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American Medical Association declares obesity 'a disease'
- Thread starter GK86
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Burger
Member
How does thyroid issues cause people to store body fat? I'm genuinely interested.
Deified Data
Banned
Oh no, we can't battle obesity with shame anymore.
Thyroid issue -> slower metabolism --> still eat the same amount of food--> acquire fat
Something like that?
This really isn't true exactly. You can do some pretty easy tests which will determine your body fat within a few %. If you want exact measurements you will need to do some expensive testing but we are talking about obese people. You don't need to do a body fat test to know that they need to lose weight. In a case of therapy, once the person looses a significant amount of weight then start body fat testing. Until then weight is enough.
Basically start with circumference testing then move to water testing of some type.
Can bodybuilders please stop coming in here to tell us you're not fat? WE KNOW.
BMI is a rough indicator, we're doing the best we can. We know you're not obese, this doesn't even concern you. You're not going to go to the doctor and have him tell you to lose weight because you're fat. And you and a few dozen other gym rats aren't skewing the statistics.
BMI is a rough indicator, we're doing the best we can. We know you're not obese, this doesn't even concern you. You're not going to go to the doctor and have him tell you to lose weight because you're fat. And you and a few dozen other gym rats aren't skewing the statistics.
Yes it is. You've been masturbating to diseased people all this time!
shira
Member
primarily characterized by a body mass index above 30
It says "primarily", I'm guessing other "secondary" factors help them decide who is obese and who is not
SWOLE SHAMING
Regardless, this does not excuse the fact that BMI is a terrible indicator of health. As a user mentioned on the previous page, you can have a low BMI and still be incredibly unhealthy.
Body fat percentage is a much better indicator. The only real purpose BMI serves is as a quick, comparative measurement. Body fat percentage is unfortunately hard to accurately record because to make sure it's correct you need to do a water displacement test.
And physical fitness is best.
I'm not calling anyone out specifically, but a whole lot of "bodybuilders" I see at the gym are both strong AND fat.
Just because you go to the gym and can push up some plates doesn't mean that you're not also carrying around a lot of fat. I used to fall for this delusion too. I thought because I did squats and could bench more than most people I knew, I didn't need cardio. Packing on enough muscle to be obese (based on BMI), without packing on some fat too is difficult-to-impossible.
Just because you go to the gym and can push up some plates doesn't mean that you're not also carrying around a lot of fat. I used to fall for this delusion too. I thought because I did squats and could bench more than most people I knew, I didn't need cardio. Packing on enough muscle to be obese (based on BMI), without packing on some fat too is difficult-to-impossible.
Is it supposed to be?
I think it's a great indicator for how overweight the country is on a marco level. We can't fine tune a health plan for hundreds of millions of people. If we can get everyone to just move from the obese category to the overweight category, we will have put a MASSIVE dent in the problem regardless of individual needs.
The reality is you don't need to be anything close to a bodybulider for the BMI to not work. BMI doesn't apply to a very large percentage of people, and for those whom it does apply to, it's already obvious they're obese. So, it's useless bullshit, from the early 19th century no less.
Some people try to use it like it is. If you want a rough indicator on the macro level, just use weight.
Deadly Cyclone
Pride of Iowa State
Not sure how I feel about this. In some cases the person has actual medical conditions that make them overweight, I can see it for that. But if I just eat a ton of ice cream and get fat, is that really a disease?
I think the reality is people have no idea what a normal weight even looks like anymore. Everyone is historically fat.
Can I see some sources for this claim? I understand there are limitations to BMI as a measure of fatness, along with outliers, but as I understand it does apply to "a very large percentage of the population". Thanks
Ken Masters
Banned
AMA is joke, it's all politics
diet industry just shit their pants with joy over this
diet industry just shit their pants with joy over this
Look at the BMI itself, where the "overweight" range lies for any given height. To suggest that everyone in that range is "overweight" is absurd. At my height, 5'8, anyone above 164lbs is overweight according to the BMI. It's junk.
How much will those pills be prescripted as?! They'll make a goddamn bundle.
So it's just sort of a feeling you have?
HurricaneJesus
Member
I am 6 feet tall, and weigh 160. I am average. you must be heavy.
Diet industry loves the obesity "epidemic."
"Most notably, plenty of people with a BMI above 30 are, in fact, perfectly healthy. "Given the existing limitations of BMI to diagnose obesity in clinical practice, it is unclear that recognizing obesity as a disease, as opposed to a condition' or disorder,' will result in improved health outcomes," the panel noted earlier this year."
