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.

90% of the side bar in the DM is arrivals about women's weight or appearance it's an appalling rag.

Yes I'm a 16 and probably not that healthy because I don't get enough exercise or eat my five a day.

I could rectify both these things and I'd probably be 11 stone something not 12.5, and feel happier in myself and my clothes.

I'd still be a size 16! To be less would mean a real diet and loads of exercise and that would make me stressed and miserable, not healthy.

Which people who look thin and 'healthy' on the outside can also have...

and since when has eating fat been a bad thing??? i'd say all those dodgy 'low fat' products are worse for you than full fat

I've just lost 4 stone 3 pounds (so far) following biwi low carb threads

your body needs FAT

It is unhealthy though.

I'm a size 12 (Well I was before I got pregnant, 34+4 weeks and weight less than I did before I got pregnant so don't have a clue really) at 5'2" and feel really pretty overweight. I have low BP but it still feels unhealthy even though I don't eat much crap, I don't eat much at all really.

My ex though, was 6'3" and weighed about 10 stone and massively over ate loads of junk and never anything healthy and I think he was probably more unhealthy than I am.

I don't assume anyone is healthy just because they are thin but I do assume that people carrying excess weight are unhealthy. It is an extra strain on joints to carry around excess weight at the very least.

I get very uneasy about campaigns to respect fat people, widen airplane seats for eg.

We should not bully or shame people but nor should we celebrate being fat.

I think in these kind of debates many people who are for some reason disgusted by fat people and think of them as lesser beings seem to dress it up as a 'concern' about their health.

Surely weight is only one indication of health though and that's the point. I also thought that being a bit overweight didn't really matter as long as you ate well and exercised....the problems only really start once you're into "obese" territory don't they?

I may be wrong.

I'm not particularly happy the weight I am right now, because I was always slim and I yearn for my pre-baby body, but I don't think my "weight" is unhealthy.

Maybe some do. I don't.

Very little 'disgusts me. But I think you have one time on this earth and one body and you should treat it as well as you can.

So you do that then- leave others to make their own choices. There are numerous unhealthy things people do every day, being a size 16 isn't necessarily the worst.

I wouldn't assume that a healthy weight person is completely healthy JUST because of their weight.

I despise that kind of justification because it normalises an unhealthy body weight.

I get that people don't like to hear they're overweight. It's not nice. But it is fact. Carrying to much weight/body fat is a huge risk factor for many illnesses.

so there does seem to be more disgust these days at being fat......open disgust at smokers,the same for larger people too.

I think fat people get far more stick than smokers these days tbh. Its like smoking has been forgotten and now its Oh Emm Gee obesity is a KILLERRRRR!!

has anyone ever tried to sustain 'clean eating'? in our western world its very very difficult to eat as nature intended. as a human being we were not designed to have a diet of processed food and sugar......I tried clean eating for a recent 2 week food challenge. I lost 6.5 pounds,and felt amazing

impossible in this society to sustain tho.....

Nobody is disputing that there are other unhealthy things you can do to your body.

This post was about size though, hence why it is focusing on size/weight.

Just because you don't smoke/drink excessively/eat fast food every day...that doesn't (health-wise) make it ok for your body to be carrying so much excess weight. They don't cancel each other out.

Fut
A lot of other unhealthy behaviours are also criticised e.g. smoking, excessive drinking.

I am obese and I know that it is probably going to damage my health if I don't do something about it even though it hasn't done any harm yet. Even if it doesn't damage my health it will probably restrict my options / mobility as I get older and less able to "carry it off".

Consequently, I've taken a close look at my diet and made it healthier. I want to be able to run around after any grandchildren I might have.

But what is your weight at 5 feet 2 OP? I realise it is basically not allowed to suggest on mumsnet that size 16 might be on the heavy side for your height, but simply because you have not yet developed problems associated with weight gain such as type 2 diabetes, circulatory problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, joint problems, angina, heart disease, etc is not representative either, because medical data indicates that there is a strong correlation.

I run, and its pretty obvious how much even a half stone weight gain affects not only your speed but the way your body moves. So while you may still be able to do exercise, particularly non weight bearing exercise like cycling or swimming, it is unlikely to be fast. You don't see any overweight successful athletes. Its so easy to let weight gain happen as you get older and say the things you said about being happy with your body. I don't see how being happy with your body necessitates putting on weight though.

