‘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 good friend is a consultant in ICU at a big hospital and has said 80% of those who are in there are overweight, BAME and / or over 70. Unfortunately people have become bit deluded as to what overweight is nowadays. Yep you might be able to run a 10k which is great but if you are overweight with covid you are at risk

@user2921
I guess when I say elephant in the room I really mean that it might have been listed as a risk factor but there’s been very little talk about these things we can do to help ourselves. We’ve had a year now- we all could have been more strongly advised to improve our health and well-being rather than just locking us away. We’ve had a year!!

BMI depends on age in my opinion, was a size 8 all through my adult life, 22 inch waist, after the menopause 50+ (some are sooner some later.) Your body naturally puts on weight around the middle, its natural, you can starve it fight it, but sadly unless your pear shaped then it goes to hips its natural. Ive heard its to protect organs, no idea why but it was a consultant who said it. So all the doctors in the world can say lose weight, it will go but not sadly always from where you want it to go from when your middle aged, which sadly can make you look overweight.

The sad thing with my parents they were the fat but happy and it wasn’t till their early fifties that it caught up with them. Then it was catch 22, obesity had led to other complications and the complications made it hard to lose weight. They were basically housebound and both died in their 60s, although my mum died of non related my dad died due to complications of type 2 diabetes.

Dunno, I have a BMI of around 36/37 but I walk around 5-6 miles per day. Went for a socially distanced walk few weeks ago, before this lockdown started, with a friend whose BMI has to be in the "healthy" range, (she's definitely a size 10/12 as been clothes shopping with her in a "previous life").
We live in the country and the walk we went on included two long inclines, one of them quite steep. She had to stop twice up the steeper one to, "catch her breath" and slowed down to a crawling pace up the other. She couldn't keep up a conversation walking at my normal pace even on the flat. Which of us, then, is the fitter and healthier I wonder?

@alwaysinjured
Good point but it’s way more complicated than pure mechanics of size- the immune system in those with metabolic disease ( type2 diabetes etc) doesn’t behave in the same way to infection. An overactive inflammatory response. Microbiome is becoming implicated ( large % of the immune system in the gut) ... short story, we need an appropriate and healthy immune response to the invader!

Maybe the issue some people have is the phrase 'elephant in the room'.

Doctors don't like to use the word 'fat' as it seems judgemental. So they use a softer word - 'obese' - which makes being fat seem like a medical problem. This seems kinder. But it's not. You are unhealthy if you are fat. You are at risk of diabetes and heart problems and cancer. And you will probably end up using a hospital bed that someone else needs.
You are also directing your children into thinking fat is normal. If you've had a horrible day and reach for the custard creams you are sending a message to your children - it's okay to eat rubbish if you feel rubbish. There's a reason why fat runs in families and it's not often genetic.
Calories going in should be equal to or less than calories going out. I'm coeliac and have a sweet tooth. Gluten free foods are often really high in fat and sugar. If I ate everything I wanted to I'd be a short fat lump. And don't get me started on the old argument about healthy foods being expensive. Cheap cooked mackerel mixed with rice and vegetables is healthy and quick to make. Jamie Oliver etc have made loads of tv programmes on how to eat cheaply and healthily. Jack Monroe (Google her) posts recipes which are cheap, easy and quick. No excuses.

Personally I don't think fat is a helpful word. Not because its offensive, though it may be to some, but because it can be subjective and is used for anything from slightly too much body fat but acceptable BMI to morbidly obese. One person's definition won't be another's.
When talking about health the terms overweight and obese are objective and clearer. Although admittedly don't score the 'say it like it is' points that repeating the word fat does.

@justanotherneighinparadise please think carefully before you give blanket diet advice. A Keto diet is often very high in salt and processed meat and it can be much more expensive. I’m glad it’s worked for you but the best diet is one that is overall healthy and you can stick to. I’ve eaten carbs for every single meal of my life and I’m not overweight.

On the kids front and investing in long term changes towards healthier living..... I was saying on another thread I don't really see why those kids being homeschooled couldn't have socially distanced exercise classes outside. The risks would be tiny but the benefits to kids mental and physical health massive.

But nothing. My school just say 'do Joe Wickes'. My DD hates Joe Wicks (sorry Joe) - it's a struggle to get English and Maths done, and PE from a screen is yet more screen time. It's a constant battle trying to get her to do the same amount of exercise she'd do naturally by walking to and from school, PE in school and break times running around the playground. A battle that some days, I've got to admit, I just can't cope with.

The government doesn't give a toss. There is SO MUCH they could do. A good PE teacher could do exercise outside, totally no contact. It would be fantastic for social contact, wellbeing and physical health. But nothing.

I agree with exercise outside.

I despair sometimes for the life in four walls that my school age child is living in.

The health consequences will be long term.

BMI just touches on overweight in this pic, but I’m pretty confident I’m healthy.
Can run

^the ‘overweight’ according to BMI pic

@Fallingrain I agree. My weight loss regime focused on ensuring I had a balanced diet with lots of veg and whole foods. The only things I seriously restricted was alcohol and sugar.

If you smoke are you healthy? How about if you have depression? How about if you only eat crisps and binge drink and self harm but stay a size 10?
Healthy in the media sense here means no underlying conditions. Being overweight is a visible sign of increased risk to certain things but those people may be very fit and active, non smoking, tee-total, fruit and veg loving sorts who just happen to overeat.

This time last year (ISH)the government could have said : get thin get fit. Everyone was walking and exercising. We could all have got thin and healthier by now.

Maybe not. But it's been mostly ignore.
And you know you're not allowed to call anyone fat anymore.

Depends how you define healthy.

My Nan was fat all her life and lived until her 90s. So being fat didn’t harm her. She also chain smoked, probably one of life’s outliers .

Wouldn’t recommend it but being fat doesn’t harm everyone. It’s not a blanket thing is it? Very variable.

@User2921

There’s nothing wrong with the word fat.
Some people are fat, I am a fat person.

In fact many body positivity movements/figures openly use the word fat to describe themselves. It takes away the power of the word when it is used as offensive one. Gay people did the same with the word queer.

The scales/BMI messed with my head when I was younger, but now I try to decide what is health for my own body.

Yes, absolutely, me too. I'm from a very heavy family. All slim but just weigh a lot. Very overweight is a very different thing from a bit overweight which is very much a matter of differences in shape, muscle mass, all sorts.

[quote SeldomFollowedIt]@User2921

There’s nothing wrong with the word fat.
Some people are fat, I am a fat person.

In fact many body positivity movements/figures openly use the word fat to describe themselves. It takes away the power of the word when it is used as offensive one. Gay people did the same with the word queer.[/quote]
People can describe themselves any way they wish. If you and the BPM want to use the word fat it's not my place to comment. I understand the concept of reclaiming terms politically and socially.
My point was not about whether it was offensive or not, as I said.
I said it's not a helpful term in a health context, as its subjective and doesn't differentiate between carrying a little extra weight and obesity, which are not at all the same when discussing health, which is what the thread is about.
I also don't like the idea that the word fat should be used as a way of hammering home reality to people as has been implied, and that the medical terms are euphemistic.
This is not the same as using the word fat in an empowering way.

@User2921

Yes I totally agree.
Apologies I read your previous comment in a rush.

@User2921

Personally I don't think fat is a helpful word. Not because its offensive, though it may be to some, but because it can be subjective and is used for anything from slightly too much body fat but acceptable BMI to morbidly obese. One person's definition won't be another's. When talking about health the terms overweight and obese are objective and clearer. Although admittedly don't score the 'say it like it is' points that repeating the word fat does.

Yes, but apparently ‘healthy’ is subjective too. A poster earlier pointed out that in medical terms ‘healthy’ is someone who lives independently and can walk 500m without assistance

As someone who has always been slim i sgree,i cant get how anyone vastly ovsrweight can be described as fit,A lot of people all ages who have died of covid are overweight,that is a fact and cant be denied.

Ive a friend im very fond of shes 8 years younger than i but when we went out for meal before christmas with another friend to a rooftop restaturant two of us said would walk down 6 floors she said o i cant ill have to get lift.Shes about 5 4 size 22 but seems in total denial about her weight,She gets badly swollen ankles yet never seems to think her weight might be problem.I cant understand how she cant see shes too big.and that could be why.

If i ever run into someone i havent seen for years they say o you are still so slim,how do you do it.Well i eat healthily i exercise, walk lots,dont drive but never been near a gym or been on a diet. i weigh same as when i was 20 and im over 3 times that now.Yet for my age im pretty fit and healthier than many younger could it be im slimmer. I know im naturally slim .but i can never understand how a size 10 gets to a size 20,Surely you would do sometbing before you got that big.

When I was younger, and heavier, my doctor would note "otherwise healthy" after mentioning my BMI.