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edh
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:09 pm

Never mind steroid use -- there are actually a few athletes and bodybuilders who hone their crafts without the aid of artificial (or even so-called natural) chemical expediters.

There are also the three basic body types (plus combinations of any two): ectomorphic, mesomorphic and endomorphic; tending towards the typical lanky runner, mister neanderthal muscles, and the pudgy pear, respectively, each with its own characteristic bone structure, musculature and height-to-weight characteristics. The "acceptable" BMI range for each body type is different
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SecretMaster
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:19 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
Fighthouse wrote:
What I don't get, is that somebody my height can be as little as 145lbs and still be considered healthy. I think the last time I weighed 145 was 7th grade, maybe?

I'm 5' 11.5" and 140lbs. I'm definitely underweight.


I'm 5'11 and ~130 pounds, probably less since I haven't worked out in months. I have the tiniest arms in the world.

The ony good thing about being so freaking skinny is that when I do work out, whatever muscle I gain tends to show since I have very little/if any fat on me. So I look somewhat strong without actually being somewhat strong.
 
mattsteg
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:29 pm

ozymandias wrote:
Personally, I do not not believe in "heavy bones". All people I know who claimed that also had heavy bottoms, backs, bellys...
Look around you. Some people are just physically larger-framed. On top of that, people are proportioned differently, with long or short torsos or legs. Yes, larger-framed people, like anyone else, are pretty likely to carry some extra weight these days. Do you really think that someone who wears a size 48L coat and someone who wears a size 38 at the same height have bones of the same mass? That's just ridiculous.

You can walk down the street and see "fat people" that fit within the BMI guidelines and "fit people" who don't. More frequently, you see equivalently fat people with widely varying BMIs. Also, since fat weighs less than muscle, strong fat people have higher BMIs than fatter weaklings.
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dextrous
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:51 pm

The BMI is not a good measurement of health or much of anything else. It can give a ballpark figure for somebody who does not do much physical activity. If you are 6' tall, weigh 300lbs, and aren't a weight lifter, the BMI will indicate you are obese, and it would be 100% correct.

A better measurement is body fat percentage. Here is a (bit dated) page with links and a decent explanation of healthy BF% ratios. It's harder to measure BF% than BMI. You can measure BF% with a caliper and get reasonably close though. Generally, for men, 10% BF = abs showing and well defined muscles (assuming muscles exist to show), 15% = very slight belly, 20% = belly, 25% = noticeable belly.
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:17 pm

Usacomp2k3 wrote:
I'm 5' 11.5" and 140lbs. I'm definitely underweight.


Generally same spot here. 5' 11 and fluctuates between 135low and 145high.

I've been this size since highschool.
 
SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:43 pm

5'6"-5'7" 155lbs here. That puts me at 25 or so BMI. I'm not nearly obese, but I'm not in tip-top shape anymore. I'm a firm believer in human-powered commuting if possible though, so don't hit me with your car while I bike to work (saving me $x,000 a year). It's the easiest way to stay in shape. Why pay $20-30 a month to go to a gym and ride a fake bike when you can bike to work and not have to worry about it? It's especially true in cities. I don't know about many other cities, but biking in Minneapolis is actually faster than driving during commuting hours.

When I work out, I get heavy. When I run/bike, I get thin. My junior and senior years of high school I got up to 165 pounds, but I was in much better shape than I am now, with much lower body fat. I look at pictures of myself and I feel like I've done the opposite of filling out in college :D. I would need to lose about 10 pounds to look thin.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:52 pm

In about 4 years I've gone from 5'8" and a buck fifty to 5'8" and a buck seventy-five.

Wii Fit doesn't like my eating habits so much...
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Wintermane
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:54 pm

For some the bmi cant be used. I am fat thats for sure but I cant use the bmi because my body isnt normal shape. I have shorter then normal legs and a much larger upper body then a normal person. My old doc said I have the legs of a 5 foot man and the upper body of a 7 foot man... I kinda look like shrek in fact.

