All U.S. adults could be overweight in 40 years

[Beantown Bronco]

Frankly, I'm shocked he wasn't referenced in the original reuters article.

[skpac1001]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

But you and I are paying for the "fatties" in rising health care costs every year. It's like smoking. Some argue that what they are doing to their bodies is nobody else's business. But it becomes our business when we have to pay higher premiums every month because someone else is using significantly more than their share of the insurance.

Its like alot of things. Motorcycles, drinking, tanning, sex....
I would hate to be the one to have to draw the line between personal lifestyle liberty and cost effectiveness of health care. Simply allowing heath care to charge based on health factors would be a good compromise, of course it would not be looked on very highly by those who are heath risks genetically or randomly.

[2KBack]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

The BMI hasn't changed their formula in 30 years, so anyone who is overweight according to their system today was overweight 30 years ago. So their rate of increase is accurate, even if we don't agree with their definition of what is overweight.

I'll accept that the rate of increase (via BMI) can be accurate, but I do not agree that it means that people are getting fatter at that same rate. Hell there's probably been a significant increase in lean muscle mass of the last 30 years as well, but the BMI doesn't account for that.


and yes, the whole insurance system does suck. I don't blame people in poor health though, even it is within their control.

[Beantown Bronco]

Think about how fat this country would be if we didn't have all these new ways of losing weight through surgery, etc. We're getting heavier and heavier even though technology and medicine has come up with more ways for us to lose weight. It's embarrassing.

[Beantown Bronco]

Originally Posted by skpac1001

Its like alot of things. Motorcycles, drinking, tanning, sex....
I would hate to be the one to have to draw the line between personal lifestyle liberty and cost effectiveness of health care. Simply allowing heath care to charge based on health factors would be a good compromise, of course it would not be looked on very highly by those who are heath risks genetically or randomly.

It works for life insurance; why not health insurance? If you have certain risk factors, you pay more. If not, you pay less. It's obviously more complicated than that, but my coworkers and I shouldn't be penalized because 75% of Alabama and Mississippi are obese.

[2KBack]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

Think about how fat this country would be if we didn't have all these new ways of losing weight through surgery, etc. We're getting heavier and heavier even though technology and medicine has come up with more ways for us to lose weight. It's embarrassing.

I'm not embarrassed by it, a well fed person is a sign of success. At least it used to be. Also I'm not fat, and don't care to control others that my not mind being as such.

We disagree on it being a problem, but what solution would you suggest?

[2KBack]

Originally Posted by Beantown Bronco

It works for life insurance; why not health insurance? If you have certain risk factors, you pay more. If not, you pay less. It's obviously more complicated than that, but my coworkers and I shouldn't be penalized because 75% of Alabama and Mississippi are obese.

I would be 100% behind something like that

[Bronx33]

bob throws this theory into a tailspin.

[Fedaykin]

The BMI is a bull**** worthless statistic. It doesn't discriminate between lean body mass and fat. It would classify jay Cutler as obese, which is absurd.

[Ray Finkle]

Meh,
Eat well, got off the coach and exercise and you won't be a fat ass...

[elsid13]

Originally Posted by Ray Finkle

Meh,
Eat well, got off the coach and exercise and you won't be a fat ass...

**** that, I am ditching the workouts and outside activities to eat fried cheese and processed meat like products.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by elsid13

**** that, I am ditching the workouts and outside activities to eat fried cheese and processed meat like products.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm fried cheese..

[mr007]

This is the dumbest article ever. There are certain areas of the US that this definitely applies to... if anything people are becoming more health conscious and aware in general though media typically projects diets and eating habits that contradict what truly healthy habits are.

Unless acted upon force there is and always will be a % of the population that is anal about the foods they eat and their health and will also educate and bring others into that circle.

[TallyBronco]

Originally Posted by killericon

And if the trends continue, then in 80 years, there will be twice as many overweight American Adults in America as there are Adults!

A little common sense, please. There are types of people who will never be overweight.

