Do I look OBESE? Pic included

[letmehaveathink]

So apparently I’m obese according to the NHS website. I definitely have a belly but I don’t feel obese! What do you think? I’m worried I’m deluded!

You look a very similar build to me. You don’t look at all obese (and neither do I, but I do need to lose a few kilos).

Your chart actually says overweight the x is in the yellow box which is overweight not obese, unless I'm seeing this wrong.

edited: sorry I thought the chart posted was from you, I've put the figures in too and it coming in as BMI 28 overweight

Middle aged is the middle of adult life, not the middle of the entire lifespan.

Assuming people live to about 80, with adulthood starting around 20, then middle age begins at 50.

@CanSeeClearlyNowTheRainHasGone , middle-aged is approximately 45-65.

I started WLJ at around your measurements and was borderline obese. I knew I wasn't healthy, but it was a real shock to me and I did look similar to you and didn't feel or thought that i looked massive. There were things that I could feel that I wasn't happy with though - I had fat at the top of my ribcage my bra dug into, my running was more laboured and I started to really cover myself up and felt self conscious in shorts. I do feel a lot better now (lost 2.5 stone), but I don't feel particularly amazing either - just a bit more agile without the fat! Still feel self conscious and have ropey knees. Still wouldn't wear a bikini either. I'm relieved I'm not carrying the risks that come with obesity now though.

It's about what is important to you. I felt uncomfortable in my clothes and couldn't run as well, which was a concern to me when running after my ASD child who frequently runs off. I'm likely to be caring for him the rest of my life, so I need to try and stay healthy. Dealing with his needs and then developing disabilities myself is probably inevitable, but I want to put it off as long as possible.

I think you look fine personally, but I suppose it's about how you feel and the other stuff too.

Tall people carry extra better.
It's all rubbish anyway, this obsession with thin.

Absolutely not. I wouldn’t even class you as overweight.

Ignore BMI. Percentage body fat is the way forward. You can approximately measure this at home. Sub 30% is good. Sub 20% excellent. Sub 15% elite athlete. Sub 10% body building/film role - not sustainable year round.

I would say you look similar to me and Im officially obese. Though yes, like you I don’t look at myself and think I am.

My obese friend was told by a nurse that she has to lose a couple of stone and she was very offended and was complaining to me about it. She genuinely sees herself as slim. She bought herself a size 8 bikini (a real slip of a thing) and then gave it to me for my daughter as for some reason it didn’t fit. She consistently buys clothes too small. She is at least a size 20. makes no sense. I don’t want to be her, yet I think I may be. I think we all are a little bit.

No it’s doesn’t say you’re obese 🤦‍♀️ it puts you in the overweight category, which different!

The delusion needs to be popped. Some accountability too.

Some haven't. They think they are big boned. Or just post on Mumsnet in denial.

Thank you 😍

Basically, you don’t look like our perceived idea of what obese or even overweight looks like. You carry the extra weight pretty well and we are also used to seeing most people who are size 12 and up.
When I lived in Adelaide I was size 14 and I felt quite slim as so many people were properly fat (like being size 14 in America). Then I moved to Sydney, the home of the body beautiful and people out jogging in sports bras and I felt huge and dropped to a size 10 quite quickly (pre kids).

Put on weight after kids but was also friends with people in the same position!

But my Dr said - you had gestational diabetes, this shows you are at risk for diabetes in the future. So we do need to look at what’s actually going on inside and try to not compare ourselves because it’s what’s going on with our own body that’s important, and sadly excess weight as we get older is a risk factor for so many things.

My GP said that a better way of seeing if you need to lose weight is if your waist measurement is less than half your height!
I just squeaked in....

I wouldn’t worry about a label. You don’t look obese and you don’t feel obese. When I worked in an infant school, the reception children had health checks that weighed them, checked their height etc and some of the kids came out as being overweight or obese and they just looked like ‘normal’ average sized kids. It’s ridiculous!

You look overweight but not obese. You do need to lose some weight for better health. Because there is less risk of diabetes and heart problems. But make it your journey and your decision for health reasons and not because strangers on an internet said something.

I agree with previous posters who said weight/size image is so distorted in this country, that we don’t see what’s smacking us in the face.

The NHS use BMI as a rough guide. My doctor explained it to me. They use those terms as it gives a good indicator that a person could suffer obesity related conditions. In my case they were absolutely right. I was pushing 40 BMI and I had diabetes. Since then I have reduced to being just over 30 and the diabetes is in remission without taking drugs. So for me, it is a guide that does roughly tally with more specific scientific readings. I did have blood sugar level of 52, now it is 38.

In others it is wrong, my muscle bound nephew is certainly not obese and I doubt he is at risk from from obesity related conditions. Although, it is also possible to get obesity related conditions without looking fat as it is fat on internal organs that does the damage and some people are more likely to put that on than others. It is possible to have a fatty liver but a skinny arse. My sister is probably in that category as she has pre-diabetes but never been overweight in her life.

In any case, it is daft to take BMI personally, it is not a playground insult, just a rough guide they use to help with the obesity crisis and overall it is very useful to the NHS but individual health is always up to the individual.

You’re not obese. the NHS site doesn’t say you’re obese. Check your numbers.

Oh wow - the first sentence is a problem and probably the second, too. Likely a reason why so many of us are pending health disaster.

OP i’m deffo bigger than you and a size 18 but I don’t look it. People are shocked when I tell them i’m obese. I’m really short (only 5 foot) so I try not to worry too much but am trying to lose weight.

I adjusted the numbers as OP said she's now lost around 4 or 5 pounds, so her BMI is actually less than 28.

Very relieved that I have moved into the "overweight" category. I did the BMI thing at a different weight, and didn't realise I had moved from obese into overweight! I was 12 stone 6 pounds in April, so I've lost 16 pounds since then.

My arms and legs are slim, I carry all of my weight on my tummy. It's coming down, but I still look pregnant!

I am reasonably fit, I can walk for ages. Taking Collagen has helped with aching joints.

I'm 56, so I think it's harder to lose weight at this age!

@noworklifebalance , why are they a problem? The OP isn't obese.

You're quite heavy for the height you are. I agree with the PP who said that sometimes it takes losing weight to see that you were carrying quite a bit extra before the loss. I wouldn't worry about the labels, it doesn't really matter if one system calls it overweight and another calls it obese. Just focus on a plan for losing some of it to feel healthier.