Would you hire a morbidly obese Nanny?

[whompingwillo]

I would like to hire someone we’ve met for my 9 month old baby. She’s fab, great with kids, lovely, I have no concerns.

I would estimate her BMI is 50-60 and my husband noticed that it is a struggle for her to get up and down off the floor and he is worried that if baby was in danger she may struggle.

So what would you do? Do you think that weight could impact a job like this? I’m sure people of this weight have their own children and are safe to look after them?

YABU - morbid obesity could impact her ability to do this job

YANBU - she’ll be fine

26 percent of the UK population are obese according to 2023 statistics. Going on a long walk along the beach, I don't see 1/5 of the people around me are obese, no.

Are you saying that an obese person is just as likely to go on a hike as a normal weight person? I really don't think anyone's lived experience would bear that out.

Thinner people are over-represented in hiking. Just like men are over-represented in dangerous sports. Just like women are over-represented in yoga. Being purposefully blind to real life doesn't help anyone.

@Itssofunny So now you are changing the goalposts! Nobody claimed one fifth of hikers are morbidly obese. But yes there are morbidly obese walkers. I see them when I am out walking. And if you are talking about things like country parks, I see lots of morbidly obese people walking as a family.

I'm a different poster, so not exactly changing the goal posts. But yes actually, I agree with the first poster who said they have never seen a morbidly obese person on a hike. I haven't either and I go on hikes every weekend.

I do see morbidly obese people on the beach or in a park, yes.

now, heave heard this for the very first time: moooorbidly obese. Can you show some internet taken image what that looks like in your candidate's case?

I think I know what morbidly obese people look like, I see them in shops, supermarkets, restaurants etc etc but no not in the country parks I’ve been to. I have on a beach but not this time of year when it’s just dog walkers, no.

So what about morbidly obsese people like me who don't drive so I have to walk everywhere? I live 2.5miles away from my place of work, I live 1mile away from my town centre and to unwind I walk 1.5miles up to my local lake and do a few laps while I feed the geese and ducks and soak in the beautiful scenery and then back home, which is about a 5mile walk. I see loads of people there who are morbidly obese, maybe they are just going there for the cafe huh? Also I live in the Welsh valleys so there are hills everywhere can't avoid them, so it's not just flat walking either.

It’s funny that all the morbidly obese people on Mumsnet are the healthy ones who eat salads and walk miles and miles every day and do the splits. Go figure.

I am not claiming that at ll. I just know I go walking with people at times who are morbidly obese, and see others.

@whompingwillo the description of this nanny is spookily similar to someone we used to use. If her name starts with L, she’s nice but incredibly unreliable. Would sadly avoid.

I guess it depends on your definition of a hike. My definition (which is not the official one, I know) is going off the beaten track for a 10 mile wander in the woods. I have never seen a morbidly obese person (so bmi over 40) on the hikes I do. Nor have I seen many children or many (any?) people 70+. I have of course have seen morbidly obese people out and about, in a park or town centre or wherever.

I'm not talking about hiking though, i'm just talking about walking, someone upthread said they had never seen a morbidily obese person even walk a flat beach never mind a hill walk, which is obviously utter bollocks!

I have seen morbidly obese people on a beach, perhaps wander from a car to a deckchair but no, i haven't seen any do serious walking on beaches, hills or valleys.
If morbidly obese people were walking briskly for miles they would not be morbidly obese. I think you know this.
I don't agree with sneers or mocking but an open honest discussion is needed regarding physical activity requirements in order to be a healthy weight. Denial does not help anyone.

Right, you believe whatever you want, you will never believe that some morbidly obese people can and do walk miles.
Car to deckchair, while they then sit there(if the chair doesn't collapse) and shovel in chips, donuts, icecreams and stick of rock. Then they waddle off back to their car and go home for a takeaway. That's more what you think obese people do.

I struggle to walk for miles when carrying a 20kg rucksack. Can't imagine what it would be like with a BMI over 40, where you basically carrying a whole extra person. If you manage to go on long walks, then that's seriously impressive. It's definitely not the norm though.

It's not like carrying an extra person though, that isn't how it feels. 5miles isn't that far anyway, plus I have no choice, don't drive, no trains here and the buses might come, they are supposed to come every hour, but they are so unreliable it's quicker to bloody walk.

Here’s a link to actress Lisa Riley when she was on Strictly. She was morbidly obese at the time (BMI over 40). She’s since lost 10 stone (about half her body weight).

Here’s Dawn French (aged 62). I’m not sure what she weighs in this photo but at her heaviest she had a BMI of 50+ well over the limit for morbid obesity. Btw the NHS website now refers to morbidly obese as ‘severely obese’.

On the whole, yes.

'Right, you believe whatever you want, you will never believe that some morbidly obese people can and do walk miles'

As I've said I walk my dog at various times,various places and you see the same people walking briskly. I don't want to constantly correct you I'm just stating what is common everywhere, morbidly obese people may walk 5mins to a shop but you don't see them with walking boots on walking miles. Understandably so, it must be hard and very uncomfortable but combining healthy eating with increased activity is the way forward.

For context she was significant bigger than both

@LadyTangerine Obviously no severely overweight people have ever owed a dog in your world.

We meet plenty out walking.

Your stance of eat less and move more is very outdated and judgemental. If it was that simple no one would be obese.

First off i'm not 5 years old, correcting me? Really? How the fuck can you correct my lived experience? Yesterday I walked 7 miles, I ate 10 portions of veg and drank 2 litres of water and 2black coffees(no sugar it ruins the flavour).
Again with the don't see them walking miles, so you don't see it, it doesn't happen.
Nothing anyone does or says will make a difference to your opinion, I and all the other obese people are greedy, lazy and disgusting, all we need to do is get off our fat arses and stop eating right?

Hahaha how in the cream buns is common sense outdated 🤣🤣🤣

It is simple, and if more people ate less and moved more, less people would be obese.

Please don’t try to complicate, intellectualise or theorise what is an incredibly basic subject matter.

Have you ever been obese?

Yes morbidly obese people of course own dogs. Usually the lapdog variety that require garden toilet breaks and maybe 5mins around the block. I never see them marching on with a couple of high energy dogs.

Most morbidly obese people do not walk briskly for miles on challenging ground, If they did they would lose weight. This isn't a personality attack, it is an observation. My own lived experience and I've lived and worked all over.

I didn't say eat less move more, I said combine healthy eating with increased physical activity. It obviously isnt easy it requires serious commitment and motivation, it may be an outdated idea but it actually works.

Ask those who have lost weight how they did it and I guarantee they consumed less. Not easy granted, but the solution nonetheless. I've just eaten far too much after an energetic walk however the walk will have used up calories but if I overindulged daily without activity I would pile the pounds on in no time.

I've been polite throughout, I don't look down on obese people at all but the denial doesn't help. There is no way walking miles and only eating fruit and veg would makes someone obese, sorry if some find that an annoying fact to state.

So… you’re questioning my experience on the matter I presume.
Why?
How does my answer make what I said more or less true?

Or are you just probing if I have / lack empathy or understanding for the plight of obese people?

Because that’s not what I said.
So please, enlighten me why you ask that question.

My bet is you’ll try and use ‘an exception to prove a norm’ case, some sort of medical rarity of an individual who only eats lettuce, drinks water, runs 10k every day before sunrise, yet through a rare illness still seems to have 40 BMI that rising and has the doctors at the university absolutely baffled…