To think I’m not obese at these measurements?

[Lis1992]

I think according to BMI I could possibly be in obese category. I know BMI isn’t always a perfect measure though. I’m 5’4 and around 12.5 stone. Would you call this obese or overweight? I know I need to lose weight but it is a struggle

It doesn't really matter. The medical definition of obese is somewhat less than most people's visualisation of obese because, understandably, they really don't want the label obese.
All you need to know is that you should be trying to lose weight.

I'm 5"5 and I only weighed 12.5 stone when I was 9 months pregnant. I felt enormous at that weight. I normally weigh around 9 stone.

This is an important point. BMI is not directly related to health and means different things depending on age, build, ethnic background etc.

Rather than just blindly looking at a number and thinking "if I change that number from x to y I will be healthier" mightn't it be much more useful to work on things that are known to be directly important for health such as sugar and alcohol intake, exercise and muscle and bone strength, sleep etc?

Firstly OP and this is extremely important, BMI isn't a great measure of obesity and those who use it religiously aren't worth listening to.

When I worked at the gym, and through friends who still work in fitness we always talked about body fat % and 'inches not pounds' - simply because different builds and bone structures etc mean that BMI is simply not a useful measure for many folk. It's a useful crude guide but very rarely tells you much about someone.

So, without knowing waist etc measurements noone here can actually tell you if you're obese. Technically I've been obese from when I was 15 according to BMI but my doctor has regularly told me to ignore it because of my build/bone/muscle mass.

That doesn't really work like that for women unless they are a fulltime bodybuilder who takes PEDs. I'm a very muscular woman (no drugs but I lift weights and do a lot of bodyweight exercises including aerial acrobatics), I have high bone density and naturally large breasts/hips/bum. My BMI is 22.5. If I drop to a BMI of 20-21, I start looking drawn, so that is too little body fat for me, rather than under 18. So all of the factors that increase my BMI due to muscle and natural bodyshape, push me about 3 places up the BMI scale at most.

It's the thing that people misinterpret when they say that the BMI scale is too broad. It's too broad because it gives each individual way too broad a measure. 18-25 is a very wide measure and each indivdual's healthy weight is smaller than that but based on individual factors. Mine is 21.5-23. Lower than that I'm clearly underfat, above that, I clearly look overweight in spite of the fact that a lot of that weight is breast and muscle.

I’m 5’4 and 60kg which is just about OK in terms of how I look. I look better at 57kg.

12.5 stone is the same weight as my husband who is 5’10 and 80kg.

I think 80kg is verging in obese at
my height

You are very overweight/borderline obese so why not join one of the weight loss threads on here and get some support. Denial is never helpful but with support and focus you can change.

It's a maths calculator - while there are nuances if you are ultra fit etc, if you are Mrs average then your stats based on your weight and height and where you did the calcs make you obese

Being overweight or obese is a risk factor in itself, though. It matters that you can do zumba and walk, but it doesn't negate the weight. I don't see how you can possibly not be obese at that height and weight, but it's semantics, you're too heavy to be as healthy as you could be for your height.

I guess there's two possibilities then. That your weight it evenly distributed and presents not as far but perhaps as muscle mass.

Or you don't see it but it's there. This is more likely. We are so used to seeing size 14/16/18 that we lose sight of what's ideal.

I'm a large size 10 at the moment and people still tell me I look very slim, even though, in my frame, I should lose 0.5-1 stone and I definitely don't look very slim. People get so used to seeing overweight people that anything ideal looks tiny.

I wouldn't go off how you think you look. I'd go off how you feel. Do you lose your breath climbing a set of stairs? Are your trousers tight? Do your thighs rub? Are your joints achy? All of these symptoms would indicate you would be healthier if you lose a bit of weight.

I think unfortunately people have this weird idea that the word ‘obese’ only applies to those people on shows like ‘My 600lb Life’ who can’t get out of bed and need to use the fire service to get to hospital. But that’s simply not true. I was obese a couple of years ago. I didn’t ‘look’ obese in terms of you would see me and think I was just holding a bit extra. But I was obese - obese just means you’ve gone over overweight.

The good thing is you aren’t too far gone. It is easy to lose a couple of stone!

My friend and I are both 5’5 and both weigh 69kg. She’s ripped as anything and I’m just a flabby chunk right now.

So, it’d depend on how you carry your weight and muscle mass. BMI isn’t the best indicator. She wears two dress sizes smaller than I do.

