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I think some people are confusing the term overweight. I believe the OP meant it in an unhealthy way, as in more fat than needed. Not the bulked up muscle way, where you're obviously very healthy and in tune with your body. You just happen to be over your "ideal" body weight because of the extra muscle mass. I know a LOT of people that think they're not overweight, but they are. They're the same ones that call me skinny now. I'm not hating on it at all and it's a freaking thrill for ME of all people to be called that, but I don't think they realize it. Go to Japan or Germany or somewhere like that. They actually have pants that are too skinny for me to fit in. I sometimes even feel a little chunky.
I'm 6'0, and I used to be 290lbs. Now, i played college football so i still had visible muscle, but even still I was obese. I lost 100lbs and one of my wife's friends asked me why I lost weight because she thought I looked fine before. I'm thinking, is this woman serious, I was obese. The crazy thing is, she is in the military and in shape. I truly believe overweight is the new normal. We are so used to seeing fat people, in our minds we thing we are normal.
I truly believe overweight is the new normal. We are so used to seeing fat people, in our minds we thing we are normal.
The flip side of that is the advocacy which proclaims a person can have a high BMI and body fat and still be healthy.
Which person is healthier?
A person with an obese BMI, 20% body fat, who works out cardio 30-40 minutes a day four days a week, 150 total chol, 60 LDL, 120/80 BP, 55 resting HR, 90% of calories are protein and healthy carbs.
OR
BMI normal, 15% body fat, no exercise, fast food, and worse blood data than the guy above?
I agree with this. I work in the fashion industry and I feel like there are two extremes. Either size 0 or size 18. Usually the larger people say "I'm never going to be a size zero, I'm a real woman". Well news flash there are a lot of sizes in between!
I was always a very happy size 4 who jumped up to a size 8. I was very unhappy. Some people say size 8 is "too small". But i literally looked like I was about 5 months pregnant when I was a size 8. I went from 120lbs to 138 and at 5'3" I looked like I was made of dough. Now I've started really pushing myself in the gym and I'm down to about 131 and even though its only 6lbs I have more definition than I ever did at 120.
I agree with this. I work in the fashion industry and I feel like there are two extremes. Either size 0 or size 18. Usually the larger people say "I'm never going to be a size zero, I'm a real woman". Well news flash there are a lot of sizes in between!
I was always a very happy size 4 who jumped up to a size 8. I was very unhappy. Some people say size 8 is "too small". But i literally looked like I was about 5 months pregnant when I was a size 8. I went from 120lbs to 138 and at 5'3" I looked like I was made of dough. Now I've started really pushing myself in the gym and I'm down to about 131 and even though its only 6lbs I have more definition than I ever did at 120.
Everyone's body is different and carries weight differently. Some people look very thin at size 8 and other people look a bit more doughy. It is very individual. Some women at your height weigh 150 and have 20% body fat.
Clothing size and weight do not tell the story at all. The other numbers are much more useful: body fat percentage, heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and triglycerides. If these numbers are in check, then you are at optimal health. For some people, the corresponding weight might be 120 and for someone else it could be 180. But you can't figure this out by looking at them.
Even in the 50's United States' agriculture didn't have the phrase 'organic' since there were farmers all around and people worked all day and ate really good.
The term "organic" hadn't been invented because no one knew that that agricultural chemicals were bad for you until Rachel Carson wrote "Silent Spring", and public opinion about ag chemicals began to slowly change. The term "organic" was invented to market ag products that were raised without chemicals. It wasn't about processed foods initially.
Nhdriver if I could give you another positive rating I would - that was well said! Clearly the problem is cultural but how do we fix that? Jamie Oliver's food revolution seemed to run aground in Los Angeles. Did you hear about the parents who threatened to sue and protested when they tried to remove soda and candy machines from schools? The backlash to keep the food culture is strong...
That would be a big challenge; maybe bigger than what our economy is currently facing. We're talking changing how people in the US eat as a whole. Eating is something everyone enjoys but to gradually change the idea would involve serious 'government intervention' which sounds like a complete oxymoron as we all know they are far too intertwined in food politics including all the corporations involved in manufacturing food.
There are news everywhere about FDA doing this, Michelle Obama doing that...it just seems almost pointless as people are not being educated on why we need to eat certain things or why people in this country are getting sicker and heavier.
While there are plenty of people advocating for such push to eliminate toxins and foods that are deteriorating our bodies, there are far more push including advertising and conflicting information to really bury the truth and confuse the public further.
I never heard of such news but it's sad to say that's the reality of this country's view on food. We still live in this bubble of being the greatest but when it comes to our health and lifestyle in general? It could be much healthier. But that bubble keeps us from looking elsewhere where people have not only healthier food consumption but overall lifestyle. Americans are just stressed out. The foods we eat in general aren't helping either.
Americans BMI and other things are completely skewed like our version of healthy cholesterol levels. We are disgustingly overweight as a nation and its because of the food. Meat and dairy are fattening and bad for you and most Americans have multiple servings of both each day. Exercise won't help a lot of people when you're consuming junk.
Meat and dairy are fattening and bad for you and most Americans have multiple servings of both each day
Don't tell that to the Atkins people or the low carb people.
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