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

Why does it matter if you are classed as overweight or obese? You need to lose weight if you want to improve your health and help avoid the many morbidities associated with excess weight. I wouldn't focus too much on the label.

It's tricky. I'm 5' 7" and 3 stone heavier than that so I'd be contentedly overweight at 12.5 stone, but that's still 2 stone more than I was when I last looked slim and felt a perfect weight. If you can maintain your weight, do everything physically you want to and your health is good then I wouldn't stress too much. The key is not to get any heavier! It's not great and it's very hard to lose weight as you get older!!

5.4 and I'm 10 st 8. Not obese but definitely carrying too much weight.

I am 5' 4" and weighed 12 stone 5lbs at the beginning of October. Taking account of my age and activity levels the NHS BMI calculator came out at 29.5, so the very top end of overweight, 30 being obese. Since then I have lost a stone in weight, only averaging about 1lb a week but have decided to go with lifestyle changes rather than a diet as this seems more sustainable longer term. My BMI is coming down bit by bit, now 27.5. My current target weight is 10 stone, however according to the calculator I would still be in the overweight category and need to loose at least another stone to achieve a healthy weight/BMI. This was a bit of a shock initially but I think shows how many of us have just got used to being bigger. Vanity sizing of clothing has colluded with this.

I googled "BMI 30 Female" and this photo came up.

All of these women are clinically obese.

But also they look like 'normal' women.

So I totally understand anyone who maybe is shocked to find out their BMI puts them into the obese category as the average person is overweight/obese now.

I think these women all look great, I'm not dissimilar myself. But sadly neither me, or them, are healthy.

The fact is that obese is not as fat as a lot of people think!

But the majority of the population are not professional rugby players so that's a moot point!

As a nation we are in denial about what is a healthy size. Someone upthread said they thought anyone who is within a healthy BMI looks skinny. That's simply not true. I think in our heads many of us think of someone who is morbidly obese what we think of the word "obese". Someone with a huge tummy apron who waddles when they walk. That's not the reality.

I'm the same height as the OP. I'm currently around 10st2 and look a bit tubby (though my BMI is officially fine). At 11.4, my heaviest ever, I looked fat. If I was 12.5st absolutely I would look and feel "obese".

I thought it was the height of rudeness when my BMI came out as obese.

And everyone around me helpfully said 'Oh but you aren't that big, BMI is rubbish'

But honestly, I was obese. And having now lost the weight, BMI was bang on. There are a lot of big people around so we have lost sight of what is normal.

I don't understand how you would need to be 9st to be in the healthy category if you're 5.4? The top of "healthy" is 10.7.

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

No it wasn't.

It's cute when people think BMI doesn't describe them accurately because it wrongly classes rugby players as obese. Are you a rugby player? Lol, no. You're just fat. BMI is a reasonably accurate tool for 99%of the population.

Exactly, the denial and cognitive dissonance is very real. People read 'bmi isn't accurate for everyone' and take in 'bmi isn't accurate for everyone therefore it isn't accurate for me and I can ignore it'.

Are you in the gym lifting weights 5x a week? Are you a rugby player or body builder? No? Then it applies to you.

Aren’t you pleasant? Being ‘fat’ has been made into such a shameful thing by society that it’s no wonder people struggle with the label. There are more empathetic ways to get to get your point across.
Yes OP, you should be looking to lose weight for your health, but you know that and sounds like you’re working on it already. Equally you’re more than the number on a scale or the amount of space your body takes up on the earth.

They have added sizes and they have also continued with size inflation of existing sizes because it is the simplest way to adapt to people getting bigger. Please believe me that sizing and costing are very complicated issues. I could honestly derail this whole thread if I go into it. It's complex.

I truly do not know why people are so unwilling to believe this. We don't think bed makers are trying to flatter fat women when they readjust the dimensions of a queen or king sized bed. Yes, sizing inflation has occurred, but it's not because they're trying to kid fat women into thinking they're slim and I don't understand why people so badly want it to be.

Clothing companies are somehow being held to account for obesity in a way that no other product based on human bodies seems to be. We certainly know that refusing to make attractive clothes in plus sizes doesn't work because there was nothing decent for overweight people in the 80s and 90s and yet obesity has continued to soar.

I am on the fence.

