Obese Americans

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

It would appear I'm in good company.

The BMI is just the same ol' weight-to-height ratio that's
been around for decades. BMI is just a new acronym to make
it appear middle management has a purpose. Some BMI
calculators throw in age to make it look good. I prefer
Beer/Mood Indicator. The more beer, the better the mood. 🙂

nb

notbob said:

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

It would appear I'm in good company.

The BMI is just the same ol' weight-to-height ratio
that's been around for decades. BMI is just a new acronym
to make it appear middle management has a purpose. Some
BMI calculators throw in age to make it look good. I
prefer Beer/Mood Indicator. The more beer, the better the
mood. 🙂

(laugh!) Yeah, this was just a little followup to my 'where
do they get this 61% of Americans are obese' stuff, no one I
know was checked. The show then went to a gym where everyone
was buff and according to the official chart, they were all
borderline obese. Okay.

nancy

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

nancy

Well, we all know that Gibson is a fathead, that's for sure.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

Nancy Young <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

The World Health Organization has recently lowered the cut-
off point for obesity from 30 to 26 for Asians to take into
account smaller frames, so now Jackie Chan is obese too.

Quoted message said:

nancy

Nancy Young said:

notbob said:

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

It would appear I'm in good company.

The BMI is just the same ol' weight-to-height ratio
that's been around for decades. BMI is just a new acronym
to make it appear middle management has a purpose. Some
BMI calculators throw in age to make it look good. I
prefer Beer/Mood Indicator. The more beer, the better the
mood. 🙂

(laugh!) Yeah, this was just a little followup to my 'where
do they get this 61% of Americans are obese' stuff, no one
I know was checked. The show then went to a gym where
everyone was buff and according to the official chart, they
were all borderline obese. Okay.

nancy

Looking around (including in the mirror :>😉, I wouldn't make
any bets that 61% of Americans are buff.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

In article <_QWec.29829$wP1.80591@attbi_s54>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

It would appear I'm in good company.

The BMI is just the same ol' weight-to-height ratio
that's been around for decades. BMI is just a new acronym
to make it appear middle management has a purpose. Some
BMI calculators throw in age to make it look good. I
prefer Beer/Mood Indicator. The more beer, the better the
mood. 🙂

Yeah, it's all hogwash. For instance, I should weigh around
180 but according to all the charts for my height I should
be somewhere near 150-160. I'd look like an emaciated corpse
were I that weight.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

notbob said:

On 2004-04-13, Nancy Young <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom
Cruise, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

It would appear I'm in good company.

The BMI is just the same ol' weight-to-height ratio
that's been around for decades. BMI is just a new
acronym to make it appear middle management has a
purpose. Some BMI calculators throw in age to make it
look good. I prefer Beer/Mood Indicator. The more beer,
the better the mood. 🙂

(laugh!) Yeah, this was just a little followup to my
'where do they get this 61% of Americans are obese' stuff,
no one I know was checked. The show then went to a gym
where everyone was buff and according to the official
chart, they were all borderline obese. Okay.

What it neglects is that muscle weighs more than fat. So you
could be 5'11 and weight say 220lbs with slight muscles, or
250lbs and all muscled up.

We really don't have a thorough understanding of the human
body yet. It's still years away but at least we have a good
starting point.

I mean, why is it that someone can be a two pack a day
smoker and live to 90, while someone else drops dead at 30
from the same habit. Of course it's genetic.

Perfect example: My 84 year old grandmother. She smoked like
a chimney until she was 65. So far no major problems.

My maternal grandmother smoked until she was in her late
40's, died before hitting 60.

Diets were similar, but environment was not. The one who
died younger lived in the city, the other in suburbia.

But I don't give environment all the credit. And in the
case of my maternal grandmother, she had an allergic
reaction to the dye used for CAT scans. That day she went
into congestive heart failure, and then a few days later
died. It wasn't the breast cancer that killed her, but the
medicine itself.

Tony P. said:

What it neglects is that muscle weighs more than fat. So
you could be 5'11 and weight say 220lbs with slight
muscles, or 250lbs and all muscled up.

