience that I'd never had (or at least, recognized) before.
So how are we going to cure obesity? I believe that if any country (Canada, the US, Australia, whatever) needs help loosing wieght, the key will be a change in how thier populations as individuals view themselves. Maybe we need to start Love and Self-Worth propoganda campaigns. :0)
Another killer question - how is wieght related to physical attraction? (I know, the answer sounds obvious, but I want to pick your collective brains.)
Posts: 353 | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote: How many of you are 6 foot and male? How many of you think 180 something pounds is what every physicaly(sp!) healthy 6 foot male should wiegh?
If 180 is ideal for a six-foot-tall male, then I'm about 35 pounds underweight. The funny thing is that when people try to guess my weight, they usually aim for the 160-180 range. I really don't know where they think I keep that extra weight.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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