‘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.

My friend who works on a Covid ICU unit says almost all patients on life support are overweight. It's not fat-shaming, it's reality

1950s America dress size chart. I would have been 20 for waist & 16 for rest. I tend to be a size 7 in modern American clothes.

@lljkk

1950s America dress size chart. I would have been 20 for waist & 16 for rest. I tend to be a size 7 in modern American clothes.

Oh yes, the old fashioned size charts, where they assumed every woman had either an hourglass or a pearshaped figure. 😁

I find all modern clothes are for pears or no-waisters. As an hourglass I struggle to find things that fit (without a belt), or mixing sizes (like above is a mix of 20 & 16).

There's a petition for the work out to help out which I've just signed and shared - such a great idea

@IloveJKRowling

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.

There's ways round it, like using frozen veg, or meal prep. In any case, healthy food can be very simple. It doesn't even have to be cooked. The fact is, if you're motivated you will see preparing healthy food and exercising as a priority and make the effort. Lets be honest, a lot of people eat things like takeaways and junk food just because they enjoy it. It makes them feel good.

Simple home cooking does not take a lot of time. I don’t buy that at all.

Lets be honest, a lot of people eat things like takeaways and junk food just because they enjoy it. It makes them feel good

Everyone wants to feel good.

Ideally food is cheap, healthy and delicious. 2/3 is easy. 3/3 is hard.

@Cecily42

Simple home cooking does not take a lot of time. I don’t buy that at all.

If you know how to cook. If you can afford ingredients. If you’re not totally exhausted after work. If you have a well equipped kitchen. If you can afford gas/electric.

I’m a great cook with all those things in my favour and still reach for freezer food when I’m knackered.

Metabolic syndrome can mean you look thinnish but fat on the inside. ( Or the pot belly look.)
Is this not a big issue with getting bad covid?

@TheVanguardSix Thankyou, I appreciate your comments. It has been a complicated journey to navigate, I am finally on optimal thyroid replacement and also gluten/grain free diet which is thankfully helping the weight come off (albeit too slow for my impatience 🙄) but I will get there.

I really hope your husband gets the help he needs for his weight. Might be worth encouraging him to seek psychological help, although I appreciate you’re powerless in his plight. Best wishes to you both

@PurpleDaisies, I am afraid I still disagree. Even as a student on a tight budget I managed to cook proper food. You can use frozen veg and keep it simple.

[quote Cecily42]@PurpleDaisies, I am afraid I still disagree. Even as a student on a tight budget I managed to cook proper food. You can use frozen veg and keep it simple.[/quote]
If you’ve got a freezer and frozen veg aren’t a meal on their own.

It’s a totally different situation being a student compared to a low paid worker with a family to support financially and look after.

Even as a student on a tight budget I managed to cook proper food. You can use frozen veg and keep it simple.

But if you have had an awful day and the children are screaming and you have no idea whether you did the right thing when you told your elderly mother that you couldn’t come round, a whole packet of chocolate biscuits really hits the spot AND you can still operate heavy machinery.

How can anyone actually think that being a student is comparable to some of the pressures these families are under financially and in terms of stress?

Honestly. It’s unbelievable.

@merrymouse

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

There's no doubt it did. I was a size 12 in the 80s/early 90s and had a 26 inch waist. I put on weight when I started working then about 10 years ago managed to diet back to the weight I'd been then. I was surprised to find my 26 inch waist fitting into size 8 skirts.

Alas, since menopause I find it very difficult to maintain a healthy weight and I doubt my waist will ever see 26 inches again!

I think a packet of custard creams is 50p.

Honestly, I can imagine many situations where they are just the logical choice.

@merrymouse

I think a packet of custard creams is 50p.

Honestly, I can imagine many situations where they are just the logical choice.

So is fruit and veg in Lidl and Aldi. I can see what you mean though. Brocolli might only last one meal whereas a packet of biscuits might last a week.

Anyone can learn to cook and bake on a budget. Nothing wrong with some readymade and custard cream whatever you fancy some days, but you don’t get to BMI of 40 by eating a donut once a month.

The amount of obesity in this country, it’s not just people who live in poverty and stress. That’s probably a tiny percentage.

So is fruit and veg in Lidl and Aldi.

Unfortunately they don't contain the vital nutritional elements that make the world seem a better place while you are eating a custard cream.

Everyone knows that custard creams and doughnuts should be an occasional treat, but it's also important to acknowledge that people eat them for a reason, and that those reasons make it hard to eat more healthy food.

you don’t get to BMI of 40 by eating a donut once a month.

No, you don't - but the stereotype of overweight people having regular takeaways and a diet of junk food isn't always true either. You don't have to overeat by much to put on 1lb a month - at the end of the year that's a gain of almost a stone. And it is true that as you age, your metabolism slows, so that kind of gradual weight gain can happen without a sudden lurch into bad habits. If you are not eating loads of junk, huge portions etc. it can be hard to find what to cut out to stop slow weight gain, and almost without realising it you can find yourself tipping into the obese category.

I agree it’s much more complex than cutting down on takeaways. I was only commenting on home-cooking vs ready meals. Plenty of slim people also eat an unhealthy diet but perhaps less of it or are lucky with their metabolism.

Lots of healthy things are highly calorific too - like nuts. That's one of the things that's recommended for healthy snacks but eating a lot of nuts (or peanut butter) can easily mean you're taking in more calories than you need.

Low income, time poor, cook healthy meals from scratch.
You can usually only tick two.

I spend 20 min max in the kitchen for midweek meals, there are so many blogs etc giving ideas for quick healthy meals.

I spend less than £120 pw for 4 adults (2 young men) and that's with all of us eating all meals at home atm, which might be more than some, but that's with all organic fruit, veg and dairy, meat from the butcher and fish from the fish monger, so could be done cheaper. I don't buy the argument that healthy is expensive. Basic foodstuffs, bought in season, are cheap.