Some of us are smart enough to count as two people, so maybe there's hope in these new statistical procedures.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Originally Posted by crowebomber

Bob is 40 years ahead of his time.

Someone had to say it.

I exercise and watch what I eat. Don't lump me in with America's fatties.

"Bob" is dead.

[Ray Finkle]

Originally Posted by elsid13

**** that, I am ditching the workouts and outside activities to eat fried cheese and processed meat like products.

spoken like a true NOVA resident....

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by 2KBack

using the tragically flawed body mass index?

That's what I was thinking. Supposedly, I'm supposed to weigh like 160. That's nuts. I'd be a pencil neck at that weight.

[Taco John]

Originally Posted by Bob's your Information Minister

I exercise and watch what I eat. Don't lump me in with America's fatties.

"Bob" is dead.

Let's see that lean physique...

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Taco John

Let's see that lean physique...

You can take a gander at http://www.winchells.com/ it's under the ( our version of jared ) link.

[jutang]

Saying the BMI as a tragically flawed or worthless statistic is about as absurd as saying BMI is the end all for categorizing obesity. BMI is only one measurement just like any other vital measurement (Heart Rate, blood pressure) which is a piece of information when together as a whole can give a pretty good picture of someones health.

When taking large population studies, BMI is a pretty good indicator.

Until recently children's growth curves where updated every 15 years or so. Because kids have gotten so fat so quickly, the latest growth curves for children have updated heights but not updated weights. This in all likelyhood has slightly skewed the BMI upwards for children, but really highlights how much of a problem this has become.

It is amazing how many parents will reason that their fat child isn't that bad because another child is fatter.

[Atwater His Ass]

America is fat. I agree BMI is a joke. But you don't need it. Just start looking around during your daily life. I'll guareentee that you'll see more people that obviously don't take any sort of care of themselves then you will people that do.

This is especially eye opening when you travel aboard or visit a place with a high international tourist population (disneyworld for example). Americans for the most part are way out of shape (and don't care) while the majority of the foreigners are not.

My personal opinon is that Americans aren't educated about foods, caliories, what to eat, why certain things are bad for you etc. They have no idea how absolutely terrible soda is for you for example. We eat out too much. People sometimes might have a passing thought that fast food is bad for you, but they don't really understand why. They can't apply any sort of food knowledge to make smart food choices because they are food illiterate.

Being healthy is a lifestyle and a commitment. Most people are too weak to bother to educate themselves or change their lifestyle (even in small ways) to accomodate healthy living. It takes effort and people in America are lazy.

[Jason in LA]

I'm a slim guy with an athletic build. Don't have huge muscles, but I'm not rail thin. Anyways, I did one of the BMI calculators, at 6' 185 lbs I'm overweight with a BMI of 25.1. I don't have much body fat (not sure what the % is, but I'm sure it is under 10%), my blood pressure and cholesterol levels are normal. I'm a very healthy and in shape guy.

If I'm considered overweight, then damn near the entire country is overweight. The BMI is total BS. This country does have a serious weight issue, but it is nowhere near as bad as the BMI would make it out to be.

A body fat test would be a much better indicator, but not that many people ever take the test. Anyone can take the BMI test. That's probably why it is being used.

[Jason in LA]

Originally Posted by Bob's your Information Minister

I exercise and watch what I eat. Don't lump me in with America's fatties.

"Bob" is dead.

Stop fooling yourself.

[Jason in LA]

Originally Posted by jutang

When taking large population studies, BMI is a pretty good indicator.

I'd say it can work for certain people, but not a large population. There are too many different type of body types. This lumps everybody in together. It just doesn't work.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

The BMI is a bull**** worthless statistic. It doesn't discriminate between lean body mass and fat. It would classify jay Cutler as obese, which is absurd.

I sure don't need any type of index to see how "fat" this country is. Just take a look around you. Of course, Colorado isn't the best indicator of the overweight in this country since the Front Range has been deemed the healthiest region of the U.S.