Page 8 | To think I’m not obese at these measurements?

Lis1992 · 2023-01-02T00:24:11+00:00

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

ReneBumsWombats · 02/01/2023 11:51

I bet she wishes she'd said nothing tastes as good as lean and strong feels

Why would she have said that when being lean and strong wasn't what was being praised and idealised at the time? Wasn't what she was chosen for?

The fashion was to be skinny. Strength etc was irrelevant. "Heroin chic" - you were literally supposed to look like you had a drug addiction. It was fucking awful. Eating disorders everywhere...and the nation still carried on getting fatter.

I don't know what the answer to the obesity crisis is, but I know it's not denying nice clothes or self esteem to fat people. We've tried that.

Kassiopeia · 02/01/2023 11:51

bobbytorq · 02/01/2023 11:33

This is a fallacy. Being overwieght is unhealthy. I think you may be confising cardiovascular endurance with health. The amount of fat in and around your tissues is a major health concern irrespective of your ability to locomote.

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You're looking at this in a very simplistic way and making assumptions. I'm not confusing cardiovascular endurance with health at all, and I'm not basing my comments on my ability to move.

My last GP visit was due to concerns re hereditary cancer shortly after my mother died, (her mother died of the same cancer) so my GP sent me for a CT scan, both the consultant who looked at the results and my GP were surprised at my internal health and commented on it and my weight.

Sorry the world isn't the way you want to see it and facts may shake your view, but that's life . . .

FMSucks · 02/01/2023 11:55

@Dagnabit I’m the same as you. No one believes me when I tell them I’m 11.5 stone at 5ft 4 in. I really don’t look it and when I go anywhere near 10.5 stone I start to look emaciated.

I’ve been fairly fit all my life but my back is not good and my knees ache getting back up the bastard hill every day where I walk my dog! I know it’s part middle age and part weight so it’s time to make changes as it gets so hard to lose weight the older you get. I wish you well OP.

ButterBastardBeans · 02/01/2023 11:57

Being overweight is normalised especially on TV. It's an insidious mistake. a lot of people are sick and getting injured as a result. Being 'skinny fat' is a recognised medical condition. Tonnes of solid and intractable abdominal fat making you ...not ill but not well and people just accept meso health as being a normal state but costing the NHS a fortune as well as being no way to live.

I was in A & E recently and the woman next tome has fallen over and # her ankle. The doctor pulled no punches and told her that had she been a normal weight and fit, she probably wouldn't have # it. She was as snotty as hell with him but I'm sure he was right.

wonkyheadwoes · 02/01/2023 11:59

MummyJ36 · 02/01/2023 11:25

I think the BMI calculator is very over simplified. People are all sorts of shapes and sizes and health comes in different shapes and forms. If you’re a healthy BMI but smoking and drinking all day are you really healthy? If you’re overweight according to BMI but larger built and taking regular exercise are you really unhealthy?

Health is such a subjective thing. OP do not be shamed by some other posters here. You know how you feel in yourself. Take the BMI with a pinch of salt and concentrate on how you feel.

It's not an either / or though is it? Of course a skinny person who smokes and drinks isn't healthy. But neither is being overweight. And surely the reason we have and the NHS use BMI (and height / waist ratio) is because it's not subjective!

WilsonMilson · 02/01/2023 12:00

I’m the same height as you and I’m just over 8 stone. I was massive when I was pregnant, gained 4 stone and was bloody enormous, but was still half a stone lighter than you are now.
Sorry, but I think you are obese.

FabFitFifties · 02/01/2023 12:03

Yes, obese, if you are happy with how you move and look that's great, but for your overall health, I would take action.

Walkaround · 02/01/2023 12:04

You are basically so obviously an unhealthy weight that there is no point quibbling over the word used to describe it. You obviously need to have a healthier lifestyle, because nobody gets that heavy at your height if they are extremely healthy. And I’m not sure why people talk about body builders and rugby players when they talk about healthy lifestyles and fitness, and “healthy” bmis, because I would not want to be a former rugby player or body builder in old age - overtraining and taking extreme physical risks are not a good thing in the long term, either.

MummyJ36 · 02/01/2023 12:04

wonkyheadwoes · 02/01/2023 11:59

It's not an either / or though is it? Of course a skinny person who smokes and drinks isn't healthy. But neither is being overweight. And surely the reason we have and the NHS use BMI (and height / waist ratio) is because it's not subjective!

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Eh I mean it’s a very simple tool which is why it’s easy for the NHS to use it. Shaming someone because of a higher BMI might work in getting someone to lose weight but I’ve always thought it should be a bit more nuanced than that.

3luckystars · 02/01/2023 12:05

I do too, I’m the same height and 3 stone lighter and I could do with losing a few pounds! You are obese.
would you take a photo of yourself, sometimes you just can’t see it. It’s denial.

Gwenhwyfar · 02/01/2023 12:06

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

They can make bigger clothes without changing what the sizes are. I've had plenty of discussions on MN with people who deny that size inflation even happens.

Stellaris22 · 02/01/2023 12:07

I disagree. Building strength through weight training is hugely beneficial for women in older age. Improved balance and bone strength helps in older age.

Fitness and ability to exercise is far more important than saying a number on a scale is healthy or unhealthy.