Finally they are realizing this...why the hell don't they just use body fat %....
I'm well over 30 BMI and 6'0 250 lbs and not fat at all and perfectly healthy.
Finally they are realizing this...why the hell don't they just use body fat %....
I'm well over 30 BMI and 6'0 250 lbs and not fat at all and perfectly healthy.
Onion_Relish
Member
As well as leading to lack of energy and motivation to actually work out. Some thyrid medication also has bad side affects that also lead to obesity.
To be fair even aside from its oppression of our swole brethren BMI isn't perfect.
It uses the square of height in the formula because it's easy to do, but it would be more accurate to use an exponential with coefficient about 2.5. The upshot is BMI makes smaller people sound fatter and taller people sound thinner than they should be.
The BBC had an article about it a while back.
It uses the square of height in the formula because it's easy to do, but it would be more accurate to use an exponential with coefficient about 2.5. The upshot is BMI makes smaller people sound fatter and taller people sound thinner than they should be.
The BBC had an article about it a while back.
velociraptor
Junior Member
I wouldn't consider obesity a defacto disease although it predisposes you to a number of disease states.
But I guess by calling it a disease, they're making this SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Snkfanatic
Banned
This would be good to see, I always cringe when I see huge parents and their kids are following right behind them.
Uuh, you're basically the same height and age as me, yet almost 100 lb heavier than me. How do you consider that skinny? You're not skinny at all, I am.
Here's some pics from New York in the '70s. These are poor kids (the group currently most likely to be overweight or obese). But almost none of them are as big as even a healthy kid today. In fact to our eyes these kids might look too skinny. I'm posting this to show how warped our view of normal has become.
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-brooklyn-19070s-2011-6?op=1
Thing on a Spring
Member
Is it really a disease when the sufferer can cure themselves anytime they want.
You're 6'1 and weigh less than 140 pounds? Dude, you seriously need to eat.
Do you have a disease?
I eat like everyone else, 3 meals a day, and eat a little something between each them and during the evening(chips, cookies, candies, fruits, popcorn, whatever you can think of). I eat and eat, but do not gain weight at all. I think its a family thing as my brothers aren't big either(well except the one who does a lot of bodybuilding) and my parents were also skinny when they were younger.
I think what I need to do is exercises or sports. Not sit in front of a screen or book all day. And to think that's exactly what make some people fat. I'm like the total opposite by doing the same thing.
Race to be King
Banned
I can't see how this works unless you're a pretty hardcore bodybuilder. I'm 5'10 and 150lbs, and I'm hardly wasting away.
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
1) Muscle is dense. Yeah, he's probably not "skinny" but slim. If you compare yourself to beastly guys it's easy to overlook a nice healthy core/frame and think of oneself as skinny when you are just healthy.
2) Bro you should lift. I say this as someone 5'7" and 140 who definitely needs to lift and has started. These guys have a lot of philosophical stuff they think is universal that isn't, but they also give a nice perspective on filling out as skinny guys. You may think it's genetics, but it has been known for a long time that the right lifting and nutrition will stimulate growth and awaken a you that you didn't know was waiting to be unleashed.
I'm a pretty hardcore bodybuilder. My lean body mass is over 200 probably 215.
Race to be King
Banned
Fair play, in that case! Awesome, in fact!
Maximus.
Member
Because it is a lifestyle choice that could be avoided if not lazy/uneducated/born into shitty house with shitty diet. Disease is something you generally get involuntatarily. I do not agree wth these new classificartion.
Only thing that needed fixing is in the case of body builders being declared obese.
Yeah and I know BMI wasn't meant for me but it does suck because a lot of insurance companies only look at your BMI.
this
Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about lifting recently. Hate being skinny. Just don't know where to start. People keep talking about PX90 or other hardcore stuff like that, but I don't necessarily want to go that far into gaining muscles. Isn't simple lifting and good nutrition just enough to gain an extra 20-30 pounds?
Lamel
Banned
ITT a bunch of internet experts decide what a disease is, not the professionals.
I can see how people will "abuse" this. But the main point of this now will allow more focus towards the condition, and better education, research, and treatment. This doesn't mean everyone will start getting a gastric bypass.
I can see how people will "abuse" this. But the main point of this now will allow more focus towards the condition, and better education, research, and treatment. This doesn't mean everyone will start getting a gastric bypass.
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