To be surprised I'm overweight?

[overweightcat]

I don't know why but it's really knocked me for six.
I went on the NHS BMI calculator and found out I'm classed as overweight.

I'm 26 and weigh 74kg at 169cm height. Looking at it writing it down I realise it's quite a big number (weight) and before even going on the calculator I knew I'm carrying some extra weight and wanted to loose some to feel a bit better about myself but didn't realise I'm overweight.

I don't hate my current body, my stomach isn't flat but not huge, I've got some stretch marks and a bit of looser skin from 2 pregnancies, my thighs and arms are a bit bigger but I didn't think it was excessive, I've got a good bum and ok boobs all things considered and I'm curvy(ish).
I'm also quite strong and I know some of it will be muscle but definitely not all I'm not silly enough to think that.

AIBU to be really surprised I'm classed as overweight?

For some reason it's really shocked me and I'm feeling very self conscious since finding out.

Yes @PanicOnTheStreets85 reverse causation is discussed and e.g. those with cancer excluded from the results

Incidentally, non-smokers with a BMI of 18 have a lower mortality rate than smokers with a BMI of 22.5 (8.5 deaths per 1000 vs 15.4)

Because smoking is very bad for you!

My posts are responding to the specific point that it is best to be at the low end of the healthy range. I can only find evidence stating the opposite.

Let's get things in perspective...

For non-smokers, the mortality rate at BMI 18 is 0.1% higher than for BMI 22.5.

@PhoneLock I'm responding to a specific poster who said it was best to be at the low end. I cant find any evidence for that.

I'm not saying we should all be 22.5 exactly.

In fact, my only advice to OP is not to get too hung up on where she is in the healthy range (once she is) and instead to focus on good diet and healthy lifestyle.

Weight is such a sensitive topic, I was reading a thread on the mums.chat
about skinny shaming vrs fat shaming, it’s an interesting read!

But in truth we judge ourselves more than anyone else judges us.

Don’t let numbers control your feelings! Weight is fluid, aim for healthy and happy.

I'm between 5ft7 and 5ft8 (171cm) and now weigh just over 10 stone now. It's not fat but certainly not skinny. After I had my 2nd child I was 11.5 stone. Apparently I was in my healthy BMI range but definitely looked and felt overweight. Some people carry weight better than others. You only need to lose a little bit. What worked for me was 16/8 which I don't see as a diet - only a way of eating..

@crispysausagerolls I think it's a fair representation! I am a size 10 top and 12 bottom (maybe my weight is all in my arse so hidden in the photo). Phew, I was waiting for you to come back a horrible comment 😁

I do agree though that some people do have a skewed idea of their weight, and what is healthy. Sometimes I will hear comments about others that are clearly overweight saying how slim they are and I have a raised eyebrow.

If you store fat around your middle then it is healthier to be at the lower end of the scale.
If you are pear shaped I don’t think it’s as straightforward.

My friend and I are the same height. She has very skinny arms and legs and a large belly (often gets asked if she is pregnant). I have visible abs and solid arms and legs. Back when I used to weigh myself and needed to know my BMI for ED recovery I was a stone and a half heavier than her but much much healthier. We were both mid BMI range.

reverse causation is discussed and e.g. those with cancer excluded from the results

But what about those without a diagnosis yet?

Dr. Gregor has a good bit on this on How Not to Diet. We live in a society where it takes people a big amount of effort to maintain a healthy weight, so a fair proportion of those who are normal weight will either be smokers or have a disease which results in them having a lower weight and some will not yet realise that they are ill.

those with cancer excluded from the results

No they weren't!

In the lower range (15–25 kg/m2), BMI was associated inversely with mortality from cancer as a whole

Interestingly, I read an article the other day that said bmi is really quite a useless measure of anything. Apparently those with the longest life expectancies have a bmi of between 23-27 (yet healthy bmis are supposed to be between 19-25). Also the "risks" of weighing more don't really increase between the normal and overweight range of the bmi chart. It is very possible for someone classed as overweight to be healthier than someone who has a "healthy" bmi. I'm not saying we should all just stuff ourselves with cake, but I am saying that bmi is a flawed measurement system and there are other factors that decide health, not just numbers on a scale.

So from the Lancet one:

"To limit reverse causality, the first 5 years of follow-up were excluded, leaving 66 552 deaths of known cause during a mean of 8 (SD 6) further years of follow-up (mean age at death 67 [SD 10] years): 30 416 vascular; 2070 diabetic, renal or hepatic; 22 592 neoplastic; 3770 respiratory; 7704 other."

From the other they specifically talk about excluding those with illnesses which affect weight.

So I apologise as I phrased it in an oversimplified manner, but the methodology in each study takes into account reverse causation in gathering and / or interpreting results.

I know the OP is on the shorter side, so this isn't really about her, but a lot of people on this thread are throwing around 'of course 70kg is overweight' - maybe for a short person, but I'm 6ft tall and 70kg and a size 8-10!

Some people who may be self-conscious may see that and worry. IT DEPENDS ON YOUR HEIGHT.

good that you know now & have lots of ideas how to make your weight something you're happier with.

Never post a weight, BMI, eating or food thread on MN.

Op, use this time to make some changes.
My sister has been using her exercise period ( during lockdown) to walk for an hour ( five days a week)
She has lost 9 pounds in three weeks and has only made slight changes to her diet

We live in a society where it takes people a big amount of effort to maintain a healthy weight, so a fair proportion of those who are normal weight will either be smokers or have a disease which results in them having a lower weight and some will not yet realise that they are ill.

What an excuse for the increasing levels in obesity. It isn't hard to maintain a healthy weight. You just need to eat a healthy balanced diet! It's not rocket science. To say that a fair proportion of people that are a healthy weight are either smokers or ill is ridiculous.

We live in a society where it takes people a big amount of effort to maintain a healthy weight, so a fair proportion of those who are normal weight will either be smokers or have a disease which results in them having a lower weight and some will not yet realise that they are ill.

Blimey, just when I thought I'd heard it all.

It is NOT hard to maintain a healthy weight. To say that most people need to smoke or be ill to be a healthy weight is utter rubbish.

The majority of women (and I mean majority) have messed up relationships with food and their bodies
And your evidence for this sweeping statement is ???
Just FYI , I personally don't have a 'relationship' with food or my body, food is somethimg I eat, and my body doesn't exist independently of myself.

It's dangerous nonsense.

If that rubbish 'catches on', we'll have kids growing up to think if they don't have a disease or they don't smoke, they'll inevitably end up fat.

You just need to eat a healthy balanced diet! It's not rocket science.
You just need to eat a healthy balanced diet! It's not rocket science.
Wow you’ve just solved the obesity crisis. Well done.

I have no evidence. It’s just a hunch I have from meeting lots of people over the years in various forums. School friends, work friends, friends through hobbies, family members, students (I’m an academic).

I think women who like the way they look and who don’t have some sort of dietary quirk are in the minority. Be it calorie counting, starting diets and then falling off the wagon, won’t eat carbs, exercise to earn food, slimming world, binge eating (a lot of women binge eat but don’t admit to it, usually because they’ve been restricting themselves prior). You only have to look around and most women will be on some sort of diet.

I'm in my mid 50s, I'm a little overweight but it's become extremely hard to lose weight post-menopause (and I'm on HRT) and tbh, I'd rather be a bit heavier than really not enjoy food life because that's honestly what it would take (and I work out daily).