To not know whether people are getting fatter or thinner?

[giantwaterbottle]

I am trying to lose weight (again!) and I can't figure out whether people (in the developed world) are getting thinner or fatter. I keep reading that the population is obese/getting fat but then it seems like their are so many gym bunnies and slim people around (although I will say this is mainly on social media/TikTok) but there seems to be such a weight loss/health kick about where everyone looks tiny and fit, and is wearing corsets and amazing cosmetics and just generally looks amazing, but is the opposite the reality? And if so how do people feel about this!? Does it make you want to just give up before you even begin? I don't know..I can't figure it all out. I do think when I go out I see quite a lot of larger people but also loads of young very slim and fit people.

I think you must be talking about a different Miranda Hart! There is no way she has a 26” waist.

That 'quick google' takes you to a shonky celeb info site which clearly has made up info on measurements.

@DrunkAndAlone2 dieting 2 weeks after giving birth isn't healthy, your body is still recovering from a major trauma. If you are a generally healthy person it also shouldn't be needed as you wouldn't have gained an excessive amount of weight in pregnancy and any extra will fall off whilst breastfeeding.
Most consistently slim people dont need to diet, their body gets used to a certain level of calorie consumption and doesn't desire more. It is usually people whose weight yoyos who diet .

Oh the weekly chips after swimming tasted the BEST!!

the guy who owned the chip shop opposite our town "baths" had the fanciest car in town and his daughter had a pony, unheard of

A quick Google will tell you Miranda Hart is 6'1 and 67kg. She has a 26" waist and is size US7 (so a UK11 I think). It's interesting you've chosen her as an example of a 'bigger' woman.
The only bit of that which is anything like close to accurate is the 6' 1"! If she was only 67kg at that height she'd be like a bean pole!!

How can any website honestly say what some celebrities dimensions are?
Height maybe fairly easy to work out knowing the height of people around them. But waist and hips really??

@thereisonlyoneofme I totally agree with you, I was a 1950’s baby and photos of my family in the 50’s60’s and 70’s show leaner shaped bodies. No one ate snacks between meals, took supplies out on short trips, had takeaways, ate ready cooked meals etc. I know our diet was bland, boring and quite stodgy but it must have kept us relatively slim.
My own children ( 1980’s babies) were/still are slim and fit, they did lots of sporty stuff and I didn’t have a car, so cycled and walked a lot.
All of my grandchildren are bigger both in size and height than the previous generation.
But there are some many variables and the world is always changing - my mother didn’t ever work or drive, so spent all day cleaning, walking shopping for food, cooking from scratch etc. I worked part time and didn’t have a car etc etc.
I think it’s a combination of lots of things but yes we are getting bigger.
Also, not sure we are “ living healthy longer lives” I read somewhere that we are taking longer to die rather than living longer!

Definitely more fatties these days than when I grew up in the 80s.

But the worst thing is all the self justifying excuses they come up with for piling on the kgs. Like Nicola Sturgeon, nothing is ever their fault.

come to think of it, she’s porking up a bit these days too 😂😂

Unfortunately obesity reduces life expectancy by between 3 and 10 years.

@DontBlameMe79 that's a bit harsh😂

However it's not my fault my arse is like the back end of a bus. Its the junk they've stuck in whats meant to be full fat Irn-Bru.

I was in a show home a few weeks ago, massive mirrors 🪞 everywhere. 😲 😱

A quick Google will tell you Miranda Hart is 6'1 and 67kg. She has a 26" waist and is size US7 (so a UK11 I think). It's interesting you've chosen her as an example of a 'bigger' woman.

Miranda Hart is 67kg? so about 10.5 stone? And a US size 7?so size 10-12? At 6'1? 😮

I love Miranda Hart but if she weighs 10.5 stone and is a size 10-12 then I really need to go on a diet.

And who exactly give that information about the ladies weight to Mr Google?

I can pretty much guarantee she didn't make that personal information publicly available herself.

I think a big part of the problem is that we have changed what we class as slim, average, overweight, obese in terms of body shapes. I feel like we now see healthy weight as skinny, overweight as average and obese as a bit chubby.

I was in the very overweight category, bordering on obese and I set out to lose weight for mainly health reasons. I had SO many people tell me that I didn’t need to lose weight, that I was not overweight, that I looked fine etc. Then I lost weight, got to a BMI of 23, so not skinny by any means and lots of people told me I was too thin, that I’d lost too much, that I was looking unhealthily thin when in reality I was nowhere near unhealthily thin.

I am back in the overweight category now after having another baby but I intend to lose weight again, slowly and healthily but no doubt will have the same comments.

@Dinoteeth , what makes you think that Google identifies as male?

isn't it quite easy to find out actors, models and sportspeople's height and weight?

@MerryChristmasToYou Mr Google is who I look up, Mrs Google is my speaker😝
However other than Boxers and Jockeys I actually can't think what sportspeople or celebrities would make their weight public knowledge, even the rugby teams seem to have stopped disclosing players weight.

This is so true! I'm just over 10 stone (between 5ft7 and 8),a size 12 and have a BMI of 22. I'm constantly being told I'm skinny. My mum told me I need to fatten up a bit. It's ridiculous. OK I'm not overweight but I certainly don't need to fatten up. I'm a pear shape with a big bum and thighs and a wobbly tummy. I could lose another 10lbs or more and still not be underweight. I think in the old days - the 1940s for example, I would have been seen as a "big girl". I also see people who are carrying an extra couple of stone being told they're not overweight. They are.

@MarmaladeToastAndAMarmaladeCat
I definitely agree that people's perception have changed.

Is it they themselves are over weight and don't want to admit it? I've even had a PT tell me I didn't need to lose 3st, well sorry the scales and maths tell me different.

I think the answer is, most people are significantly fatter, but there has also been an increase in disordered eating, so more anorexics, bulimics, orthorexics and people who have a narcissistic obsession with their appearance!

That would still be within "normal" BMI for that height, scarily enough. Although the way the BMI formula works means it tends to be a bit harsh on taller women and generous to short ones. I think that a six foot woman with a BMI of 19 would look much thinner than a five foot woman with the same BMI.

Still probably a made up number though. Miranda lost and regained a load of weight but I don't think she ever publicly stated her actual weight at any stage.

And at my height etc I can be as low as under 8 st and max about 9.5. I’m 5’2” and 9.4 which is half a stone more than I was pre children in the 70’s. However I can wear size 10-12 clothes now whereas as a teenager I was a size 14 as my waist was a “ massive” 26”. Size 10 was 32-22-32 12 was 34-24-34 etc . In vintage clothing I’d now be a 16 as time, driving a car, eating out, readily available snacks etc have added on a few inches!

Waist sizes in particular seem to have increased a lot over the last 50 years. I don’t think anyone other than my 6 year old granddaughter has a waist of an old size 10 ie 22”!

US adult women's sizes don’t include a size 7. Only children’s and junior’s (teens). I’d be skeptical of that data.

Kids BMI doesn't take height into account the same way as adult BMI so it does make tall kids seem higher BMI however BMI is a tool used for measuring health, a GP will look at a kid like my son and say, yep but actually at his height it's not accurate, keep an eye on it which I'm perfectly happy with.