Obesity.

[screenman]

After being chastised on another post for telling a few NHS workers they were lardy, fat, obese I cannot remember the exact words I used, suffice to say a few did not agree with me.

So how should it be approached, should we bring the subject up with friends and relatives etc. or should we just ignore it and hope it goes away.

Child obesity is something I find really sad.

 

[summerdays]

I've ducked the issue, my mother and several of my siblings are all at least overweight if not obese (two could be borderline into the next category), and if it comes to it my BMI is just over 25. So far all my nieces and nephews except one are fairly slim, the other one is at the point where they may have early puberty. That niece definitely isn't able to control her portion size and neither can her parents.

My own children vary between skinny and more rounded, however it's their lack of exercise that bothers me. I do try to encourage them to be more active but can't bring myself to mention size at the same time. The skinniest, and the most rounded are the ones that are least active.

 

[RhythMick]

BMI isn't something I take too seriously to be honest.

My nephew plays rugby for Loughborough (first squad) and is as fit as anyone I know. His doctor told him he was obese. Sigh.

I'm not that fit but I can cycle 100 miles on a good day and I don't get out of breath walking up stairs etc. Carrying a little extra? Sure. Would I like to lose it? Sure and is coming down. Do I think I'm obese? No.

Somehow BMI doesn't cut it for me. That doesn't mean I don't think there's a problem, and a serious one at that. Just not sure BMI is the right indicator.

 

[ScotiaLass]

People are sensitive about their weight and usually know themselves that they are obese - they just don't want to hear it from others.
None of my kids are anywhere near fat and as a child/teen/young adult, I wasn't either. It was only after my 3rd child I started piling it on, and it got worse after I was medically retired from work due to my health issues and depression.

I think it has to be approached sensitively, whether it's someone you know or not, otherwise people just get defensive and shut off. I know, I was that person.
I've lost 4 stone and have another 3 to go, but I'm getting there!
The best thing I ever did was get active again - it was very difficult due to my FM but I was determined not always to be the fattest person in the group!
It's all to easy to judge others, it's not so easy to help them.

 

[ScotiaLass]

BMI isn't something I take too seriously to be honest.

My nephew plays rugby for Loughborough (first squad) and is as fit as anyone I know. His doctor told him he was obese. Sigh.

I'm not that fit but I can cycle 100 miles on a good day and I don't get out of breath walking up stairs etc. Carrying a little extra? Sure. Would I like to lose it? Sure and is coming down. Do I think I'm obese? No.

Somehow BMI doesn't cut it for me. That doesn't mean I don't think there's a problem, and a serious one at that. Just not sure BMI is the right indicator.

You're right.
BMI is a bad way of measuring body fat - my very fit 18 yr old daughter was told by the Army to lose some weight as she was bordering on being overweight. She was extremely fit and very muscular!

 

[summerdays]

No I understand that BMI isn't the answer, especially if you are doing sport, but it's a starting point, otherwise we (well me at least), use words such as rounded to avoid saying that someone is overweight.

 

[screenman]

I agree we need a better way of measuring it, but we all know fat is the problem, not muscle.

 

[summerdays]

I agree we need a better way of measuring it, but we all know fat is the problem, not muscle.

But muscle will distort the figures.

 

[screenman]

But muscle will distort the figures.

Which is why we need a better way of measuring, I think it also unlikely that it will distort the child figures.

 

[IDMark2]

Which is why we need a better way of measuring, I think it also unlikely that it will distort the child figures.

I just saw this article before logging in here this morning, it may be relevant to the discussion as how to measure. Guardian Public Health

 

[up hill struggle]

i was refused a tonsillectomy 3 years ago because my bmi was just above the recommended max limit, the consultant who sat me down on all 3 occasions & lectured me about my weight was shorter & fatter meaning there bmi would have been worse than mine, on the 3rd occasion the nurse who came in afterwards with diet & exercise advice recommended by the consultant laughed & said hes got a cheek to call anybody else fat.

apparently it doesn't matter to the nhs if your a short fitness freak that's covered in muscle with the same bmi as a short fella with enough stored fat to keep a chip shop up on grease for a month, if your bmi is to high they will refuse surgery.

 

[screenman]

@screenman, in the other thread you refer to, you did the forum equivalent of going up to a complete stranger in the street, tapping him/her on the shoulder, and saying, 'Look, I don't mean to be rude but how on earth did you get so fat?' So the answer to your question here,

is 'Not like that. And probably not by you.'

Typical non answer, so educate me tell me how it should be done.

 

[Longshot]

Typical non answer, so educate me tell me how it should be done.

You could always try and bite your tongue? Is it actually any of your business?

IIRC the offending thread correctly, the poster had already identified that they had a weight issue and had taken up cycling to try and combat it. Why the need to effectively ridicule them is beyond me.

 

[screenman]

Not a non-answer at all. In the other thread people were trying to tell you how rude you were and that you should mind your own business. If someone asks you, 'screenman, how do you think I got to be so fat?', then feel free to share your opinions. Otherwise, keep quiet.

Surely that is burying our heads in the sand and hoping a growing problem will go away on its own.

Sometimes, tough words work best, not always but sometimes is a help.

 

[screenman]

You could always try and bite your tongue? Is it actually any of your business?

IIRC the offending thread correctly, the poster had already identified that they had a weight issue and had taken up cycling to try and combat it. Why the need to effectively ridicule them is beyond me.

If you see my posts on that one you will see that Gravity Aided thanked me for some of them. Which leads me to think you may be more offended than they were.