Some people have much longer then normal limbs others have shorter.. some have no necks others very long thin necks. Some people have a pronounces hump on thier backs and a sway back others do not. And yes some have heavy set skeletons and flabby hunks of muscle as well as flab.

If your doc only looks at one number and doesnt examine you closely then leave them as they are total rubbish and as likely to get you killed as anything else.
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SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:59 pm

Wintermane wrote:
For some the bmi cant be used. I am fat thats for sure but I cant use the bmi because my body isnt normal shape. I have shorter then normal legs and a much larger upper body then a normal person. My old doc said I have the legs of a 5 foot man and the upper body of a 7 foot man... I kinda look like shrek in fact.

Some people have much longer then normal limbs others have shorter.. some have no necks others very long thin necks. Some people have a pronounces hump on thier backs and a sway back others do not. And yes some have heavy set skeletons and flabby hunks of muscle as well as flab.

If your doc only looks at one number and doesnt examine you closely then leave them as they are total rubbish and as likely to get you killed as anything else.

It sounds like you have the shape of Michael Phelps.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:34 pm

The BMI calculator tells me I wouldn't be underweight until I'd dropped down to a weight I haven't seen in 37 years (when I was 14). I just don't see how this thing is really helpful in any meaningful way.

Just for fun I put in the weight that my father was at after he'd gotten amoebic dysentery in the Phillipines during WW2. Three weeks of diarrhea and 70 lbs lost - he would have been at 15.4 on the BMI.
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paulWTAMU
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:47 pm

according to the BMI I need to hit 180--I've got no idea how that's possible. I'm obese now, and I know it, but I'm personally in good shape around the 220 mark. I have short, thick legs, long thick torso, and thick arms. I look like a gorilla without as much hair :D
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SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:49 pm

sluggo wrote:
The BMI calculator tells me I wouldn't be underweight until I'd dropped down to a weight I haven't seen in 37 years (when I was 14). I just don't see how this thing is really helpful in any meaningful way.

Just for fun I put in the weight that my father was at after he'd gotten amoebic dysentery in the Phillipines during WW2. Three weeks of diarrhea and 70 lbs lost - he would have been at 15.4 on the BMI.

My dad got to 12.6 BMI a few months after he got back from Vietnam. Malaria isn't fun.

Now his BMI is much, much larger at 38 or so.
 
GeForce6200
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:13 pm

From your opening post I would say that you are in decent shape. A lot better than loads of people. I have no idea what the Government's rating system is. I was always considered by the doctors underweight. Was like 65lbs in 5th grade. Now at 16, I'm about 5'8 and 145lbs and a BMI of around 22. Currently I try and eat according to the Navy Seal Nutrition guide, and work out about every other day, by the SEAL/SWCC guide. Great way to get in good shape. If anyone is wondering I plan on serving in the SWCC.
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:24 am

GeForce6200 wrote:
Great way to get in good shape. If anyone is wondering I plan on serving in the SWCC.


SouthWestern Christian College? Soil and Water Conservation Committee? King Fahd's Saline Water Conversion Company?

I kid! Swick are good folks in my books.
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SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:43 am

Forge wrote:
GeForce6200 wrote:
Great way to get in good shape. If anyone is wondering I plan on serving in the SWCC.


SouthWestern Christian College? Soil and Water Conservation Committee? King Fahd's Saline Water Conversion Company?

I kid! Swick are good folks in my books.

South Whales Caving Club?
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:49 am

Sexy Whales Calving Class?
...
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:53 am

Sexy Woman Car Cleaners.
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bryanl
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:01 pm

A better measurement is body fat percentage

I think one of the indicators that could be used to determine this is at the swimming pool. How hard it is for you to stay afloat?

If you float even after exhaling all air from your lungs, then perhaps you need to loose a bit of weight.

If you need to be rather vigorous in treading water with lungs full (or big flotation devices), then you are probably getting rather muscle bound.

"A person who neither floats nor sinks with empty lungs in water would have a density of approximately 1 kg/L (the density of water) and an estimated body fat percentage of 43% (Brozek) or 45% (Siri), which would be extremely obese" (Wikipedia - 2.3 Body average density measurement) - contrast with "Essential fat is 2–5% in men, and 10–13% in women."
 
