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

I'm taller than the op 5.7 and presently 11.9 which falls into the overweight category. I was 12st last time I saw my rhuematologist. I have severe osteoporosos and noted I knew I was overweight and was working on it. Her response was to sigh and say in middle age with my condition, it was actually healthier to be a bit overweight than otherwise. I was surprised.

I have been the same weight at that height. Definitely obese. I could still run, cycle etc and people would probably not say I was obese, just overweight, but we are too used to seeing overweight as normal. Clothing sizes have increased massively, I can still fit many size 12. If I find old size 12 clothes from 20 years ago, they don't go anywhere near me, my measurements would be more like the old size 16/18. Please take steps to make changes.

I too am 5’4’’

i would be bloody ecstatic if I ONLY weight 12.5 stone

according to my BMI I should be dead,

hey ho, wouldn’t it be great to be perfect and patronising!

It's irrelevant whether you're classed as overweight or obese. Fact remains that you need to loose weight...so concentrate your efforts in doing that, rather then trying to justify why you're in a certain category.

For what it's worth... l was in the obese category and had no movement restrictions etc - active like you are..... but l was still too fat.

I lost 3.5st and am starting my diet again as I've put on a few loads of pounds.

To add...this is really why clothing size isn't used as a measure of healthy weight. Why on earth would it be? BMI is a blunt instrument and there will always be exceptions, and you can be damn fine looking at any weight, but from a medical perspective - not a marketing or sex appeal one - it's a mostly decent measure for most people.

I think if you are looking for support and a hand hold you might be better posting on the weight loss chat board, no judging and lots of support. I have lost around three to four stone in the past year, but am still seen as overweight on these charts, which I am mostly on my tummy. But they are demotivating. I went down four dress sizes which in my opinion is a better sign. But it. An be done and I am starting the new year determined to lose the last two stone! It’s not easy though, especially as a person gets older. I am 67.

If what you're saying is correct, then the industries would simple increase their size ranges (which they have as well to be fair), so if people are getting fatter, they create sizes 22, 24 etc. Industries SHOULD meet the needs of their customers.

But to change what a size 10 is, is disingenuous and yes, promotes obesity. As I said above, I'm a large 10, 12 in some shops. People often tell me how slim I am, how I'm only a 10 etc. But I know I have up to a stone to lose until I look and feel optimum. My tummy is too big and my arms are getting flabby. I'd rather go up a dress size and use that as motivation to lose weight than be tricked into thinking im still a size 10 and don't make any changes.

For me, my main motivator to lose weight is my clothes not fitting right. I'm currently sat with my jeans unbuttoned, knowing I'm going to pack the trolley with speed food later on!

Medics look at data; consensus on here is that the data shows you're 'obese'. What you do with that info is up to you.

You can take the view that it's just a word. Would you prefer cuddly, or chubby, or fat, or too heavy. Your body, your life, your choices.

having worked in health i can pretty much say many obese people really don't "see" that they are obese. To put it in context you are only 1 stone lighter than my 6 foot husband!

The clothing industry could have left the sizes alone and just started making more of the larger sizes and making bigger sizes

Instead they appealed to vanity and so helped disguise a problem

If there were no type 2 diabetics the nhs would be in a much better state

Illnesses associated with lifestyle choices are costing the nhs upwards from 11 billion each year - about half of that obesity and lack of exercise

I’d say it’s definitely overweight, I’m 5’6 and I’ve been 12 stone and it was definitely overweight for me, I’m 8 stone now and in the healthy range.
Most people assume obese means struggling or needing assistance in day to day life but it’s not, my husband is medically obese, a lot of people say he doesn’t look it (he is tall) but he definitely has a stomach and he knows it, if he lost 2/3 stone he’d be in the healthy range.

This

Exactly. The problem isn't with the individual. Very few people choose or want to be overweight.

The problem lies with the food, drink and clothing industries. Most food available isn't healthy now. You go into the supermarket and it's FULL of crap food disguising itself as ok or healthy. It's really hard to healthy when you buy crap food (thinking it's not) and you sit all day working an office job, and you have lots of pressure and stress over finances and crap public sector services.

