Fat Grade

[Smaointe]

wiccanpie: my website has just been redone and I think there is an issue with that calculator. It told me that I am obese too - ignore it! I've sent a message advising them that it seems to be off

I'm not obese!

edit: The website had an overhaul and (in my opinion) was released a little prematurely - note the watermarks on the images. I've sent a few notes to say "uh, guys........", hopefully it will be fixed up soon.

I prefer not to worry about BMI etc. I go through a screening process to see if they need to lose weight, and if so, how much. I don't really pay attention to the calculators.

[Rorschach]

I don't think schools need worry about telling kids they're fat; magazines, music videos and arsehole celebrities do that perfectly well

I have cousins under ten who think they need to diet, it's heartbreaking

[Jok]

I blame the culture we live in.... McDonnald's saying it is hip and cool to buy their, erm, "food", sweets marketed directly at children (which seems to be quite effective, but EU will try to ban commercials for unhealthy stuff marketed at children). Even the products have more sugar in them, than they actually need. Soda's are usually lower on sugar than most sweet breakfast cereal products, even Corn Flakes are almost 100% carbs in form of sugar and corn. And the productmakers add the extra sugar because its cheaper than adding other stuff and because of the taste, which again leads to demand that other stuff has to be more sweet. As for people with weight problems, it is individual if you are overweight, even my sister talks about loosing weight all the time, though she actually weights around the same as me, and im skinny. You can have a little overweight and still be healthy, humans are build to have reserves on their body to burn if we got low on food. And for the school giving the children their BMI isn't the schools job. A doctor should do that, but not on the behalf of the school, it's like marking people for who they are. A school is about education, not personality or looks.

[RandyWang]

Actually I saw a story recently that said that our kids are getting fatter because parents are scared to let them outside to exercise.

Beg to differ, though only slightly, in two ways:

1. I'm allowed out of the house (except for school) for a grand total of around two hours per week, and only at weekends. I don't run, I hardly exercise at all. And yes, I know that it's unusual to be this protected at sixteen. I'm working on that.

...and yet, I'm in excellent shape. So, perhaps it isn't entirely the parents' fault for keeping their kids in so much. I'd lay the blame equally on the parents (for being so damn protective) and the kids (three points down, "Electronic Underwear..."). Speaking from experience, that might actually be the case: During the four or more hours per day I spend on the computer, one or both of my legs is constantly jiggling, just to stay comfortable, and I ain't fat at all.

2. Aside from myself (exception to the rule, yadda yadda), I don't honestly believe that there's parents out there that keep their kinds in so much that they become fat. There's probably a few, but I doubt many people would honestly believe it's better for their kids to stay inside and grow pallid that to get a nice healthy dose of those lovely UV rays. Unless those funny Americans really are crazy

EDIT: Smaointe's link says I'm an athlete!

[Smaointe]

Perhaps my wording wasn't the best. I should have said that parents' nervousness about letting their kids out (alone) is contributing to the problem.... not the sole cause.

My mum doesn't drive and my dad couldn't drop us at school, so my sister and I used to walk 3km to and from the school bus every day, with the standard 5 - 10kg school bag (why on earth did I take straight sciences..??).

Now, I watch my older sister ferry her kids everywhere because she doesn't like the thought of her kids walking anywhere... and I think if my niece had to walk to the bus, it would be the end of the world, it's FAR too much effort.

They aren't overweight.. but it is an example of how times have changed. I spent my days between ages 5 and 15 riding my bike around the yard, playing on the swings, climbing trees, playing in the yard.... and I walked to school every day. I sound really old.... but we didn't have much in the way of video games back then - I really only started getting into them when I was about 16, so we didn't have much to entertain us inside the house.

I think these days, everyone is stressed out, working longer hours.. They are either too tired or just don't have time to exercise or prepare fresh food, so a lot of people resort to convenience foods, which are high in fat and salt, and low in nutrients etc.

On the UV rays comment - Australia leads the world (not something to be proud about) in skin cancer deaths, my state particularly.. it's been drummed into us for years to stay out of the sun, and I have heard that this is adding to the obesity problem.

Of course these are all just generalisations and my opinion, and don't include people who are overweight due to medical conditions etc.

[Brim Mar]

[quote="Skorpion";p="449577"]
Staying thin is easy if you just eat right. No junkfood, no carbonated drinks, no excess sugar, cycle a few miles a day.[/quote]

My bullshit alarm is going off.

