‘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.

I can remember reading that many slim
Asians often have undiagnosed prediabetes/diabetes. Because they are not overweight they are more likely not to be investigated for possible diabetes. So that could tally with a higher incidence of covid deaths.

@OnItCarBonnet

I agree. Whenever I read an article about somebody ‘healthy’ who’s died of covid-19, particularly when under 60, I know before looking at the photo that they will be obese.

We need to stop getting offended about weight and the impact it has on health. I’m overweight, bordering on obese but losing weight slowly at the minute. I know I’m fat. We know that weight is a huge factor in why people get ill and die from covid. But apart from Boris saying a few months ago ‘I was too fat’, there have been barely any campaigns or incentives to lose weight. Instead, they closed gyms and shamed people for going to the park or countryside for a walk 🤷🏻‍♀️

Absolutely. We need to start making it easer for people to form healthy habits. If it was as simple as 'eat less, move more' we'd all be walking round looking like the cast of Gladiators wouldn't we? I get that ultimately it's the responsibility of the individual, but as a PT/fitness instructor I despair at the disparity of opportunity when it comes to access to facilities and even basic education around health and well-being. Post-kids I was classed as obese, I got 'fit but fat', and I'm now in the best shape of my life, but it was really hard and it's taken me years to get to where I am now. I recognise that I have had the privilege of time and money, without which it would have been a whole different ball game.

I'm struggling now, between home-schooling 2 kids while dh works and trying to PT clients remotely. I have my own kit at home, I know what to do, I have the discipline to get up early and do it, and it's still really fucking hard to find the motivation. We're hard-wired to take the easy option - Christ knows what I'd do if I was working one (or more) low paid jobs just to make ends meet and I didn't have the time, money or the inclination to come home at night and resist the pull of the sofa and a cheap takeaway...

I work for a local authority leisure centre and we are on our knees following years of underfunding prior to covid. The state of our equipment and facilities is honestly embarrassing, compared to the local big box gyms. But we are friendly and unintimidating, and we don't expect you to walk in knowing exactly what to do and just get on with it. The difference we can, and do, make in people's lives is what stops me chasing the money and running off to one of the big chains, but it was really bloody depressing watching the government ploughing money into Eat Out to Help Out when the long term impact of getting people into gyms and swimming pools would go a long way towards protecting the NHS in the long run.

It'd be great to see Boris learning from his own experience and investing in the likes of us once we're in a position to reopen, but frankly I'm not holding my breath. At this point I think we'll be lucky just to still be in business in a few months time, it's heartbreaking.

but it was really bloody depressing watching the government ploughing money into Eat Out to Help Out when the long term impact of getting people into gyms and swimming pools would go a long way towards protecting the NHS in the long run.

I know this doesn't help your health centre's budget, but other positive moves would be improving access to parks and outdoor space, and not treating people on low incomes as moral failures.

It's bad economic policy to scrimp on social spending and then pay more for the consequences of people becoming ill.

@justanotherneighinparadise

I can remember reading that many slim Asians often have undiagnosed prediabetes/diabetes. Because they are not overweight they are more likely not to be investigated for possible diabetes. So that could tally with a higher incidence of covid deaths.

Yes precisely. Plus being skinny fat or having a lot of visceral fat, for men, usually correlates to heavy smoking / tabacco and drinking - all of which happen a lot within North Indian communities. There’s also the matter that often older ‘vegetarian’ family members ban meat eating children / grandchildren from eating lean meat or even eggs in the house - this lack of protein results in cardiovascular issues later as well as children being encouraged to eat (unhealthy processed shit) outside of the house from a ridiculously young age.

Great post @SendCheese

'Eat out to help out' was a colossal mistake in so many ways, you're right.

@TheVanguardSix sorry to read about your story - that must be incredibly upsetting and frustrating. Can totally appreciate that losing weight won’t be easy for your DH but after narrowly escaping a premature death it’s sad this hasn’t prompted him to make some changes. It must be awful living in fear of him being taken away. I wish you the best.

@Beebityboo try not to panic - remember that you need to consider the baseline risk, not just relative risk. So even if your risk increased by 40%, that’s a 40% increase on a very small baseline number, so say from 1% to 1.4%. That looks a lot less alarming than ‘40% increase’.

