To feel depressed by this DM article re size 16

[Rachtoteach]

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2342207/Is-size-16-normal--danger-These-women-Britains-common-dress-size-youd-expect-healthy-battery-medical-tests-came-surprising-worrying-results.html

After 37 years on this planet I have finally developed something I wish more women could have - an acceptance of who I am and the ability of being happy in my own body..... even though - shock, horror - I am 5ft2, size 16, 11 something stone. Anyway, I don't cry in the changing rooms anymore . I exercise 3 x week, eat a balanced-ish diet, don't smoke, blah blah blah.

It just makes me sad and mad that the DM have taken 4 size 16 women who each turn out to have some health issues, and declare (effectively) all us size 16 women a picture of ill-health! On the results of four women?!! And implying, or least leaving the reader with the impression, that any other (smaller sized) women would conversely be in tip-top health - all of them, simply based on their size!

AIBU to think that there must be some healthy size 16 women out there and probably some not so healthy smaller women? If I am BU then I may as well give up now as I know I am unlikely to ever be much smaller than I am now.

I am 5 10 btw, that's why i commented but I am overweight ( 13 1/2 stone) but even at 11 1/2 -12 0 , top end of normal I am still size 14 -16, 11 st 14
less than 11 st still a 14

I think people are completely obsessed about the size and weight of other people

I would be a lot less interested on other people's weight if many resulting health problems weren't going to cause massive problems for the NHS.

we do have a obesity problem and it is getting worse.

also the normalisation of unhealthy weights means that, without knowing it, large numbers of people are not only damaging their own health, but storing up problems for children.

I'm amazed at how many people can confidently say "I'm a size X". Do you only ever buy clothes in one shop? I'm 5'8", slightly overweight (pear-shaped) although I don't know how much I weigh as I have no scales and can be anything from a 12 to a size 16 on a regular basis, depending on sizings from shop to shop and styles of clothes within shops.

Anyway, here are The Truths according to OrangeFire:

1. Being overweight does not automatically = unhealthy at this precise moment but it will predispose you to weight-related health problems.

2. "Fit" is not the same as "healthy".

3. Losing weight if overweight will almost always be A Good Thing.

4. Any so-called "research" based on dress sizes alone is utter bollocks due to the point made in my first paragraph.

5. Anything in the Daily Mail is utter bollocks, full stop.

6. 5. being a matter of absolute fact does not negate the truths in 1)-3)

7. None of this is rocket science.

ButternutSquish don't let the Daily Fucking Fail or anyone make you feel bad. You have done brilliantly!! :)

I've still got wobbly fat bits, but I give nothing in the way of fucks if I'm overweight, underweight or wombling free.
SamuelWests

Well Cote, I did Metafit and it was fabulous, I more than held my own in a class where most people were half my age and left feeling pretty euphoric really. Think I will be adding a weekly class into my exercise routine of running/spinning and pilates.
My bum hurts today though!

i am 5ft 8in. At 9.5 stone I am a size 14, at 13.5 stone I am a size 16...that is 4 stone difference in 1 dress size!!

I agree that being over weight isnt something that should be promoted, but dress size is no indication of anything

I am 5"10' and a size 10 (meaning I fit size 8-12 clothing, depending on the store). I can pinch an inch at most points of my body, especially thighs, post-baby tummy, etc.

I am not fat obviously, but I am also definitely not skinny.

A size 16 on me would involve at least another 10 kilos, and I would definitely be feeling heavy then, even at my height.

I am probably not that healthy as I don't really exercise; I find it dull as shit, sadly. I'd like to like exercising, but bottom line is I'd rather do housework that run, and that's saying something. As such, I really do have to watch what I eat in order not to put on weight. It is worth it for me as I would rather be slim. I can't imagine going for a biscuit and devouring the entire packet, that seems extreme to me.

No comment on the women in the article. Fair play to them for putting themselves out there to be ripped to shreds by the Daily Fail-reading public. That takes some guts.

some facts about obesity:

• A Government report recently claimed that obesity will cost the NHS £6.4bn per year by 2015
• In England data from 2011 shows that 24.8% of adults (16 or over) and 16.3% of children (2 -15) are obese
• In Scotland data from 2010 shows 27.4% of adults and 14% of children are obese

www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21702372

The difference in the size:weight ratios is mind boggling. I am 5ft5, 11st12 and a comfortable size 14. At 11st I get into some 12s. I'd have to be about 9.5 to be a 10 though I think.