Slim people are not necessarily healthy, but for the normal, average person if you both exercise and watch your weight and don't let it creep up, you are more likely to stay healthy for longer. I must also admit there is a vanity issue in it for me too - I simply look a lot better when I'm not overweight.

I think talking about sizes is very misleading. I am only 5 ft 4 and after having the DCs I was a size 14 but well over what is considered a healthy BMI. I think 10 st 7 is the top end of normal with 8 st 5 being the bottom, 11st something is the top end of 'overweight' for 5 ft 2.

However I am not silly enough for one minute to believe the DM article to be a true representation of women at this weight but there is no getting away from being over or under weight can lead to serious health problems, it is not about being fat or being a size 10, extra weight can lead to lots of issues, I was 10 st 13 and had a bad back which got better once I had lost a stone.

I fully understand the limitations of BMI but there is a large range for each height and I was still over it!

Someone who is 5 ft 10 is unlikely to be overweight if they are a size 16. My friend was that height and looked a size 6 at most but she was actually a 12, I was a 12 too but she was a lot slimmer than me.

I can't see why anyone would be disgusted at someone being overweight, it is everyones own choice and I think that would be cruel to think that way.

i'm 5ft 11 and size 16 for me is overweight.....very

I'm 5'7, weigh 11 stone 10, size 14-16. I have a very wide ribcage and shoulders. Most people assume I'm around a size 12 because I'm tall and apple-shaped rather than carrying weight round my hips and thighs, and we have been conditioned to think that size 16 is fat. We all know that women's clothes sizing is a dark art anyway anyway.

I go to the gym two to three times a week and went on a 12-mile walk to the weekend. Balls to the Daily Scum.

YABU

If you are heavier than you ought to be you ARE at increased risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. And that's true even if you exercise and eat healthily.

And 36 is young.

Wait until your metabolism changes (as it often does when women go into their 40's and 50's) and you start to go through menopause, and that 28 lbs of additional fat that you are currently carrying around turns into 35 or 40lbs of extra fat.

And by the way, I am overweight myself. I was a size 10/12 until I hit 42, and then I slowly started to put on weight because of problems with my thyroid. I now weight about 11 and a half stone and am a solid size 14. I am doing everything I can to bring my weight down, because I have seen the misery that diabetes and heart disease can cause first hand in my family, and feel it's my duty to my children and my DH to do all I can to help myself reduce the risk of these illnesses.

Seriously - I don't give a flying fuck about my looks or what other people think of them. At 47 I have no intention of returning to the sort of mentality I had in my teens. But I do care about my health, and so should you.

In fact we all should - we owe it to the NHS.

Er, smokers get a lot less stick now because smoking is unlawful in public places. I rarely see smokers now. But I see a lot of overweight people.

I think smoking is also very unhealthy.

I have recently put on a stone and I hate it. I hate the fact that I get out of breath more easily and I struggle to put on my clothes. I don't give a shit what the DM thinks about my body.

But I do get irritated by this mantra that fat is beautiful. It isn't. And to dislike something does NOT equate with disgust.

"we have been conditioned to think that size 16 is fat"

In my experience most women who are a size 16 are carrying around about 2 stone of extra fat.

The average height of women in the UK is 5ft 4 inches. The idea that all these size 16's are amazonian women with lots of muscle and big bones is bollocks. Some are but most are not.

Then again I am probably at the top end of acceptable weight range for my height but I really don't think they take build into account. I've been a stone or so lighter than this before due to depression and I looked gaunt and rickety, so much so that people commented on it.

Heysoulsister - I think it does vary from one person to another, sorry I was being very generalised in saying someone who is tall wouldn't be overweight at a size 16.

I think I looked overweight when I am a size 12 for ME (not based on BMI or other peoples opinions) as I am only 5 ft 4, size 10 looks normal, size 8 a bit skinny. I have friends who weigh more than me and are a size 8-10, it is just their build.

ephemeralfairy - I actually think its the other way round - as a society we have been conditioned to think that a size 16 is normal/healthy or on the thin side when it isn't necessarily.

I don't think we've been conditioned to think a size 16 is fat

If anything I think people are being conditioned to think it isn't...purely because it's the average UK size now.

There will always be some size 16 people who are not fat that we can use as examples.

But considering the average height of UK women is 5ft 4.5in, the majority of size 16s are going to be fat.

Some people might not like that and they can keep saying things like "oh well I know loads of size 10 women who smoke/drink/eat junk"

But that attitude isn't going to help them lose weight and it's odds on that as they get older, they'll end up gaining more.