‘Healthy’ but overweight?

[bumbleymummy]

Ok, I know this is a sensitive subject and I’m really not trying to upset or offend anyone. I just think it’s misleading when people say things like ‘ICU is filled with healthy under 60s’ or talk about a ‘healthy 40- something’ passing away and it turns out that person/a high proportion of those patients are very overweight. Are people who are clearly overweight actually ‘healthy’? I know it’s not the same as an underlying condition like diabetes or heart disease but we know that a high bmi puts people at greater risk of complications from coronavirus.

Before someone jumps on me, I’m not saying that someone’s life is of less value because they are overweight or have an underlying health condition. I’m just wondering if it’s accurate to say that they are ‘healthy’ when we are reporting figures and talking about risk.

@TheVanguardSix you are totally projecting your feelings onto others and it’s very unfair of you to do so, not to mention labelling obese ‘people’ selfish.
I was fit, slim and healthy until I developed an under active thyroid that piled 4 stone on me before I could get treatment (which I had to fight for) and diagnosed with CFS which removed my ability to exercise (which I absolutely loved and helped keep my mental health as well as physical health in check). I am unable to lose the weight because of these conditions, I’m trying. I have to be pretty much starving everyday to lose a couple of pounds. I hate the way I look, it’s destroyed my self esteem and I’d give ANYTHING to have my health, my life and my body back.

It’s not as simple as ‘selfish’.

Vegetables and home cooking take time - time that a lot of workers don't have. Plus they don't make as much profit as ready meals.

@TheVanguardSix and actually I can sympathise with your situation. I too would feel resentful of my partner (if able bodied) not taking care of their weight after almost losing their life like that. But he clearly has psychological issues relating to food that he likely needs help with. No other reason he didn’t continue to try and lose the weight after that scare.
But do everyone a favour and don’t judge ALL obese people, labelling them ALL selfish with your limited experience of 1 person in your life who is obese.

@Zxyzoey31

Weight is a significant contribution factor to developing type 2 diabetes too and treating all the people with it and the terrible consequences eats up so much of the NHS budget. Drs pretended for years it wasn't a lifestyle disease and then along came Dr Roy to show it was largely reversible through diet but still the be country can't have a grown up conversation about food.

Actually that's incorrect. Medical research is showing that the metabolic disorder comes first & causes the weight gain, it's just that the diabetes isn't checked/picked up until people have gained weight.

But that's not so much fun to judge is it.

chailatteplease has your endocrinology team checked you out for Hashimoto's thyroiditis?

@TheVanguardSix yes I was positive for Hashi’s antibodies.

I only ask because we have extensive hypothyroidism in my family. I feel your plight completely and utterly chailatteplease and no, your situation is not at all the same as my husband's. Hypothyroidism is a beast and I hope you're under a good team (don't let your GP manage it. If your GP hasn't referred you to endocrinology, he/she must. It's so not one size fits all when it comes to thyroid disorders). I wish you great luck and sincerely hope you can wrestle your illness to the ground. It can be done with the right management.

I hadn't seen your update since my last post. Well, you poor thing. You really have my sympathy. Hashimoto's is tough. It really is. I hope you find the right course of treatment to alleviate your symptoms. It can be a bit of 'trial and error, trying to reach even a semblance of wellness, but in my mum's case, she is much healthier and more balanced after years of finally figuring out what works for her, medication-wise/lifestyle-wise, and the rest. Her weight is much, much easier to manage now than in the early years of her diagnosis.

Medical research is showing that the metabolic disorder comes first & causes the weight gain, it's just that the diabetes isn't checked/picked up until people have gained weight

Metabolic factors make so much sense. I definitely eat more healthily and am more active than when I was younger and yet I got away with staying slim so much more easily then, despite copious alcohol and takeaways, neither of which I consume very often at all now.

Of course it makes sense that our metabolism changes as we age - but it really highlights that it's not just about how much we eat or how much we exercise - if that were true we'd all stay the same weight from 20 to 50 as long as we ate the same and did the same level of activity.

If I ate what I did at 20 I'm sure I'd be enormous now, but I got away with it then.

