Obesity Now A Bigger Problem Than Starvation.......

[ToraToraTora]

https://news.sky.com/story/number-of-obese-people-worldwide-surpasses-one-billion-13083902

what's the answer?

[Countrylover]

Barry, it wasn't wise either to have skinny anorexic looking females advertising everything.  

[Auntypoll]

I don't think anyone has touched on the subject of what is 'obese'. If it's based on the outdated BMI scale then the results are to be taken with a pinch of salt. Fit athletes with large muscle mass and perhaps as little as 15% body fat can be recorded as grossly obese while an unfit person who has little muscle mass and 35% body can have a lower enough BMI to pass as 'healthy'. Also why should heavier people be denied medical care just because they fall out of the 'normal' weight which in itself is outdated and based on insurance records from the 1950's.

[nicebloke1]

12.31 NMA Thats just a silly remark. shame when the debate was going in the right direction for a change. 

[barry1010]

I totally agree, CL, but we are discussing obesity.

[Auntypoll]

From a personal point of view my weight takes me into the obese range for BMI. I'm very active, wear size 10 - 12 clothes and was described in a pre op report by a consultant as of 'moderate build'. 

[barry1010]

I think waist measurements are more commonly used than BMI.  That's our experience 

[nicebloke1]

12.52 Fair point AP, We are more than likely looking at people that are way over the top were it is affecting their health in many ways, and work life, and then you are on about the ones on their way, or very close to being over the top. If children are on their way at an early stage with some health problems, then we need to act now, not later. Because they now believe that the 7/8 billion a year its already costing will carry on rising to three times that amount???

[Hazlinny]

I used to see a lot of school children queueing every week day outside a bakery and a chip shop on their lunch break and go off munching pies, sausage rolls, cream cakes, chips, etc.  No queues outside the fruit shop!  I'm not sure about school lunches at the moment but surely they are not as fattening as the items mentioned?  Parents give the kids money but don't seem to advise what to buy.  

[Countrylover]

That BMI test is ridiculous. Even most medics admit it. Its very outdated.  

[barry1010]

There are other costs to the public purse - extra large crematoria, extra large, strengthened hospital beds, trolleys and chairs, specialist equipment to lift the fallen obese, adapted ambulances .....

[pastafreak]

I agree with redhelen @ 12:25...

There is the food addiction hypothesis ....theories of “food addiction” indicate that certain highly processed foods can have a high addictive potential and may be responsible for some cases of obesity and eating disorders [29, 30].13 Jan 2016

[ToraToraTora]

auntypoll definately has a point, we do need to replace the BMI with something a lot more representative. On that scale most rugby players, bodybuilders etc are obese. Probably better to have a body fat content measure. On BMI I am supposed to be under 12 stone! Impossible.

[Redhelen72]

Unfortunately - unlike other addictions that you can abstain from you cannot from food - you need food to live so a circle of never ending shame and critisicm

 

[ToraToraTora]

yes very good point Helen. You can stop drugs, drinking, smoking etc but we have to eat.

[ToraToraTora]

Pasta 13:20, have you seen "supersize me"? Spurlock does a month on MacDs. He said that initially it was just eating but after a few days it started to become addicted and that he was actually craving the burgers etc. At the end he had to wean himself off!

[ToraToraTora]

I once had a full body composition analysis and at the time my fat percentage was not as low as it should have been but well within the range to be considerd healthy. Anyway with that percentage you can calculate the weight of the fat in your body. We did that and the result was that even if I had zero fat I would still be a lot heavier than my Ideal BMI says I should be!

[pastafreak]

I have seen it TTT.

Though not terribly overweight, I used to binge on bags of donuts, half a loaf of bread or big pots of pasta. It made me feel better. 

Have you ever seen My 600 Pound Life? So many of these people have been in the grip of eating takeaways for years...and using that type of food to soothe themselves. They often say it makes them feel better/takes pain away. Many haven't a clue about nutrition. They don't know how to stop.

 

[ToraToraTora]

I've seen a few trailers for that show. Yes I do understand it's not as easy as many make out.

[Deskdiary]

BMI is utter nonsense.

 

Marcus Smith is 5'8" and 13 Stone - this gives him a BMI of 27.8 which makes him overweight.

 

https://www.lionsrugby.com/players/marcus-smith/#profile ;

[Deskdiary]

BMI is utter nonsense.

 

Marcus Smith is 5'8" and 13 Stone - this gives him a BMI of 27.8 which makes him overweight.

 

https://www.lionsrugby.com/players/marcus-smith/#profile ;