I found this website interesting.

http://www.flickr.com/pho...19/detail/

I think it was particularly interesting to me because as some of you know (as I've posted about here before) I have a body image distortion thing going on in my head, wherein what I see in the mirror and what I see in pictures of me are two different things. This has ranged from thinking I was severely overweight when I wasn't, to not seeing how much weight I was carrying around when I have been overweight.

To this day, I hate pictures of me. I have an idealized notion of what I look like in my head and when I see pics that don't match what I "see" in the mirror I get depressed. I no longer allow photos to be taken of me - no joke. I let sirpsycho take them in nyc the other weekend as it was a fun opportunity but those are the only pics taken of me in about 6 months and I have no plans to allow any in the future.

I have had people tell me that surely I'm not "obese" (but I am), and while I assume folks say that just to be nice (lol) I think maybe many of us are getting more and more used to overweight being the norm, so much so that we don't see it as being overweight anymore. What do you guys think?

CarrieMpls said:

you're groovy where you are schneeb trust me

IAintTheOne said:

Thanks. You're groovy too.

CarrieMpls said:

PS - This is the discussion topic I was going for here. Not "oh woe is me, I'm fat". I was just relaying my personal experience.

CarrieMpls said:

i'm glad you think so

those pics are weird, to me a lot of those normal people look underweight and most of the overweight people look normal

http://www.nhlbisupport.c.../bmi-m.htm

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

I get a 24 (just in on normal) and look much more overweight than the overweight people in those photos

ZombieKitten said:

That's why I find it so interesting, though. It lists their heights and weights, so you could calculate the bmi yourself.

So either the bmi chart is inaccurate (though it's what is widely accepted) or we are just getting bigger as a population so our perception of "normal" has changed.

ZombieKitten said:

Everyone carries weight differently, though. That's why you see such different looks for people in each category.

The one that doesn't really fit into the series is the triathlete, though. Athletes with more than average muscle mass don't fit well into the bmi scale and so shouldn't follow the ranges...

shows what I know... I'm finding all the "overweight" and "obese" ones pretty frekin' hot!

Those pics look very accurate to me.

These categories ("underweight", "overweight", "obese", etc.) are more rooted in health than in looks, correct?...in othe words, someone who is 5'8", 114 lbs. and with a BMI of 17.4 is considered "underweight" when it comes to health, regardless of whether or not any of us find that person attractive...am I understanding this right?

Byron said:

exactly.

I'm not so certain he really is overweight, but lawd hammercy his outfit is unhealthy.


I think the assessments are probably pretty accurate and Americans are just getting used to being heavier. In Thailand, I'm pretty damned sure I'm gonna need to work my tail of to get rid of the rest of the weight I accumulated lest I be the fatty in the crowd the whole time I'm there.

CarrieMpls said:

When I was in Australia I noticed how damn fit people were there lol ...I knew the reputation the U.S. has around the world is that it's full of fatties, but after spending 10 days in Australia, when I came home, holy mackeral. I noticed just how HUGE my fellow citizens were as a whole...I went to El Pollo Loco like the 2nd day I was back from Australia, and every-damn-body in the place was overweight ...I'm meaning that literally. The cashiers, the people in line...I never really noticed before until spending time out of the country.

Byron said:

I've been paying attention lately. Really looking at people when I'm out and about. We really are getting bigger and bigger.

Byron said:

Same thing when I got back from Germany both in 2007 and this year.

You don't realize how desensitized (if that's even appropriate in this context) you are to weight until you come back from overseas and the number of obese people outnumber normal weight folks. Only England comes even remotely close to the number of heavy folks, from my travels.

ZombieKitten said:

I take issue with them not quantifying the BMI's. BMI tells far more then a photo does. Using their math, I couldnt see where some by height/ weight were deemed lighter then those with lighter BMI's. ( Truthfully I am preoccupied and didnt look for site explanations)

Do You even know you BMI Carrie? It often explains why someone carrying far more weight then another is viewed healthier. My daughter had hers done recently and was pleasntly surprised that at her higher than American standard weight, she was thinner so to speak than many of her comrades.

