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Women's Running features plus-sized cover model

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Mar 14, 2016.

  1. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    I feel like we're taking the long way to a humblebrag about his wife.
     
  2. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    I don't know if there's exactly a "point," per se.

    We have an interesting relationship with fitness and body image in America, I guess. Lots of misinformation, much of it perpetuated by the medical, fitness, and food industries themselves. And lots of difficult-to-reconcile prevailing opinions. We have an obesity epidemic. But we also have a "body positive" movement. I suppose they are compatible. But you have to do some mental gymnastics to get there.
     
  3. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    She's 5'3", 160 pounds. That IS the vast middle.
     
  4. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Your BMI is calculated as 28.4

    kilograms per square meter. About 95 percent of women at the age of 25 are below and 5 percent are above this value.

    Health aspects

    Your weight is at a clearly elevated level;
    in our view, it is definitely not optimal for your health. By classification of the WHO, you are "overweight".

    Your
    body fat mass seems to be rather high. It may have raised your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, or affected the way your body handles blood sugar. Your doctor could tell you whether you are at risk for heart disease, stroke, or diabetes, or not.

    Weight stability

    At this weight level, you are at risk of gaining more weight. If you manage to maintain your current weight, you have reached your first and most important goal. Next you may want to lose weight: Do this slowly but surely.

    Due to the fact that the optimal, i.e. "healthiest" BMI range
    is increasing with age, thus reaching higher BMI values, your amount of weight within the yellow range is reduced by 4 percent every year if you manage to keep your 160 pounds stable.

    Weight management

    The best you can do is eat healthy food and increase your fitness. This will boost your health, whatever the case. If you lose weight in the process, all the better.

    With a
    weight loss of 11 pounds down to a target weight of 149 pounds, your health would benefit.
     
  5. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Stop citing BMI. It's a garbage figure that bears no resemblance to real life.

    Why being 'overweight' actually means you live longer

    Despite the fact that study after study has demonstrated quite clearly that "overweight" people live the longest, no one can bring themselves to say: "Sorry, we were wrong. A BMI between 25 and 29 is the healthiest weight of all. For those of you between 20 and 25, I say, eat more, become healthier." Who would dare say such a thing? Not anyone with tenure at a leading university, that's for sure.

    In truth, this discussion should not quite stop here. For even when we get into those with a BMI greater than 30, those who truly are defined as "obese", the health dangers are greatly overestimated, mainly because of the widespread use of what I call the statistical "clumping game". Obesity researchers are world-leading experts at the clumping game. In most studies, the entire population is divided ("clumped") into four groups: underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese – obese being defined as a BMI of 30 and above. That means those with a BMI of 31 are clumped together as part of a group which includes those with a BMI of 50 – and above. What does this tell us about the health problems of having a BMI of 31? Well, absolutely nothing.
     
  6. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    That's reminiscent of the headlines about bacon being as dangerous as cigarettes, regarding cancer, because some muckety muck decided to put them in the same broad "category."
     
  7. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Does this mean I have ferreted out your point?!?!
     
  8. justgladtobehere

    justgladtobehere Well-Known Member

    Why do people continue to take the bait? Just ignore him.
     
  9. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    I went to a "BMI calculator" and mine is apparently 29.1 and I'm "overweight," which is a load of horseshit. I'm 5'7" and about 190 pounds, and I'm WAY healthier now than I was when I weighed 140 pounds.

    Speaking Dick's language, using "BMI" to judge overall health = using "wins" to judge a pitcher's performance.
     
    exmediahack and LongTimeListener like this.
  10. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    They do so at their peril, and I think people know this.

    I've had people PM me to thank me for helping them think through something in ways they never would have thought before.
     
    SnarkShark likes this.
  11. Mr. Sunshine

    Mr. Sunshine Well-Known Member

    I know without this thread I would not have learned that being overweight is actually the key to longevity.
     
    Lugnuts likes this.
  12. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    See? Sometimes posters are so gracious, that they don't bother with the PM. They just express their gratitude for all to see.

    Sunshine, it goes without saying, but nonetheless: You are quite welcome.
     
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