I have a friend with PCOS. That's a metabolic disorder, I think?

She is quite overweight, I guess 5 stone.
My BMI is around 21. I'm 16 yrs older and slightly taller.

She gets much less exercise than me, & she eats more calories. We have been on holiday together and spent whole days together, go on walks now, have contact most days, 'bubble' at moment.

There's nothing different about what her body does with calories, compared to me. I would be 5 stone bigger if I had her food intake & energy out, long term. I don't know what PCOS does to anyone else, but in her case, she's much bigger because she eats more & moves less than me.

There's nothing different about what her body does with calories, compared to me.

PCOS often means insulin resistance, so it’s not correct today that her body is processing food in the same way. Insulin resistance makes weight gain easy and weight loss hard.

*I think the vast majority of people genuinely have no idea how overweight they are

This is absolutely true.*

I agree. There was an article on the news recently about a younger (ie not over 60s) person who had died from covid. Very very sad obviously, but the article kept referring to this person as "healthy" whereas the photos showed them to be quite obviously very overweight. I've seen a similar article in the local press.

I have PCOS. If I eat gluten and sugar I can put on half a stone in a week. But also, if I avoid gluten and sugar, I can lose half a stone in a week. Insulin sensitivity. Luckily I’m a healthy bmi (21) so I manage it well through my diet. (Apart from the odd binge).

I think it's become clear that obesity is an "underlying condition".

The problem is, it's so widespread that we really can't afford to protect everyone who has it.

If we really want to "protect the NHS" both during the current crisis and afterwards we would invest properly in solving this issue, but atm we seem to have a situation where even doctors will be criticised for mentioning that someone needs to lose weight.

Of course it's not as easy as just telling someone they need to lose weight, just as you can't just tell someone to stop smoking or drinking, but it must be possible to change attitudes so that huge portions, multiple snacks per day, regular takeaways etc aren't considered the norm.

I agree with PP that people don't understand what a healthy weight looks like any more. I have a BMI of 22, so in the top half of the healthy range. I am regularly told I am too thin and yet I could lose almost 2 stone (not sure how!) before I was technically underweight.

Clothing sizes don't help. I have a colleague who is very clearly overweight (also short) but wears a size 12 in many shops, which is normal, right?

Of course, there are people with medical issues that make maintaining a healthy weight very difficult, but that's not why the population overall has got so much heavier in such a short time.

Size 12 is a 30” waist; 36” chest; 38” hips? That sort of size? So shouldn’t be above healthy bmi unless with very large arms and legs!

@TheVanguardSix I've asked for a referral, another consultant has asked for a referral, immunology suggested a referral
Doctors won't refer. Hashimotos and a host of other autoimmune diseases
Not much more I can do, I have asked and asked and they say I don't need a referral. My TSH was 7.5 and apparently that was "slightly" out. They won't up my thyroxine if my TSH is around 4-5

I would just like to chip in my own anecdotal evidence. Yes, very definitely during the first wave the majority of under 50's in ITU with no underlying health conditions were obese.
Sadly, this time round there are many who are not. For example, during my last ITU shift there were no patients above the age of 56, and of the ones under 40 only one of five was obese.
That's one ITU, on one specific day.

@DownWhichOfLate

Size 12 is a 30” waist; 36” chest; 38” hips? That sort of size? So shouldn’t be above healthy bmi unless with very large arms and legs!

Except that it isn't, in most shops it's much larger.

E.g. I've just measured my size 10 skinny jeans from Next and the hips are 39"

Amelietaylor you are implying I said something I didn't. Please don't do that.
Also, please do post your research links. I am interested. I refer you to Dr Roy at Newcastle University.

I don't think clothing size is the best indicator at all, partly because they vary so much between shops and also because, especially with high street clothes, they aren't very well made or fitted. I have to wear a larger size in skirts or trousers in order to get over big hips and bottom but then I'm left with lots of excess fabric at the waist. So I might wear a 16 for example but still have a smaller waist than someone in a 14.

I think size 12 used to be a 26” waist.

Of course people are also taller now.