Muse2NoPharaoh said:

The bmi is listed under their picture, with their height and weight.

Yes, I know my bmi. I'm in the obese range. I've got a ways to go just to get to overweight. lol. Even at my smallest weight in 2006 I was still in the obese category.

Imago said:

Dex and I have spoke about this. Both of us report eatting far more and often abroad and he lost some 40 lbs after a year. After 21 days of sheer gluttony abroad twice over, I lost on an average of 8 lbs. He thinks it has to do with preservatives and hormones used in foods in America. I am inclined to agree with him.

I think they could be more exact w/ who's "slightly" overweight, etc. Some of the "overweight" folks look normal to me so it makes me wonder - "overweight" by how much exactly?? The rest I agree with, but some of the pics don't really feature the body so it's hard to tell on some...

Muse2NoPharaoh said:

or that you walk around a lot more while travelling

CarrieMpls said:

Noted, but didn't appear to look in sync but again, I didn't look long. My BMI is always far lower then my actual weight to scale. I am bigger boned and do carry a large muscle mass naturally. A pro in the muscle circuit tried at one point to get me in the game. I build muscle naturally without effort. I couldn't be less interested.

CarrieMpls said:

Oh I totally agree! I have some friends who are more on the slender side who regularly get called 'anorexic' or 'skinny' where in reality, they are a perfect weight

To me its a good and bad thing that overweight is not as big of a deal...
Good in that, there's more body acceptance I suppose
Bad since it means more people are okay with being overweight...which is not usually healthy

Muse2NoPharaoh said:

Holy fucking shit, I had a theory about that after watcing Germans gorge themselves on yager snitzel, brotworst, beer, and whole milk yogurt day after day.

NONE of their food over their has perservatives... Not even their beer. It's not allowed.

I was trying to figure out why they stay so much thinner than Americans. And I don't mean thin like as in skinny or wafish like runway models, but thin as in healthy looking.

My sis and I actually thought maybe it had something to do with preservatives and hormones. Bill Mayer once said he refuses to eat anything in American Grocery stores, and he gets all his food from Organic grocers, because what we're being told is food isn't really.


But I also notice, they walk alot more than we do, and they bicycle on weekends just for fun. All the little things add up.



Have you ever read the China study? It's a book that was published a while back. Asians consume , per body weight, more calories than Americans on average, but weight less. They think there's a link between that and animal consumption. I'm not totally convinced about this, though I do know Thai people can eat all day long and never get fat--I've watched my family in Thailand do it. At issue is that Europeans are veracious meat eaters compared to us in the states... And they're still much thinner.


My current strategy is to treat it as a calories game. It's impossible if you're eating 400-500 calories a day less than your body needs to maintain itself, to NOT loose weight. So as painful as it is, I'm just counting calories. I don't want to go on 3 years of this. I've lost my beautiful, pert, ass, and need to get it back.

ZombieKitten said:

There is no way we either felt we walked enough to compensate for the intake. ( We both at that time worked out regular stateside.)

ZombieKitten said:

I noticed this in Wales and England. In Wales they walk everywhere despite the shit weather. I mean, it's nothing for them to walk 2 or 3 miles into downtown Cardiff to go drinking, then walk 2 or 3 miles back AFTER dancing for a few hours.

In London, to take advantage of the subway, you're still walking around like mad in a crazy rush. You can't avoid walking in the UK.


I wonder if New Yorkers who use public transport and walk alot have lower rates of obesity.

He's listed as 'nearly obese'.


I would bend his nearly obese arse, over my knee and have my way with him.

damn

Imago said:

I honestly believe there is a connection between preservatives and hormones and the like in the American diet.

Muse2NoPharaoh said:

Indeed !

Imago said:

I was hard pressed to find many obese New Yorkers my age and younger, but
I saw loads of obese folks in Vegas thought
Stockholm very few overweight folks, but in Southern Sweden where you have to drive around due to bigger distances, I saw many.
Melbourne Australia, outer burbs, quite a few! My son's school - quite a skinny bunch thanks to their tremendous efforts in health and nutrition education