I know plenty of people that are thin and unhealthy.
I weigh 200 pounds and i've never been in better shape in my life.
And I am FAR from thin.

[edge]

Yeah, it's different for everyone, and it's not that easy all the time.

Generally speaking, I eat one realativly good meal a day. And sometimes I'll have something light to eat, some toast, or cereal in the morning. Something like that. I don't eat "junk food" and I almost never have fast food. I do a ton of walking every day, and I still don't lose weight. I don't gain any either.

There is no escape!

[Fixer]

Did anyone arguing that reducing food consumption will reduce weight actually read Accer's link?

There is no one single 'cure' for obesity. Period. A person who is overweight can diet but the body will react to become what it once was.

Surgery might help with weight reduction, but that's about it.

[edge]

Yeah...that was pretty much what I was trying to get at...I guess in a round-about sort of way though :-/

[BillyBlaze]

[quote="Fixer";p="449882"]Did anyone arguing that reducing food consumption will reduce weight actually read Accer's link?

There is no one single 'cure' for obesity. Period. A person who is overweight can diet but the body will react to become what it once was.

Surgery might help with weight reduction, but that's about it.[/quote]
SHITCOCK FIXER'S BACK! OMGLOLROFLPLXY!

When did that happen?

[Rfairney]

What if they dont want to have the BMI amounts announced ?
If the parents want to know they can work it out themselves.

If they REALLY want to help people stay healthy then teach them about nutrition, and effective ways to manage health and the such, oh.. and provide HEALTHY FOOD IN SCHOOLS!
and if they want it at home a small booklet about healthy eating, with simple recipes for parents and the such would be good too

This will just make BMI something noticable, and provide some kids with a number to claim they are justified in calling someone a "fatty"

Besides, there are many people with thyroid problems, metabolism problems, or with medication affecting metabolism and the such which means that some people are in fact healthier with a different than normal weight than average, what is healthy for one person isnt always healthy for another.

There should be less emphasis on weight, and more on Health!

[Smaointe]

[quote="Fixer";p="449882"]There is no one single 'cure' for obesity. Period. A person who is overweight can diet but the body will react to become what it once was.[/quote]
This is something that very few people realise. If you crash diet or fast, your body panics, thinking that there is no food around and that you are starving.

It reacts by slowing your metabolism way down, to make sure that it conserves fat stores and "survives". Then, the next time you eat anything, your body says "PHEW! I don't want THAT to happen again.. better do something about it!", and converts most of whatever you eat to fat - to guard against starvation in the future.

This is why skipping meals doesn't work, because you screw up your metabolism and whatever you eat to break your fast will be converted straight to fat and be harder to burn off. If you starve your body all day and then grab something to eat, it doesn't matter if it is a 300kj (75cal) apple or a 2300kj (550cal) Big Mac, it will end up as fat - so choose wisely Also a good reason to eat breakfast.

[Mista]

You know the BMI is kind of off. For example, I have some fat, but I also have muscle. I weigh 190 pounds. I saw a girl who weighed 170 and she was way way way way bigger than me. The BMI doesn't take this into acount, so someone could be 5'8 and considered "obese" or whatever but really they're all muscle...

Just saying that it isn't a very accurate way of telling if someone is fat. A better way would be % of body fat.

[Deacon]

[quote="Fixer";p="449882"]Surgery might help with weight reduction, but that's about it.[/quote]
There are a handful of cases where surgery would be someone's only weight loss option. The vast majority of such cases, however, are from poor diet and especially a sedentary lifestyle. Just because a few people are exceptions to the rule does not mean the rule changes or that everyone gets to claim they're an exception to escape their responsibility and somehow dodge the known consequences of obesity, both emotional and especially physical. If people harped as much on being fit with the same conviction they have when denigrating smokers, health care costs would drop, and people would be healthier.

[quote="BillyBlaze";p="449912"]SHITCOCK FIXER'S BACK![/quote]
Careful...you'll end up on Osagee's ingore list, too

[Kits]

Hahahaha, that thing is way off. It said I'm an ATHLETE!!! HAHAHAHAHAH. It did get my percentage right though, IIRC. But my doctor labeled me as 'unhealthily skinny' and not an 'athlete'.

The BMI thing: Um, I don't think that counts towards one's grade point average, if I read it right. I see no problem unless it DID effect grade point average. It's not like they're broadcasting it to the entire school.