True. I'd like a simple test or indicator that could help
people decide this on their own at home. The reason those
weight/height charts or BMI indexes are used so much is that
they're easy. Nevermind that the information is misleading
and doesn't really tell much about who is overweight, who is
obese and who is in great shape made of pure muscle.

I've never had much problem with my weight. I was a skinny
kid, a skinny teenager, never had an eating disorder, never
put on a huge amount of weight as an adult. I'd gain some
whenever I was on a food plan as when eating at school
cafeterias but would lose it easily when I went back to
eating what I wanted when I wanted. I've never dieted
meaning that I've never counted calories. I have at various
times tried to be a vegetarian or tried to eat less junk,
less sugar and eat more vegetables, but even there I've
never been particularly successful.

Sure I'd put on 25 pounds since my skinny college days, but
the charts showed I was still 2 pounds shy of being
overweight. The doctor saw nothing to worry about so I
didn't worry either.

I've never been athletic either, and that's turned out to be
my trouble. When you don't gain weight, you don't realize
when you've grown woefully out of shape. I used to get
exercise with my job or from walking to bus stops before I
had a car. Now I live in suburbia and hadn't paid attention
to how little I was moving around. It finally got to where I
was breathless just walking the dog and couldn't run even a
short distance.

I signed up for an exercise class, and that's where I
realized how bad I'd let it get. I couldn't make it through
an entire class, and this was a class with women twice my
age in it. When everyone else was working with freeweights,
I couldn't do all the reps even without weights. I had to
slowly build up to a little one pound weight. I stayed with
it and made quick progress. I got to where I could finish
the aerobic section with air to spare and built up to
holding 3 pound weights. The results have been great. After
12 weeks I'm standing straighter, have more energy, sleeping
better at night, avoiding junk more easily, all the
indications of good health. But have I lost weight? No! I'm
sure I've built muscle, but you can't see that.

I want some easy inexpensive test, something like getting
your blood pressure taken or standing on a special scale,
something that's not subjective like asking someone if they
get exercise. (If the test is based on a subjective
question, people like me would say they were in good shape
when they weren't.) Knowledgeable people out there: Invent
this, or tell me it exists already. Give Joe Schmo American
a quick and easy way of calculating weight, height and
muscle that gives useful information about obesity.

--Lia

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

Does Mel consider himself to be Australian or American
? Or does it just depend on where he is at any
particular time ? 🙂

leebee said:

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

Does Mel consider himself to be Australian or American ?
Or does it just depend on where he is at any particular
time ? 🙂

I have no idea. I threw him in there as a laugh because I
imagine many people have no idea he was born in New York
State. He was in the piece. I believe he owns homes here in
the states.

nancy

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

nancy

Maybe they are measuring them with their wallets intact.
--
Alan

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the relig-
ion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
-- James Michener

Nancy Young said:

leebee said:

Nancy Young wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

Does Mel consider himself to be Australian or American ?
Or does it just depend on where he is at any particular
time ? 🙂

I have no idea. I threw him in there as a laugh because
I imagine many people have no idea he was born in New
York State.

I must read too much. I knew that 😉

Quoted message said:

He was in the piece. I believe he owns homes here in
the states.

Yes, he does, but i'm not much of a "Mel" fan, so my
knowledge is now exhausted 😉

In article <P41fc.136342$JO3.84327@attbi_s04>,
Julia Altshuler <[email hidden]> wrote:

snip>

Quoted message said:

I want some easy inexpensive test, something like getting
your blood pressure taken or standing on a special scale,
something that's not subjective like asking someone if
they get exercise. (If the test is based on a subjective
question, people like me would say they were in good shape
when they weren't.) Knowledgeable people out there: Invent
this, or tell me it exists already. Give Joe Schmo
American a quick and easy way of calculating weight,
height and muscle that gives useful information about
obesity.

