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More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

diabetes.co.uk

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Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#41

Post by mirekrusin »

sangli wrote: post #28
andygcook wrote: post #11

BMI isn't a reliable indicator to gauge obesity. For example, Tom Brady at 6' 4" and 225 lbs is considered overweight, which is obviously not the case. That being said, as an American, it really did shock me how fit the majority of people were in Italy when I visited there for the first time last year. This New England Journal of Medicine chart really does a good job of showing that America has gotten heavier over th…

BMI isn't a reliable indicator go gauge obesity FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON. I would think most of us agree that the people like Tom Brady, Dwyane Johnson (the rock), or competitive body builders would be extreme ends of this scale. For average people BMI is a reliable indicator.

That’s because muscles are heavier than fat, right?

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#42

Post by kbenson »

ThePadawan wrote: post #7
Clubber wrote: post #2

Using the BMI to gauge obeseness of a population is very lazy and disingenuous.

I would say it is useful only to gauge obesity in a large population (where only a marginal percentage has such a high muscle mass that a high BMI does not represent obesity).

But how many people does having both muscle and fat push them from the overweight category to the obese category? At 5'-9" the overweight category starts a little over 169 lbs and the obese category starts just above 203 lbs. Given that as a teenager I was well into the overweight category with a six-pack and very little fat from an active lifestyle and playing a lot of basketball multiple times a week, I could easily see how just eating more might put be closer to obese while still having less fat than one would expect from that designation.

That's not to deny Americans have a problem with weight. I just think it's counter-productive to use metrics that people can easily see are problematic when trying to make a valid point. Using controversial measurements because the are easily available is lazy.

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#43

Post by ojhughes »

symlinkk wrote: post #12

Isn’t it strange how the only way to eat healthy food in America is to cook it yourself? Every fast food restaurant is unhealthy. Most sit down restaurants are unhealthy. I can pay someone to change my oil, I can pay someone to cut my grass, but for some reason cooking healthy food, the most essential service, is difficult to find. Why has our economy failed us in this sector specifically?

When I used to travel to the US with work, I would start to get split cuticles after a few days due to nutrition deficiencies eating out every day

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#44

Post by meowzero »

symlinkk wrote: post #12

Isn’t it strange how the only way to eat healthy food in America is to cook it yourself? Every fast food restaurant is unhealthy. Most sit down restaurants are unhealthy. I can pay someone to change my oil, I can pay someone to cut my grass, but for some reason cooking healthy food, the most essential service, is difficult to find. Why has our economy failed us in this sector specifically?

Usually, healthier cooking doesn't taste as good. Most of the food industry is focused on providing the best tasting food so people will buy them. How do you make food taste good? Add a lot of fat and/or carbs, which are the macro nutrients that are calorie dense. There doesn't seem to be much demand in healthy food services.

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#45

Post by burade »

zackkatz wrote: post #5
Clubber wrote: post #2

Using the BMI to gauge obeseness of a population is very lazy and disingenuous.

Yeah I came here to say the same thing. I’m 6’8” and if I were within the suggested range, I would be 227 pounds. I’ve been that weight and when I look at pictures of myself at that weight, I always think I look dangerously thin. BMI is a far too simple a measure to be helpful.

dangerously thin hahahha omg

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#46

Post by pmalynin »

mirekrusin wrote: post #41
sangli wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BMI isn't a reliable indicator go gauge obesity FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON. I would think most of us agree that the people like Tom Brady, Dwyane Johnson (the rock), or competitive body builders would be extreme ends of this scale. For average people BMI is a reliable indicator.

That’s because muscles are heavier than fat, right?

They are more dense, yes.

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#47

Post by tasty_freeze »

andygcook wrote: post #11

BMI isn't a reliable indicator to gauge obesity. For example, Tom Brady at 6' 4" and 225 lbs is considered overweight, which is obviously not the case. That being said, as an American, it really did shock me how fit the majority of people were in Italy when I visited there for the first time last year. This New England Journal of Medicine chart really does a good job of showing that America has gotten heavier over th…

Every time BMI is mentioned someone has to come up with an example of a body builder or fit athlete who has a high BMI. Yes, everyone realizes this already, and nobody who is in that position is going to be mislead into thinking they are obese. Sure, it would be great if everyone could do a caliper test or a water displacement test, but that isn't ever going to happen, and BMI is a trivial and good enough place to start.

Because being overweight/obese is normalized because it is seen everywhere, there are tens of millions of people who have no idea they are at an unhealthy weight ... they rightly think they look like everyone else. The BMI is a an easy metric to get people to evaluate if they need to do something about it.

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#48

Post by ggm »

Fringeing overweight, it has taken me years to remove 10kg and keeping it off is a constant battle. I used to be as thin as a rake.

Folks, its a mostly one-way ratchet. If you put a one-way walk into any system, and let it run free, what direction do you think things will trend, even if the pace of movement is a crawl?

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#49

Post by kube-system »

symlinkk wrote: post #12

Isn’t it strange how the only way to eat healthy food in America is to cook it yourself? Every fast food restaurant is unhealthy. Most sit down restaurants are unhealthy. I can pay someone to change my oil, I can pay someone to cut my grass, but for some reason cooking healthy food, the most essential service, is difficult to find. Why has our economy failed us in this sector specifically?

My reality is the opposite. I ate healthier food when I worked in an urban office every day. There was basically a salad place on every corner -- enough variety that I basically never got tired of them. And when I did, I would usually get some ethnic vegetarian food that I have no idea how to cook anyway.

At home, I have fewer options in my fridge, it's easier for me to make a lazy choice for lunch, and there's nobody around to lean on for social support.

Re: More than 73% of American adults are overweight or obese

#50

Post by ThePadawan »

kbenson wrote: post #42
ThePadawan wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say it is useful only to gauge obesity in a large population (where only a marginal percentage has such a high muscle mass that a high BMI does not represent obesity).

But how many people does having both muscle and fat push them from the overweight category to the obese category? At 5'-9" the overweight category starts a little over 169 lbs and the obese category starts just above 203 lbs. Given that as a teenager I was well into the overweight category with a six-pack and very little fat from an active lifestyle and playing a lot of basketball multiple times a week, I could easil…

The level of fitness you describe would put you in the top 2% of people I have ever met.

I think that margin of error is acceptable compared to the ease of use of the BMI.

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