Mustthinkofausername · 02/01/2023 12:13

What difference does the label really make? Overweight. Obese. Neither are great 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m the same weight and height as you having stood on the scale yesterday. I didn’t think about it much but then I saw photos from Xmas and 😱

I can see I look fat and really unhealthy. It creeps up on you and when you see yourself every day you just don’t notice it.

Sparklfairy · 02/01/2023 12:16

NeverDropYourMooncup · 02/01/2023 11:19

A significant proportion of her clientele will be women suffering the eventual results of undereating, extreme restriction and eating disorders.

Many of those slim people in photos of the 1940s became older and developed humps and broke hips and wrists with a tiny knock. Because they'd not had sufficient nutrition.

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Tbf that's more likely because they were heavy smokers.

IVbumble · 02/01/2023 12:16

BMI is bonkers - invented for insurance companies to assess risk years ago. As mentioned by PP height to waist ratio is more useful - your middle needs to measure less than your height.

It might be worth considering the 16/8 fasting eating plan OP. I'm old & obese & lost a stone in 8 weeks which moved my diabetes risk from high to moderate.

It's worth completing this because getting diabetes doesn't mean a shorter life but often a less mobile one. Imagine having to wet yourself [or worse] because you can't get yourself to the loo.

riskscore.diabetes.org.uk/start

IVbumble · 02/01/2023 12:17

Sorry! Everyone's middle must be less than their height!

I meant your middle needs to be less than half your height.

Gwenhwyfar · 02/01/2023 12:23

ReneBumsWombats · 02/01/2023 11:12

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.

I don't think anyone's said there shouldn't be any clothes for large people.
I think some people think size inflation is a problem (whether that's the fault of the clothing industry or the government for not regulating it).

5128gap · 02/01/2023 12:25

IVbumble · 02/01/2023 12:17

Sorry! Everyone's middle must be less than their height!

I meant your middle needs to be less than half your height.

I'm not sure people are going to like that any better than BMI tbh.
The OP would need a waist of 32" or less (unlikely at her weight unless she's an extreme pear) to meet this criteria. There is also an important add on that for a woman her waist should also be less than 31.5" regardless of height. Given the number of people who consider size 14 to be slim or 'midsize' and how many women are apple shaped, this method of health measurement will no doubt be just as stridently challenged.

AnnaMagnani · 02/01/2023 12:29

I did height to waist - it was even clearer that I was fat than BMI!

Even now when I can scrape into a healthy BMI, I'm not at a healthy waist measurement.

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 02/01/2023 12:29

I’m 5 ft 4.5 inches and 11 stone 3 lb and I tip into obese so if I am then you are definitely.

I’m a 12/14 - more 12 though.

Gwenhwyfar · 02/01/2023 12:30

RosesAndHellebores · 02/01/2023 11:30

Everyone says people are getting fatter but when Inwas growing up everyone seemed to have a very well padded grandma and they all wore corsets.

I see fewer fat people.now than I did in the 60s/70s but I think the extremes are greater and there are more very fat people and also more people who are far too thin.

I'm really surprised by this.
Yes, women around 60 are often 'well padded', but if you look at photos, do they back up what you remember? Think of the rounder children at school? They'd just be slightly chubby by today's standards wouldn't they? I wonder if it's your memory that's a bit skewed.
I grew up in the 80s and people are definitely much larger.

RocketIceLollie · 02/01/2023 12:30

BMI doesn't lie. Sorry.

HuntingoftheSnark · 02/01/2023 12:33

I can't understand the rubbishing of BMI on these threads. It's a tool, and a reasonable measure for 99% of the population. It gives a huge range of weight that it's ok to be - about two and a half stone. It's not suggesting that everyone should be a set point (I wasn't aware of the ideal 21).

Obviously it's not the only indicator of good health, and yes, drinking and smoking excessively yet remaining slim wouldn't be great either.

Wanderingowl · 02/01/2023 12:35

Stravaig · 02/01/2023 11:47

@Refreshmentsanyone: 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 really like that saying as a gentle reminder to ourselves. It's a shame it became so closely associated with super skinny models and eating disorders. It was Kate Moss who became notorious for the 'skinny' version. I bet she wishes she'd said nothing tastes as good as lean and strong feels - which is how I interpret it.

I do think it should be that there is nothing that tastes as good as fit and healthy feels. Skinny is whatever but nothing tastes as good as being able to zip across monkey bars and throw a spontaneous cartwheel in my 40s feels. And mega bonus, nothing tastes as good as fresh food when you are at a nice level of hungry. A tasty apple, with the perfect balance of sweet and sharp after a vigorous walk is out of this world tasty.

It blows my mind how little I tasted when I just ate what I wanted. You just end up eating to sate your blood sugars that are all out of whack. I wouldn't feel satisfied after food, as the more processed sugar I eat, the more I want it. I've eaten quite a bit of shite for the last couple of weeks over Christmas and it's nice as a treat, but I'm glad that I know enough now to put the breaks on it and go back to being healthy. Because food is honestly so much more enjoyable when it's healthy and when you do splurge it's more of a treat than when it's a constant.

dormouses · 02/01/2023 12:36

Lis1992 · 02/01/2023 01:23

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.

Does it really matter how you label it though? If you know you need to lose weight, why not set yourself small goals which might be more achievable? Like lose 1/2 stone by the end of the month, drink 2L water a day, cut out crisps, etc.