I think that rather than splitting hairs about whether you're obese or very overweight, you would be better spending the time planning to do something about it.

my height and weight is almost identical to yours and alas I can confirm that we’re clinically obese. Even with my muscle mass about 10lb outside (above) the normal range, even with big boobs, and even though people are surprised and think I’m exaggerating when I tell them I’m obese.
There’s a bit too much fat everywhere on me to be healthy and unless you’re a bodybuilder, you too I’m afraid. Sorry it’s not what you want to hear

Obesity is literally defined by your BMI so measurements don't matter. Obesity isn't as huge as people think.

It really woke me up to what the clothing industry has done to us.

What, adapted to a changing customer base? Like car, bed and chair manufacturers?

Hi op I’m 5 foot 3 on a good day!!!
I weight 12 stone 8 now - I’m obese.
Im in a size 16 and don’t feel too distressed by this.
I was always 10 stone but since having my son who is 13 have failed to lose weight - well I’ve found it hard and not tried toooo much.
Anyway - I’m overweight - I’m bordering on having diabetes and need to do something about it.
If your comfortably with your size that’s fine - you seem quite fit - is your other health indicators ok - ie BP/Chlorestorol (can’t spell) and diabetes markers.
Its your body. I’m comfortably in a 12s/14s - size 8 isn’t for me.

You have similar measurements to me, my BMI is 30.6 so yes, obese. I’m a size 14.
Im working on it. I was a healthy weight for my whole life until last year, and insane levels of stress have led to me over eating. I’m now even more stressed about the fact I’m obese though 🤣.

People are used to seeing people overweight - normal today via overwieght

Watch street scenes from the 1940s and you will sharp notice the difference

The categories are pretty vague anyway - once you start to get to the higher end of normal your risk of various problems m starts to slowly increase

You may feel fine now but your joints will be under more stress so painful arthritis is more likely as you get older

Whilst muscle etc can affect your weight it's rare except at the elite level that it buys you more weight to play with

Yes waist also matters and often that's telling people that they need to be lighter not that they can get away with being heavier

Also try and ensure you take note of the relevant ethnic groups for any measurement - some need much smaller numbers waist sizes

The clothing industry has adapted by relabelling so that people think they are ok when they are not

I don't think BMI works for everyone, althoigh frustratingly it is what all the healtj professionals use (im below the height it is designed for and out of proportion due to a genetic condition). You might find the waist to hip ratio better

Obesity is a health issue, not a moral one. It's very difficult to keep up with the demands of life and maintain balanced levels of nutrition and activity. ⅔s of adults in Britain are overweight or obese, so "healthy" body shapes are a minority. Plus they'll be biased towards younger age groups and away from older adults as we naturally slightly over eat and gain weight gradually over time which is healthy over most of human history until food became abundant.

Obesity tends to be the point where surplus body fat increasingly interferes with the body's functions, making activity slower, causing inflamation, costing more effort, affecting metabolic processes. It might not be obvious, especially in younger adults, but it is worth reviewing your habits and lifestyle to make it healthier and go closer to a healthy range of build.

Love yourself by looking after your body. We are naturally different body shapes and accepting that is important, but body positivity can't protect us against the biological realities of having excessive body fat.

It has adapted by fitting the newer, larger customer base. Should sizing never change? Should we still be using patterns from the 1700s? Cars, chairs and doorways have gone the same way for the same reason, but people don't have such an emotive response to those.

Sizing numbers are based on old scaling methods so pattern cutters knew how to adapt the middle size of a size run to the larger and smaller ones. As the customers get bigger, the makers need to adapt. They also profile their core customers, which is why you're a smaller size in Jane Norman than Miss Selfridge...teenage girls tend to be slimmer than middle aged women.

Sizing is a very complicated and emotionally fraught business but for some reason people insist on assigning motives to clothing companies from which cars and armchairs and exempt. They are not trying to lie to anyone, flatter or insult anyone. They are just trying to make clothes that their core customers will fit into. As people get bigger, it's adapt or die.

But I know how much people want to believe it's all about lying to fat women.

No. They changed the sizing by making clothing bigger while keeping the number on it the same. I literally dropped a jeans size once in Primark by going from the clearance rail to the new stock. As the waist on all of the the size 10 clearance jeans were smaller than the size 8 on all of the new ones.

I was 12st 6 and your height at 50, and felt it, now 60 and 10st 11, need to lose about 4lbs, post menopausal doesn’t help