The NHS is crippled with the costs of obesity yet the government do nothing. They should be changing laws to get rid of and limit unhealthy foods. They should be subsidising childcare more to relieve daily pressures on families and allow better incomes to feed our children better and reduce parents hours worked so we have time to prepare and cook nutritious foods.

If it was harder to buy shit food, lots of people would benefit. The NHS would have funding for other ailments that people suffer from.

The blame isn't solely on individual people. Society is conducive to being overweight and unhealthy.

If you just go according to BMI you squeak in at 29.95 so technically you're at the high end of overweight. All of that's a bit irrelevant though as basically, it's highly likely that losing weight would be beneficial for your health. I wouldn't get caught up in the definitions. Also, do look at the NHS calculator as it will take into account things like your ethnicity.

I'm 5ft 9 - in the over weight zone at 12 at 7 lbs.

I'm now 10st 3lbs. Still look bulky thanks to short torso, boxy wide ribcage and 31.5 inch waist.

So according to waist calculation, I'm "high risk" for a woman.

I honestly don't know what the answer.

Keeping excess and rolls/squelching handfuls of body fat lower has got to be a good start.

... But it's very hard, as a nation eat far more than we should, far more food than we need. So easily done with so many food options.

Emma

There is also stress which contributes- the more hours you work and the more you have to worry about paying bills the less effort you will be able to put into diet and exercise

The wealth divide in this country is costing the nhs and our lives

It's definitely obese. I'm 5.4 and weigh that too.

I understand I need to lose weight. But I don’t ‘look’ big enough to be obese or maybe I’m not seeing it. I walk my dog no problem too and can do Zumba etc with ease. So I don’t know. I’d be saying more overweight than obese

With a BMI of 30, you're just in the obese category. A BMI of 29.9 would put you right at the top end of overweight which is perhaps why you feel this way. I think the term obese can feel more stigmatising than overweight....

It sounds like you're doing some cardiovascular exercise which is great. Adding some strength training exercises is really helpful as it will improve your cardiovascular fitness, build muscle and speed up weight loss. Wishing you good luck with getting where you want to be health wise

That's obese/very overweight unless you pump iron and have huge stocky muscles but a tiny lean waistline.

Just admit it to yourself. When I hit 12 stoneat 5'4" I finally had to admit that I wasn't a bit curvy or a size 12 in M&S baggy clothes or any other excuse. I was massively, unhealthily overweight and needed to do something. I started weight training 4 times a week, as I am so rubbish at dieting, and lost a stone. Still technically overweight but feel so much fitter and stronger and look OK - plump but with muscle tone.

Hmm I'm 5'6 and 12 stone and feel terribly fat. But saying that people carry their weight differently

A high percentage of the adult population is overweight and many of these are obese. We've lost sight of what a 'healthy' weight looks like as 'normal' is now overweight.

I'm 5'3 and definitely in the obese category at 12.5 stone.

I mean I don't look what people think of when they think of someone obese. Would be in a size 14.

But BMI wise yes definitely obese and wouldn't want to have a bikini on.

Op I think it’s perhaps one of those things you don’t realise until you are a bit lighter?

Like smokers and drinkers function well enough. It’s when you are no longer drinking or smoking you see and feel what a difference to your health it makes.

Theres that saying that nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I was my ideal weight for a few years through exercise and not using food as a crutch. It was a revelation. I didn’t have to worry about my heart, my joints, my fitness, what I wore, anything.

I am terribly lazy though, so honestly I find it’s just easier to eat crisps and be on Mumsnet and worry about weight some other time.

BMI was an artificial tool created by an actuary to increase life insurance premiums.

Every professional rugby player is obese - many morbidly. For a more accurate, personalised view, if you have a full-length mirror, wearing the minimum of underwear, jump in front of it and see how much carries on moving after you've landed.

A great thread for this time of the year, good luck to anyone looking to lose a bit.

How you look is going to depend on how your body distributes excess weight. Maybe your body just does it a bit more evenly but with the measurements you gave, unfortunately you do sound obese.