There is a quick and sleazy method to determine if someone
is obese, particularly the bad central body obesity that's
been linked to type 2 diabetes: waist circumference. No
calculations needed, just a non-stretchy tape measure. Non-
pregnant women should have waist circumferences less than
35 inches, men should have waist circumferences less than
40 inches.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

leebee said:

Nancy Young wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have no idea. I threw him in there as a laugh because
I imagine many people have no idea he was born in New
York State.

I must read too much. I knew that 😉

Quoted message said:

He was in the piece. I believe he owns homes here in the
states.

Yes, he does, but i'm not much of a "Mel" fan, so my
knowledge is now exhausted 😉

He's not my favorite, either, I don't like his opinions.

nancy

Cindy Fuller said:

There is a quick and sleazy method to determine if someone
is obese, particularly the bad central body obesity that's
been linked to type 2 diabetes: waist circumference. No
calculations needed, just a non-stretchy tape measure. Non-
pregnant women should have waist circumferences less than
35 inches; men should have waist circumferences less than
40 inches.

And this works? I'm trying to picture it being the same
measurement for men over 6 feet tall and under 5 feet. It
doesn't matter if one person's waist is shaped by sit-ups
and the other's by fritos? (How about warnings in the
pockets of blue jeans? "If these fit, you may be dangerously
obese and at risk for type 2 diabetes ..."😉

--Lia

Tony P. said:

Yeah, it's all hogwash. For instance, I should weigh
around 180 but according to all the charts for my height I
should be somewhere near 150-160. I'd look like an
emaciated corpse were I that weight.

According to BMI I should weigh at most 180, preferably 170.
I weigh about 210. Any more and weight will be a problem,
but it is not at the moment.

--
John Gaughan johngaughan.netjohngaughan.netOpen ↗
[email hidden]

Julia Altshuler said:

And this works? I'm trying to picture it being the same
measurement for men over 6 feet tall and under 5 feet. It
doesn't matter if one person's waist is shaped by sit-ups
and the other's by fritos? (How about warnings in the
pockets of blue jeans? "If these fit, you may be
dangerously obese and at risk for type 2 diabetes ..."😉

This is the same measurement the Air Force uses for its
fitness assessment. The deal is that if you measure above
the hips, bone structure plays no part in the measurement.
Since your guts grow more up instead of out, they have
little or no impact. Even very buff people are narrow in the
waist. Body builders look like inverted triangles -- narrow
legs and waist, big chest, huge shoulders. You cannot bulk
up your abdominal muscles like you can biceps or pectorals.
The only way to "bulk up" is by gaining fat. Anyway, the
point is, the narrower the waist, the better. Well, less
than 30" would be bad, but that would be impossible without
health problems.

This is a good measurement for men because we gain weight
there first and lose it there last. Women are a little more
forgiving because they gain it in the hips first (usually).

--
John Gaughan johngaughan.netjohngaughan.netOpen ↗
[email hidden]

Nancy Young said:

Struck me as amusing, I don't know how this data was
collected, but according to the federal BMI (body mass
index?), the following Americans are obese: Tom Cruise,
Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.

Their charts seem to be based solely on height and do not
take frame types into consideration. According to the same
charts, I'm 30lb overweight. I'm 5'10" and weight just over
200lb. I'm not fat, I don't have love handles nor do I have
a gut. I haven't weight 170lb since I was 16.

--
Darryl L. Pierce <[email hidden]> Visit the Infobahn
Offramp - <http://mypage.org/mcpierce> "What do you care
what other people think, Mr. Feynman?"

Julia Altshuler said:

Tony P. said:

What it neglects is that muscle weighs more than fat. So
you could be 5'11 and weight say 220lbs with slight
muscles, or 250lbs and all muscled up.

True. I'd like a simple test or indicator that could help
people decide this on their own at home. The reason those
weight/height charts or BMI indexes are used so much is
that they're easy. Nevermind that the information is
misleading and doesn't really tell much about who is
overweight, who is obese and who is in great shape made of
pure muscle.

I have a scale that measures the percentage of body fat.
That seems to be a better indicator of condition than
weight or BMI.

--
Susan N.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who
understand binary and those who do not.