Thanks to changing my useless thyroxine my weight is starting to creep down.

Regardless of the accuracy or otherwise of this article, it says it all that the DM have done it for women but not men

It depends on your POV but women generally carry more fat than men and use it differently (for biological reasons). Thus it's not unreasonable to target women as they are a relatively higher risk.

we have the heaviest women in Europe

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15901351

Chunderella

I'm not saying you're wrong but it depends on your POV and how you want to take the information that's been presented.

I believe it is a fact that women store fat differently than men and as such are a higher risk. Men die earlier but that may/may not have anything to do with the 'here & now'. I will worry about my longevity when I approach old age but for the present I want to know that I am in good shape.

I think FasterStonger's links have shown that raising this issue is perfectly valid and not simply an attack on women for sexist reasons.

Thanks to everyone who said 'well done' to me. I know I' not perfect and why I read the DM online, I have no idea. Everyday they show the worst of the press.

I would love to see men put through the mill too!

Smokers used to get all this shit but as it's illegal to smoke inside a public building it's a bit like, 'out of sight, out of mind'. The NHS still pays a fortune for cancer treatment for smokers, people ill through passive smoking, smoking related illnesses

The NHS still pays a fortune for cancer treatment for smokers, people ill through passive smoking, smoking related illnesses

The difference being that smokers contribute disproportionally to the Treasury through taxes on tobacco products.

There is no similar tax on calorie dense foods.

I'm aware that the causes of obesity runs deeper than this btw, but to be fair, the same can be said for smoking

I think the point about the DM article is that size 16 is a nice neat label (even though we know one shop's size 16 is another's 14/12 etc).

It just makes a snappier headline and allows women of different ages, heights and weights to be compared by a common denominator. It isn't women hating - that is simply shooting the messenger.

I agree DM should do a similar article for men. What is the male equivalent? Collar size? Waist size? Average male waist size is now 38 inches - perhaps find four blokes who fit the bill and compare their health markers? interesting

Basically, what FasterStronger said:

If the individual funds their own heathcare, then I agree that their weight/health/whatever is entirely their own business.

If, as in the UK, the rest of society has to fund the individual's healthcare, then it is quite reasonable for the rest of society to have an opinion, surely?

Owllady. Stick another 2 stone and a few pounds on top of your weight

Its the bloody Daily Mail, what do you expect?

They should feature an article about four average DM readers, to show how misinformed and bigoted they are.

Take no notice.

Does your GP or anyone say that you have any health problems?

I'm the best part of 5' 9'' and even when I was barely 9 and a bit stone I was still consistently a UK size 16-18 in various shops. At 9 and a bit stone I was verging on 'underweight'. Short of shaving bits off my pelvic and rib bones there's no way on earth I could have been smaller.

Many HCP are now thankfully much more enlightened when it comes to the limits of using weight, size and BMI to assess someone's health.

There's only one thing you can tell about someone who has a certain amount of fat on their body and that's that they have a certain amount of fat on their body.

I have no time for any type of body shaming or appearance Facism. Mental health plays a substantial role in people's relationships with nutrition and physical activity and assaults on anyone's self esteem is unhelpful in this respect. Poor mental health is also much more likely among lower socio-economic groups and these groups are also those who live in areas and circumstances where access to affordable nutritionally valuable food is relatively compromised. There's more to health than simply educating the supposedly 'ignorant' out of their 'unknowing' ways.

Many of the misconceptions about X size = Y health are not supported by independent, large scale, longtitudinal and academically rigorous research. Research that's not funded by companies and individuals with a vested interest in the multi-million pound diet industry.

Dr Linda Bacon's work on Health at Every Size is fascinating in this respect, especially regarding how loosing weight and then regaining it is substantially more damaging to a person's long term health than if they'd simply remained at their original weight. The Health at Every Size Movement has conducted and is conducting a wealth of research on the limits of BMI, the role of genetics and the importance of exercise, regardless of size, too.

As a woman I feel compassion for other women because our characters, intelligences, attitudes, capabilities, motivations and patenting skills are constantly judged by others on the superficial basis of our appearance.