Forge
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:08 pm

When I'm in the pool and I breathe out, I sink. I don't even have to fully empty my lungs, simply breathing out roughly half my lung volume is enough. I consider myself overweight but not obese. My BMI is 32.1.

BMI = teh sux.
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brsett
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:13 pm

Forge wrote:
I'm happy that I've lost a bunch of weight and am getting a little bit of definition. It looks like I'd pass the 0% body fat mark about 40-50 pounds ABOVE the BMI cutoff for obesity.

BMI = garbage. I'm 6'4" and 270, and I have *maybe* 20 pounds of fat on me. 30 at the outside. BMI says I have to be at around 210 just to START being in the high end of the healthy range.


If you're below 10% body fat, then you are absolutely ripped. NBA basketball players are usually about 10%. Below about 6% bodyfat, and you'd be an elite bodybuilder. So, at 6-4, 270, do people confuse you with Lebron James (I would guess he's about 6-8, 240, 9% bf)?
 
SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:43 pm

Forge wrote:
When I'm in the pool and I breathe out, I sink. I don't even have to fully empty my lungs, simply breathing out roughly half my lung volume is enough. I consider myself overweight but not obese. My BMI is 32.1.

BMI = teh sux.

Late in the summer, on a full breath of air, I sink. My legs are lean as hell from commuting by bike/foot for a few years. I can only back float if I keep some movement for a little lift. Seriously, 90miles/week biking and 25 or so miles/week walking isn't that hard, and it keeps you in very good shape. It feels good to be able to walk 3 miles and have it not affect your day at all. Living in a place that is not conducive to cars helps with the motivation, too.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:59 pm

I float with > 85% of my lungs full. Anything below that, I sink.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:57 pm

I'm around 180cm tall and weigh 105Kg, so I'm a fat lazy bastard, I look at mum's gym equipment, then look at my PC chair, but the PC chair always wins :D
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:10 pm

A regular workout routine actually takes a lot more determination and discipline than you'd think. Same think when you are working out. My lazy body yells at me to stop right when I am actually beginning to feel exhausted. Asking it to STFU and go on is one of the hardest things I've done.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:28 pm

lordtottuu wrote:
A regular workout routine actually takes a lot more determination and discipline than you'd think.

I think some people find it easier than others, just like everything else. Plenty of folks *enjoy* intense physical activity. I work with a guy who runs a minimum of 5mi per day solely because he loves to do it. He's been doing it since he was in high school, and he turns 50 next month.

Also once a habit is developed it's easier to maintain than getting into the habit in the first place.
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SpotTheCat
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:54 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Also once a habit is developed it's easier to maintain than getting into the habit in the first place.
That's why commuting using human power is so easy. It becomes second nature. I drove to work once after biking for 3 months, and I felt like something was missing.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:06 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
lordtottuu wrote:
A regular workout routine actually takes a lot more determination and discipline than you'd think.

I think some people find it easier than others, just like everything else. Plenty of folks *enjoy* intense physical activity. I work with a guy who runs a minimum of 5mi per day solely because he loves to do it. He's been doing it since he was in high school, and he turns 50 next month.

Also once a habit is developed it's easier to maintain than getting into the habit in the first place.


I could PROBABLY walk to school, but walking 30km would mean i would have to leave at like 3AM in the morning.
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:52 pm

I'd have a hard time sinking in LH2.
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barleyguy
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:22 pm

I just want to point out, since I haven't seen anyone mention it:

BMI was invented by a sociologist, not a doctor. It's a measure of social norms of height versus weight. It's also seriously outdated, being invented over 150 years ago, though some calculations of it are updated based on WHO data. Still, it's a measure of normalcy, not of health.

It has been picked up in pop culture to imply that "obese" means "unhealthy". Which can be true in certain circumstances. But not always.
 
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Re: Why am I Obese?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:59 pm

It's an OK measure if you ask me, at least for what it is meant to be, ie. a fast way to get a rough estimate.
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