When I was younger my bmi was 19, I was very very thin and had an eating disorder. Not one health professional thought I was underweight because my bmi was fine!!

At that size, you are obese.

Our idea of what a normal weight is has been skewed because the majority of people are overweight, so now it looks normal. It isnt. It is obese.

I don’t ‘look’ big enough to be obese
**
i remember a study a few years ago that analysed the body size of people in photographs/video used in newspapers and on the TV news to illustrate news stories about obesity. The general finding was that the people in the photos/videos had very high BMIs (say 40+). The conclusion was that the general public were being led to believe that this is what 'obesity' looks like, when in reality it starts at a much much smaller body size.

On another note, the BMI cutoffs of 25 for overweight and 30 for obesity were chosen to be easy to remember and as a general guide - it's not that 24.8 is 'good' and 25.1 'bad'. Rather, the optimal BMI for health for most people is around 21, and then health risks increase as BMI increases. Waist circumference is also important to consider as visceral (abdominal) fat is particular bad for health.

No it's not just the clothing industry

But it is a part of it

They made their choices - they may feel they are constrained by the society we are in but nevertheless they choose

Every little thing that normaiises being overweight harms

I'm slightly taller and about the same weight. According to the BMI calculator I'm obese, and I'm.not arguing with that. I think the problem is, when I think of someone who is obese, I think of someone much bigger than me, eg a size 20, or who weighs 15 stone. But the reality is I am obese.

If I lost a stone, I'd be in the overweight category. If I lost 2.5 stone I'd have a BMI of under 25.

OP. you need to acknowledge your obesity. If you choose to live with it, and the health risks it carries, that's up to you. I'm in the same position, so no judgement here. This year, I'm determined to get back to a healthy BMI, and hopefully then improve my health.

It is not the responsibility of a clothing company to police the health of the nation, any more than it is the responsibility of armchair or door companies. But we put the responsibility, and the accusations of dishonesty and "vanity" sizing, at the door of clothes makers.

I've talked about this before and I always get the same reaction. Interestingly, posters also usually go into their own personal weight stories when responding to it. We take clothing personally and hold it responsible in a way we don't with beds and chairs or even doctors. Doesn't mean we're correct.

In a society it is the responsibility of each and everyone to consider the impact of their actions on others

That is human civilisation any thing else is law of the jungle

No man is an island

A company whose product is based around human bodies that doesn't adapt to change will simply go out of business (although niche or designer brands that cater for very slim people will probably be OK because that's their core customer. The high street is different.).

Well done for taking such a stand against normalising obesity but now there are no clothes available. People are still fat, but now they're also naked.

Weight is a really emotive subject so it's unsurprising that people are reluctant to be labelled overweight or obese. Even the language used here - "massive"/rubbing thighs/grabbing handfuls of fat at 12 stone etc. These are all things that are quite negative and extreme.

OP - how is your diet/exercise regime/lifestyle? Rather than focusing on the scales or dress size think about health seeking behaviours so things like weight bearing exercise, walking enough, eating a nutrient dense diet, drinking water, getting enough sleep. That may result in weight loss without the focus just being on weight.

I know I am overweight (possibly obese now) as I weigh around 12 and a half - 13 stone at 5'8. But my waist is 31 inches, I wear a 12, am weightlifting (heavy) or running 5 days a week and my diet is ok for the most part so I feel happy that my weight is only a part of my overall health. I know I shouldn't put on any weight and have fallen into the bad habit of snacking and having desserts every day over December so I'm going to cut that out but I'm doing it in a health seeking way rather than a "losing weight" way.

You can make clothes in bigger sizes and gradually make fewer smaller sizes clothes

It's hard to buy size 6 and 8 these days

But the choice was made ( for profit ) to relabel as well

We really need to break the mental link between healthy weight and how aesthetically pleasing our bodies are.
Healthy weight/OW/obese are objective health related terms, not euphemisms for attractive/passable/repulsive.
You can be obese or OW and look fine, lovely even. Just as you can have diabetes, a heart condition or cancer and still look fine and lovely.
The BMI calculator is providing you with information about your health OP, that is all. Its not 'wrong' because you look OK and fit into a size 14 and are no bigger than other people you know. It's not saying you're fatter than Jane down the road, or less attractive than Emma. Just that your health would benefit from dropping a few stone.