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May 9, 2013

COMMON KNOWLEDGE: FAT AMERICA

"Obese:" When you use that word and say 30% of Americans are obese, people think this:

obeseamericans.jpg

Both are considered "obese" because both have more than a 30 BMI.
One is clearly unhealthy and has a problem, the other is curvy and looks darn good. Yet that word "obese" conjures up disgusting images of rolls of fat rather than curves. Word Around the Net: COMMON KNOWLEDGE: FAT AMERICA

Posted by gerardvanderleun at May 9, 2013 5:12 PM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

All true, however abusing the "fat" is apparently one of the last fun things to do on earth.

Posted by: pbird at May 9, 2013 7:35 PM

All true, however abusing the "fat" is apparently one of the last fun things to do on earth.

Posted by: pbird at May 9, 2013 7:36 PM

I am basically the same size that I have ever been. Slender, but not skinny. Athletic. Over the years, I have become abnormal. Today, I was trying to find a simple camisole at Walmart. The rack was filled with over size 12/14, but had none my size. A shop I have shopped at for years, has recently changed their styles to loose and baggy...sloppy looking clothes. I don't think this is a good thing...

Posted by: Leslie at May 9, 2013 7:46 PM

Part of the reason for the incongruity of the images is that the Body Mass Index is poorly constructed. OK, I'll be more blunt-- mathematically, it's crock, as it doesn't take into account the height of the person.

Imagine a short (five-foot tall) man who is fit but a bit chunky and muscular. Let's say his BMI is 25. Scale him up to seven feet tall, keeping all of his proportions the same, and all of a sudden his BMI is 35 and he's morbidly obese.

Huh?!

Yeah, maybe for the sake of his bones, he should lose a few pounds-- body mass increases as the cube of height, while bone cross-sectional area (a crude measure of bone strength) increases only as the square of height. But, still, morbidly obese? Who are the bullshitting?

Hale Adams
Pikesville, People's Democratic Republic of Maryland

Posted by: Hale Adams at May 9, 2013 8:45 PM

Gah.

Reminder to self to proofread the post before hitting the "post" button....

"Who are the bullshitting?" should be "Who are they bullshitting?"

Yeah, I know-- you know what I meant. Still. (OK, so I'm part cat. HI HI)

Posted by: Hale at May 9, 2013 8:50 PM

Hale, BMI calculates height into the equation.

Posted by: Toad at May 10, 2013 11:44 AM

Yes, the BMI incorporates height, but it's still a bullshit statistic, especially when applied to individuals.

Posted by: Grizzly at May 10, 2013 3:51 PM

I think she is fat as well. Not zaftig, not Rubenesque, fat.

Let Frank Yankovic put it in perspective for youse. Go ahead, cut & paste, be amused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9lmcQqTCsk&playnext=1&list=PLA4637677FA73316A

Posted by: chasmatic at May 11, 2013 8:00 PM

During my divorce, I was hitting the gym a lot. A lot. I looked in the mirror one day and saw my face on some linebacker's body--6'0, 230. Then I had to fill out an online questionnaire for my company's mandatory wellness program. I was shocked to find out that I was obese.

Posted by: Jason in SD at May 12, 2013 8:43 AM

Il ya tellement de gens qui n'ont tout simplement pas de valeur ajoutée à ajouter aux travaux OP, donc s'il vous plaît essayer d'amener une discussion plus constructive à ce poste. Je sais que je ne suis pas en train de faire quelque chose de constructif avec cette annonce, mais je tenais à vous le dire à ce sujet.

Posted by: Valda Nocek at July 28, 2013 5:29 PM

Il problema è quante persone possono identificarsi. Dato che io sono "out of touch" Devo ancora capire quali messaggi avranno un sacco di commenti e che non lo faranno. In effetti, di solito quando scrivo quello che penso è un grande post

Posted by: Dina Congdon at December 27, 2013 6:46 PM

I will definitely check these things out

Posted by: Earle Larranaga at February 19, 2014 11:14 AM

Hallo allemaal, help me een nieuwe thread met een verwant onderwerp te starten.

Posted by: Malcolm Biedrzycki at March 4, 2014 6:35 PM

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