BMI approaching obese

[GalGadont]

So spurred by another thread on here I’ve used the NHS BMI calculator, I knew I was overweight but horrified to realise I’m now approaching obese (height about 5.5 & 1/2 and weight 12st 11). AIBU to be a bit surprised that’s categorised as nearly obese? I’m a size 14, still fit into some of the clothes I wore when I was a healthy weight, don’t have any difficulty fitting into plane seats etc. I definitely know I need to lose weight, but I’ve always thought of ‘obese’ as meaning really huge. Feeling very chastened right now!

I went for check up and started to plot my weight (after being weighed ) on the bmi chart on the wall. Straight into the overweight area but the nurse stopped me he was so lovely. Explained how they are moving away from that now and made me laugh that he's chunky but if he lost weight to fit that chart he would be bones. If 12 stone is the ideal weight then that can never be the same as 12 stone at 18 years old and 50. There's other factors.

I think we've lost sight of what a healthy weight looks like, with so many people overweight and obese.

Not fitting in plane seats etc I'd say was severe obesity, but obviously any additional weight is unhealthy.

I think the waist size circumference is a better indication of a healthy weight, as carrying weight around the middle is the most risky. I’m size 8-10 and overweight by BMI calculations!

Are you size 8-10 by a tape measure and long standing measurements of sizes or are you size 8-10 by shop clothing sizes

Shop clothing is enormous

I think people connect obesity with morbid obesity which isn't the same.

Bmi is a good tool for most people. We just don't know what normal looks like now.

People are more overweight now than they have been.

For some people BMI isn't effective, but for most people it's a reasonable ball park figure. There's a lot of tolerance within the healthy range, which accounts for different builds. Some people look their best towards the top of the healthy range and would look skinny at the bottom. Other people look their best towards the bottom of the healthy range and would look like they're carrying extra weight around the top end.

As this is Mumsnet your thread is likely going to turn into post after post of people saying that BMI is a load of rubbish because they're all the exception, that their BMI is mid 30s but they're super fit and healthy, their skinny friend can't run 5k but they can, that their skinny friends have unhealthy diets but they're so much healthier as an obese person. Then there'll be the usual "apparently I should weigh 9 stone but I'd look ill".

Come off it - a size 8-10 is not going to be obese, even at marks and spencer.

I had the same horror OP, except I then ignored it and discovered 12 months later I was now a stone and a bit into the obese range, which definitely felt like I was sleepwalking into health problems.

3/4 of a stone into trying to lose weight later, and my waist measurement is at the limit of healthy (32 inches) but meets both the waist to hip ratio (0.75:1) and the waist to height ratio (0.5:1) limits for health. Clearly more work required to get it down further.

I'm not convinced it's a wholly accurate indicator as I'm very active (outside a very sedentary job) and based on broad stroke calculations I think I am at least 25% denser as a whole than I was when I was thin, so I am pretty sure a good chunk of it is muscle. I guess I'll see that when I lose the weight I'm currently carrying.

The poster wasn't saying that 8-10 is obese, how did you get that?!

Shop clothing is enormous. I'm not skinny, but fit in UK 6 or 8 in modern clothes, but I have half a wardrobe of vintage clothes which are size 12. So I'd say I'm a 'true' 12. My bmi is 21.

I was nearly into the obese category 3 years ago. I definitely did weigh too much - my legs hurt when I squatted down by the fridge and I wasn’t able to move as much as I wanted to. I was about 80kg at 5 foot 4.

I lost about 15kg relatively quickly and am still that now (although with some ups and downs). My weight now is just into healthy and I am in much better shape. I was a sleepwalking into obesity type person and so I do need to keep an eye on how much I weigh but it is worth it for me to be able to do the physical activity I enjoy.

Lots of clothes grows with you. Unfortunately and that was one of my great "but it's not that bad" fuels for that impressive denial I was in.

Yes, about 85kg will be obese start for the height. I think lots of people are surprised because they consider obese what actually is morbidly obese. Like the 600 pound life etc.
Combine BMI, waist measurement and general fitness level to get best indicator of your situation. Each separately are blunt tool(accurate for majority though), together they work well.

One thing I REALLY wish I listened to was "it's easier to keep fit than get fit". Get on it now. Easier to lose 15kg than 50.

@Greatty absolutely. I bought a size 8-10 skirt in m and s a couple of months ago and it slide down past my bum. Had to return it. I’m definitely NOT slim and weigh a good 10-12 kgs more than when I was actually an 8-10

The poster I replied to didnt say they were obese, they said the BMI calcuation has them at overweight, so Im not sure what your comment is about

Bingo card filling up quickly this morning.

I was about to say the same.

Wait on the eating disorder people who are teeny tiny and weigh 7 stone saying clothes are all massive and everyone is obese .. oh beat me to it .

M&S is particularly bad!

Vanity sizing is an issue. We have a significant obesity crisis in this country, if people think 'oh but I'm only a 14/16' then they mistakingly think they're okay, or average, when in reality they have at-risk waist measurements and our average is far too unhealthy.

The scale and BMI doesn't tell us everything, but it's a good indicator. I've been obese before, and never realised quite how unhealthy my body had become.

M&S does fit large. I would say 1 size up, while next is either true to size or fits small. I wish all had same bloody sizing🙄

Come off it - a size 8-10 is not going to be obese, even at marks and spencer.
^
M&S sizing has crept up a huge amount over the years.

I have a suit that I bought back in 1998.
The skirt is a size 12 and yet today the waist is the same as a size 6 M&S Chinos.^

My waist measurement on the tape measure is a size 18, yet Im buying 14s and 16s

Super market clothes are huge…

Obesity is not a moral judgement. It's a simple medical fact.

Snap!
We've lost sight of what a healthy weight is - check
Vanity sizing, size 12 now would have been a 32 in the 1980s - check
If someone could comment on carbs or portion sizes that would be great...

Whats your issue exactly?

My point is that if you're a size 8-10 in any UK shop, you are very unlikely to have weight-related health issues.