To think that the Obesity Epidemic is Exagerated and there IS no so-called epidemic.

[luvmetelly]

It's been on the news all morning about Obesity..

Where are all these morbidly obese people? I was out all morning, on a very busy high street and I came across only two people who I would class as obese.
Where do they get their facts and figures from?

[catsrus]

probably because what you think of as normal weight isn't... looking at photos of my parents taken when I was a small child makes me realise how we all weigh so much more these days.

I'm a size 10 skirt, having come down from a 16, and was patting myself on the back until I got a real bargain in a charity shop that was a very smart size 10 from the 60's and it would barely come over my hips. Vanity sizing means we have crept up weight wise and don't even recognise it any more.

[ihatethecold]

I do think it exists
You don't have to be massively overweight to become morbidly obese.

[squoosh]

There's definitely an epidemic, it's just that it's crept up over the past two decades or so.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

Depends where you are. In more affluent places, no, you don't see lots of very obese people. But in some places it is very common.

I do think our perception of what is fat is changing too - a modern size 14 would probably have been considered large 50 years ago. Now, not so much.

[abitwrong123]

I think it does exist and we are mostly just unrealistic about healthy weights now.
I also think most people are unrealistic about what constitutes regular exercise and and a healthy diet.

[GooodMythicalMorning]

We definitely see bigger people as normal compared to a few years ago. Ive lost nearly 6 stone in a year snd down to 12, at 5'11 im mid range of healthy for my bmi but have been suprised by the amount of people telling me im too thin and I should be eating more. Our perception of healthy has become so distorted we don't know what healthy looks like any more.

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

hatethecold erm..."You don't have to be massively overweight to become morbidly obese"

Yes you do.

There's a BIG difference between morbidly obese and a bit fat or an unhealthy BMI.

Morbidly obese is generally someone who has lost control of their weight and is very large.

But OP YABU. It is an epidemic and the scary thing is that most people do not realise that it's largely down to processed food.

That's it.

It's not people eating 9 portions of salad and meat that are growing huge. It's not people chowing down on 14 apples and a home cooked meal that are fat.

It's people who are eating large amounts of processed food.

[badgerknowsbest]

What people now judge as overweight or obese is completely different to even 20 years ago. Vanity sizing in shops also changes people's view regarding weight.

Someone on here pointed out that in Friends, one of the episodes where Monica is "fat" actually doesn't look that large anymore - I saw it the other day and I agree!

[StormyBrid]

YANBU to say there is no obesity epidemic. Fat isn't contagious!

[luvmetelly]

True, there were not many thin people around and some were overweight. But next to none were what I would call morbidly obese. At what stage does obese become morbid anyway?

[GooodMythicalMorning]

Where it becomes life threatening I think. But being obese in general isnt good for you.

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

Badger I have to disagree there! It must be subjective because I've just googled and she looks overweight to me...a lot overweight! she's got about 3 chins!

[WorriedMutha]

Definitely agree with the affluence comment. If you walk round a posh neighbourhood, you won't see many fat people. You will in a poor high street. I have found it also true of the US which has a notorious obesity problem. New York and San Fransisco, slim people. Disneyland Florida, eye poppingly obese people. Is obesity a class issue?

[skolastica]

Maybe the people with real problems aren't out on the streets - I have vague memories of a television programme about the need for special ambulances and procedures to deal with exceptionally heavy people, does anyone else remember this?

[squoosh]

Morbidly obese is generally someone who has lost control of their weight and is very large.

While I agree that morbid obesity clearly indicates someone has a problem that need addressing urgently I do think a lot of people would be surprised at what morbid obesity actually means. Some people's 'fat' is actual morbid obesity.

My friend has been told she's borderline morbidly obese, she looks a bit overweight but she truly doesn't look huge.

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

Generally, men with a waist circumference of 94cm or more and women with a waist circumference of 80cm or more are more likely to develop obesity-related health problems.

That's from the NHS Telly. They don't class it from BMI any more as people with high muscle density can have high BMI.

[Badvocinapeartree]

It's not necessarily easy to see the effects of obesity and poor diet.
Type 2 diabetes
High cholesterol
More risk of heart attack and stroke
Arthritis
Breathing problems

[mumofboyo]

As everyone else has said, you don't have to be that big to be classed as obese.
I have recently lost 1 1/2 st and am now merely 'overweight'; before that I had a bmi of 30 and classed as obese. I was 11st 6lb, a size 14. I didn't look huge - I certainly wouldn't have classed myself as being obese and was shocked into doing something.

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

Squoosh maybe it's all down to the size of her waistline then? If people who carry their weight more in the middle are more at risk (and I've read that's true) then those with apple shapes but who perhaps have slimmish legs etc might not look that large.

[Hatespiders]

I agree with those above who say you don't have to be massive to be obese. When we go into our regional city and sit watching everyone go by, we are constantly amazed at the sheer numbers of overweight people (young, old and children) passing along the pavement.
I was born in the forties, and believe me nobody was obese and hardly anyone even slightly overweight. We never 'snacked,' ate very few sweets and had cooked-from-scratch meals with fresh vegetables and butcher's meat. We ate apples and any fruits in season, and walked everywhere because no-one in our street owned a car. We had bikes, pogo sticks, stilts, scooters and roller skates of course, and stayed out of doors during all daylight hours climbing trees, building dens and playing street games. Our parents worked liked billy-oh, especially mums who had hardly any labour-saving machines. We were all healthy and slim.
So that's why there's an epidemic nowadays. People sit on their sofas eating and eating; they snack on pizzas and burgers, they scoff those little sugary cupcakes and they do all the housework jobs with a machine.
And me? I'm fat too now! Size 20. LOL!

[CallMeExhausted]

Technically, morbidly obese is a BMI over 40. Overweight is over 25, obese is over 30.

It is not a judgement, it is a numeric correlation.

[luvmetelly]

classed as obese. I was 11st 6lb, a size 14. I didn't look huge - I certainly wouldn't have classed myself as being obese and was shocked into doing something

Bloody hell! That's worrying. I'm just under 12 stone but have only thought of myself as slightly overweight

May I ask how tall you are mumofboyo?
Doesn't height have a lot to do with it as well?

[Cherriesandapples]

I regularly see people through my job who are 15 stone or more..... One person was 28 stone..... This is what they mean

[Balaboosta]

No you've got a point. Lots of scare-mongering and bad science going on. It's become a lever for behavioural control, nudging and state intervention. To be resisted in my opinion. Not to say nobody has a problem and they shouldn't be helped if they want help but yes to resisting hysteria and finger-pointing. We should be glad we have enough to eat.

[mumofboyo]

I'm not tall - 5'1". People looked at me and said I was slim but I carry my weight around my middle. I recently had a gallbladder scan and that showed, as well as being borderline obese, I have a fatty liver. Hopefully, now I weigh 10st and am still losing, have a bmi of 26 and my waistline has decreased quite a bit, my liver will be starting to repair itself too.