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A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

Is this considered obese?

106 replies

Potterhead113 · 28/07/2017 11:49

I am 5ft6.5 and 93kg and my BMI puts me at obese but I'm a size 12/14 in clothes which I didn't think would be seen as obese. I know I'm a little overweight but I don't have a double chin or a purtruding gut or anything that I would consider to be features of obesity.
It's making me really upset when I go to the doctors because they keep saying I'm obese and at risk of health problems and should lose 4 stone but I think I'd be way to thin at that weight. What do you think? Am I just deluded and I am actually obese :(

OP posts:
Cocklodger · 29/07/2017 02:05

I think as a size 16(possibly 18 now) is average in the UK for a woman we think average means, safe, healthy, normal. But it's not. Size 16s are often overweight or obese (I'm sure I'm going to get shit for this) particularly if you're short.
I'm 5'2 and quite overweight. I am a size 10 (Aus/uk sizes)

Cocklodger · 29/07/2017 02:08

You can be healthy and overweight mind.
It doesn't mean your risks are any lower for future health problems but in any case no one can tell you you aren't overweight because you excercise/are healthy etc.

eurochick · 29/07/2017 07:35

I'm certainly not particularly fit now, but I was pretty fit until I had a complicated pregnancy. I used to (at various times over my life) swim a mile a day, train with my ex-Olympian ex-boyfriend, train for a half marathon, etc.

If you didn't want to hear the answer, why ask the question?

ChrisPrattsFace · 29/07/2017 07:43

I'm the same height as you OP, a teeny bit taller and current 12.6stone.
I am overweight, I look it and I feel it. I am classed is obese - and have an obese marker on my records and get asked to lose weight every GP visit. I don't think I'm obese at all!
You sound very fit and very healthy - it's well known BMI is poor at establishing levels of fitness. (Rugby players often coming out as morbidly obese etc)

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 29/07/2017 07:43

I'm 5'10" and 84kg and I just about fit into a 16 - I can't see how someone 6" shorter than me and 10kg heavier could be a size 12!

People throw about the idea that sportspeople are obese according to BMI but in reality this isn't the case for most. And those who would be obese (linebackers, weight lifters etc) could do with losing weight from a health point of view.

My personal trainer who does bodybuilding (so v muscly and low body fat but extremely 'bulky') has a healthy BMI.

ChrisPrattsFace · 29/07/2017 08:06

I say that about rugby players as a few friends of mine are as physically fit as you can be, low body fat, muscular and general health is very good - they are all obese or morbidly obese, most likely due to their height... but muscle does play a big factor in it.

Crispsheets · 29/07/2017 08:11

Im six feet tall and wouldnt look too thin at 11 stone.
I'm currently 12 stone 3 and hate it.

Batoutahell · 29/07/2017 08:12

I'm a size 12 at 60kg, so I'd say that 93kg must surely be quite overweight and probably obese.

shaggedthruahedgebackwards · 29/07/2017 08:26

Is the 92kg definitely correct OP?

Do you have your own scales or was this at the health centre?

It may be worth double checking on a different set of scales as what you describe in terms of your size and body shape does not marry up with you weighing 92kg

robinia · 29/07/2017 08:30

If you look like the pictures then yes that's overweight though to me doesn't look like obese - looks quite Marilyn Monroe-esque. If your other stats are good (pulse, bp, lung function) then I don't think you need to lose that much.
Fwiw, I'm the same height and was 12st5. Also fit and muscly. I didn't look overweight (according to other people including a pre-op nurse) even though BMI said I was a stone overweight. However, I have now lost 2 1/2 stone and have a BMI of 22ish. I have a very skinny/bony top half and can't afford to lose too much more unless it all goes from my stomach which is not as flat as I would like.
What I'm trying to say is that BMI is a very rough tool. What's healthy one isn't healthy for another. I would be ill with an 18 BMI. Someone else would be overweight with a 25 BMI.
If I were you I'd aim for the top BMI (25) - !I think around 11st5 for your height - as it sounds like you would be very healthy at that weight.

MirabelleTree · 29/07/2017 08:33

I'm fractionally shorter than you OP and about 5kg lighter. I've got 38lb left to lose until I get to the top of my BMI range. I'm lying to most people about how much I have left to lose and telling them half the true amount as most of them wouldn't be able to get their heads round it.

Most recent jeans I've bought are a 14 from the supermarket so I guess that I'll end up around a 10 in some shops. I have a huge chest however and a large frame and I think that my stomach looks smaller than it is in relation to my chest. Noticed people posting pictures on MFP of their progress saying they still have 20-30lbs to go and I look and genuinely think 'from where' but see updated pictures and you can then see it.

I think that whilst BMI can be a bit weird for a few people for the rest of us it is a useful tool, used in conjunction with body fat measurement and hip to waist ratio. I've also noticed that the term obese has lost it's original use as a clinical label and becomes more of an emotional thing as we've seen so much about the obesity epidemic. One friend got quite upset when I said I was obese and told me not to say that, another two looked gobsmacked and that included one who had just 10 mins earlier seen me in my swimming costume. I genuinely think we have lost sight about what obese looks like.