I agree, OP.

apart from Boris saying a few months ago ‘I was too fat’, there have been barely any campaigns or incentives to lose weight. Instead, they closed gyms and shamed people for going to the park or countryside for a walk

And adverts claiming that all "joggers" probably have covid! I mean - really? They've been withdrawn but what idiot thought those were remotely acceptable?

Morbid obesity (those most at risk of Covid complications) is counted as an underlying health condition.

I'm about 5 stone overweight. Compared to most people where I live I am quite slim: most people are at least as fat as me but usually a lot bigger. We have lost all perspective. But if 2/3rds of the population are overweight or obese you can of course be overweight or obese and still look pretty average!

@IloveJKRowling

Great post *@SendCheese*

'Eat out to help out' was a colossal mistake in so many ways, you're right.

It probably saved a lot of people’s mental health (and their lives) as a result though.

It probably saved a lot of people’s mental health (and their lives) as a result though.

Did it? Being able to meet up made a massive difference but a cheap pie in a cafe? Really?

Did it? Being able to meet up made a massive difference but a cheap pie in a cafe? Really?

Agree - I don't understand how it was better than just being able to see friends and family particularly as it happened in the summer.

To be fair I do miss getting out for a meal every now and then. The endless breakfasts, lunches and dinners and cleanups are starting to break me! 😂

@bumbleymummy

To be fair I do miss getting out for a meal every now and then. The endless breakfasts, lunches and dinners and cleanups are starting to break me! 😂

Me too! But it being half price makes no difference.

True. Although I guess it made it more accessible - especially at a time when many people were feeling the pinch financially. It’s nice to be able to enjoy nice things sometimes.

Tbf I don't resent the support given to the hospitality industry, god knows they need it. Whether that was the right way to go about it is a whole other debate that I'm not really qualified to get into.

Work Out to Help Out has a nice ring to it though, no? Subsidising short-term gym passes for example might have done us a big favour, and might have encouraged potential members to come back and join when the dust starts to settle?

I think there needs to be far better support and mental health provision for the overweight. Counselling to deal with disordered eating and dieticians/nutritionists to advise on portions/diet etc.

But sadly, right now even adults with full blown anorexia and bulimia are put on waiting lists for years for treatment unless they're near death with a BMI below 14.

Teen provision is a little better, but not if they're presenting at average or even overweight.

It's a major blind spot for the NHS and NHS funding.

"Work Out to Help Out has a nice ring to it though, no? Subsidising short-term gym passes for example might have done us a big favour, and might have encouraged potential members to come back and join when the dust starts to settle?"

That's a really good idea. :)

I don’t know that BMI is an altogether accurate description. The lower-mid end of the weight suggested for my height has me looking skinny and gaunt, certainly not healthy. Whilst the higher end has me looking more normal/healthy weight but a tiny bit more than that, I wouldn’t look much different but would be classed as overweight 🤷🏼‍♀️

Love the idea of Work Out to Help Out.

Genius.

Agree that BMI isn't the best indicator. I've never been out of the BMI healthy range but I have PCOS and put weight on around my middle which is known to be the worst place for health. I know for a fact, despite by BMI being normal, my waist circumference has been too big in the past.

Exercise is quite difficult with people with certain physical problems too - e.g. my friend in a wheelchair used to swim but with pools closed the amount of exercise she can do is limited. If losing weight was simple, no-one would be overweight.

I don't see how eat out to help out helped anyone more than take out to help out would have done.

Encouraging people to congregate indoors was never going to be a good idea, and particularly in the summer was ludicrous. Plenty of other countries only allowed outdoor seating, they could have done that instead.

@bumbleymummy SendCheese for PM. Vote for me 😁

Re bmi - according to the NHS calculator I could lose 2 stone and stay within a healthy weight range. I do not have 2 stone spare to lose! If you saw me in the flesh you would be able to put my weight into context because you would see that I'm pretty muscular. I suppose that is the function of such a generalised calculation though; while it isn't an ideal measure of 'health' on its own, it can be useful as part of the bigger picture in helping to determine a person's health needs.

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.

Highly processed food has a lot to answer for but vegetables and home cooking everything isn't that money making. The government should focus on some grass roots campaigns to help people cook, source good food and lead active lives.