Obese vs. overweight

Jackie · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2003 5:31 pm

And while I'm ranting, does anyone besides me think the meaning of "obese" is being lost in the media? More and more, I'm seeing "obese" interchangeable with "overweight," and it's really not the same thing. At least I don't think so. What do y'all think?

mslayter · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2003 5:37 pm

Indeed. And I like this even less. <blockquote>quote:<hr> Dear Miss Manners,
I have been married to the girl next door for 22 years and when we married we were both in very good shape. We have three wonderful children and a marriage that lacks for romance. I have maintained my size and shape after all these years because of my workout habits. My wife, even after the three births, was able to maintain a very sexy figure for years because of her workout habits. Over the last six years, she has lost most of the joy and a majority of her discipline to work out and has gained weight. She went from a slim 120 pounds to 145 pounds and grew from a size small (6) to a large (10). Over the last year I have mentioned her weight many times. Too many times, to the point that I have hurt her feelings with several of these comments. This is my question. How can I tell her the truth of how I feel toward her without hurting her? I still love her and would never divorce her but I have lived for the last six years with a women that I did not marry and would not have dated 22 years ago at her current size. She is only 40 years old! <hr></blockquote>Miss Manners didn't exactly give him a free pass in her response, but it was disappointing that that she didn't bother refuting his bizarre belief that a size 10 was "large."

majorbabs · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2003 6:09 pm

Actually, most of the time I see "obese" with "morbidly" in front of it. But it could just be that I got some mayonnaise from my Big Mac on it.That said, I don't see overweight and obese as synonomous, but I'm sure editors somewhere see obese as being a stronger adjective.

Jackie · **Posted:** Mon Dec 01, 2003 6:09 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by zenobia:
Indeed. And I like this even less.Miss Manners didn't exactly give him a free pass in her response, but it was disappointing that that she didn't bother refuting his bizarre belief that a size 10 was "large."<hr></blockquote>Even before I saw your comments at the end, I was laughing over this guy thinking a size 10 was large. Um, no.

Pam · **Posted:** Tue Dec 02, 2003 2:37 pm

Public health nomenclature defines
overweight in adults as a body mass index > 25.0 kg/m2 and clinically obese as BMI > 30.0 kg/m2It's your call if/when the difference is significant to your readers.

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:31 pm

I think Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 in her heyday, and one would hardly have called her obese. This one wouldn't have, anyway.

mslayter · **Posted:** Tue Dec 02, 2003 9:14 pm

shaquille o'neal is "obese." His BMI is reported to be about 33.Now, who wants to tell him he needs to drop a few pounds?

SeaRaven · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 12:51 am

Government guidelines in action:Keanu Reeves 6-1 223 Overweight
Will Smith 6-2 210 Overweight
George Clooney 5-11 211 Overweight
Sylvester Stallone 5-9 228 Obese
Harrison Ford 6-1 218 Overweight
Arnold Schwarzenegger 6-2 257 Obese
Bruce Willis 6-0 211 Overweight
Brad Pitt 6-0 203 Overweight

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:49 am

Besides being worried about how you have that information at your fingertips, I'm also concerned that your source perpetuates the myth of the tall Arnold Schwarzenegger.Well, OK, i'm not worried or concerned at all ....

SeaRaven · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 10:48 am

It must be true -- it was on the Internet.The
Modesto Bee gets to the bottom of it, by golly.

SusanV · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:09 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jackie:
Even before I saw your comments at the end, I was laughing over this guy thinking a size 10 was large. Um, no.<hr></blockquote> Actually, the way most size ranges are defined these days, 10 is technically categorized as large, not medium. However, that may be about to change. I heard this morning that the "fashion industry" is about to revise its sizing again, having scanned a large number of women's bodies and discovered that the "average" woman is no longer a size 8 but more like a 12. (Those of us who are small sizes--4, 6--may wind up in negative numbers, but oh well.)

SeaRaven · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:31 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by SusanV:
... having scanned a large number of women's bodies ...<hr></blockquote>A buddy of mine got fired for that.

catrandom · **Posted:** Wed Dec 03, 2003 5:54 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by jjmoney62:
Besides being worried about how you have that information at your fingertips, I'm also concerned that your source perpetuates the myth of the tall Arnold Schwarzenegger.Well, OK, i'm not worried or concerned at all ....<hr></blockquote>Um, I live in SoCal and I've stood right next to Arnold Schwarzenegger on more than one occasion over the years (not that we travel often in the same circles). He's plenty tall -- I'd have said bigger than 6'2", actually. Not that it matters, really.What does bother me is the flinging about of this "BMI" number as though it were something particularly meaningful. The Body Mass Index is simply a height-weight chart with a bit of arithmetic glued on top. It is of no more or less value in assessing an individual's condition than any other height-weight chart -- that is, almost no value at all.[ December 03, 2003: Message edited by: catrandom ][ December 03, 2003: Message edited by: catrandom ]

Powderhorn · **Posted:** Thu Dec 04, 2003 12:45 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by catrandom:
It is of no more or less value in assessing an individual's condition than any other height-weight chart -- that is, almost no value at all.
<hr></blockquote>Agreed. According to BMI, I should be dead ... OK, maybe it doesn't say that, but my BMI is 15 and I feel fine.

paulwiggins · **Posted:** Sun Dec 07, 2003 4:40 am

And now for some folks who want to scrap BMI as a standard

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