Up to you what you do about it and I know you've said you're going to lose. Might be worth being a bit open minded about your end goal , get your body fat measured etc and see how you go. I set mine 10lbs above top of BMI but as I get closer ( quite excited about the idea of being overweight rather than obese ! ) I think I will go for the top of the BMI range. . Good luck.

Aria2015 · 29/07/2017 08:38

I do get what you are saying. I carry weight fairly well (I'm tall) and so when after having my lo by bmi was just over 30 and i fell into the obese category I felt like it was a bit harsh lol!

Having said that I've now lost weight and in the healthy range and look and feel much better. I haven't had a massive change in clothes size just gone down 1-2 dress sizes but it has made a difference and psychologically I feel better knowing my bmi is healthy.

If you look like the photos you've posted, then the word 'obese' would not jump to my mind but you have to keep in mind that this is a medical term used to describe the majority of people who fit your height and weight bracket. It's not a great word as it tends to conjure images of very overweight people which, by the sounds of it, isn't a good description of you.

Therealslimshady1 · 29/07/2017 08:39

Crispsheets, I am 12 stone at 6ft, doc said I was getting close to overweight, and had I considered exercise (I do exercise 4- 5 times a week!)

Need to lose a few pounds...

OP, I wear size 12-14, and don't think that is a big size to be

Thegiantofillinois · 29/07/2017 08:48

The bmi thing is weird. I'm 5'9 with bmi of 23 which makes me verging on overweight, yet I'm universally seen by those around me as slim. Apparently healthy is between 8.8 stone and 11.8 stone. I hit 10 stone in my early 20s and look ill.

bruffin · 29/07/2017 08:53

Op
I am classed as obese but like you am muscular. 5'2 13stone size 14
My gym has a bodytrax machine and according to that my muscle score is 22/24 which is very high and my internal fat is fine, my body shape is solid bordering on normal
I also swim a lot and go to egym normally but been on holiday and had an injury las week.

coolaschmoola · 29/07/2017 08:58

If you are very muscular get your body fat ratio checked.

My DH was told by the GP that he was obese based on BMI alone... At the time he was a serving soldier, doing ten mile runs with full packs, in the gym daily etc. When measured his body fat was 12% - slap bang in the middle of 'ideal'. He was ridiculously fit and healthy.

BMI is not the only measure, and it isn't accurate for everyone.

Only1scoop · 29/07/2017 09:06

I'm an inch shorter than you and a stone and a half lighter. I'm in a size 14 but on the obese cusp.

BamburyFuriou3 · 29/07/2017 09:15

I would double check your weight on different scales. I can't believe you look like that and fit those clothes at that weight/height.

I'm the same height as you and used to train most days and was very fit and muscular. At 10.5 stone I still could only just fit size 12 and wouldn't have been able to any heavier.
I'm currently unfit and flabby. At 10.5 stone I'm a size 14 and occasionally a size 16 (depending on brand) on top as I'm a GG cup.

hellsbells99 · 29/07/2017 09:54

Yes I believe you can be that weight and a 12/14. I am far too heavy now and on a diet but at 93kg when I was a lot younger and exercised a lot I was similar. But having aged and put on a bit more weight and now doing very little exercise (so more fat than muscle) my size is now more like an 18. So as you get older the picture will probably change. Also carrying round extra weight as I am, I can now get sore knees and do feel quite 'old' where as if I lost weight (as trying to do), it would obviously be beneficial - although I don't want to lose weight from my face as that would age me!
If you look anything like those photos, the you look great. Good luck on your diet - it seems very hard to lose weight as you get older

bruffin · 29/07/2017 09:58

Hellsbells99
Im almost 55
I lost nearly 2 stone this time last year., but as i said above im very muscly.

AccrualIntentions · 29/07/2017 10:15

I'm 5'10" and 84kg and I just about fit into a 16 - I can't see how someone 6" shorter than me and 10kg heavier could be a size 12!

Weight distributions are funny things though. I'm the same height as you and 20kg heavier and I fit in size 16 clothes. My sister and I were bridesmaids a while back and had identical bust, waist and hip measurements, but she weighed 3 stone less than me. She has very slim arms and legs, I have very chunky arms and legs. What look to be little differences can have a big impact on what you weigh.

(Not using this as an excuse for my weight, btw, I weigh what I weigh and I know it's too much!)

bruffin · 29/07/2017 10:19

Agree actuals. I can easily get into skinny size 14 jeans for waist and bum but my calf muscles are the problem.

eurochick · 29/07/2017 10:48

Illinois, a bmi of 23 puts you a little over the middle of the healthy weight band, so a fair way from overweight. I'd guess you have about a stone of leeway!

Original poster
Potterhead113 · 29/07/2017 11:07

I have taken my body fat percentage and I have come out as 29% which is classed as okay for women. I view myself as pretty healthy and my breasts will probably be a large part of that fat. Also taken my visceral fat and that was low too.

OP posts:
Original poster
Potterhead113 · 29/07/2017 11:11

The scales I am weighing with are at home, they seem pretty consistent. However they put my size 20 5ft4 mother at almost 2 stone lighter than me!!!

OP posts: