Your sense of humor is severely lacking.

pjam09....get a life....and then maybe a sense of humor.

Thanks for proving the amazing laziness and ignorance of so many people.

And thanks for proving the complete lack of humor of so many people.

BMI is a joke for more than one reason. Not only does it not distinguish between fat weight and muscle weight as the article discusses, it also does not take into account your build. A thinly built person can be overweight at the same weight that a person with a broader build of the same height would be fine. The only real way to determine if you are in good shape is to have an actual body fat test done. I went to school with a guy who by the military height and weight charts we were judged against would register as obese. The problem was the guy as 5'6" but with very broad shoulders. Being that we attended on of the federal service academies, being within guidelines was a requirement to avoid getting put on "fat squad." Every time we went through a check this guy had to have a body fat test done to prove he was not obese and stay off fat squad, which he definitely did not belong on with a body fat level of less than 5%. The guy as just built like a fire hydrant.

Sorry, but getting taller isn't going to change flab into muscle

Nor can it change bone into grey matter.

I am 42 and I currently weight 150. I am 5 ft. 1 1/2 inches tall. Here the thing, I am in good health now. I used to be 216 and was very heavy and used to get winded. I got down to 125, I was too damn skinny, looked sick and felt horrible. I immediately started to gain weight. I can get around without problems, walk around everywhere, and continue to exercise. I don't believe in the BMI because it is not relevant to all body types. I am short true, but I have never felt better in my life. When I needed to lose weight, I did and I am happy for it, but not to the point where I needed to be at the other extreme which is dangerous too. I never want to be that small again to where I look sick and felt uncomfortable.

hmmm... BMI just measures height versus weight, and is not a definate measure of health. Really? They're just figuring this out? So the answer is to tell people they should weigh even less, basically punishing those who do have a decent amount of muscle. It's not like we could measure body fat percentages or anything, consider muscle tone or bone structure. That's just way too crazy- everyone should be within a few pounds of a certain weight based on height alone.

This article, however, focuses purely on the negative. Consider that a person might weigh 180 pounds, be 5'8" tall and, based on BMI - as well as the scales - be considered overweight to obese. As the article repeatedly noted, but failed to give balance to, the BMI does not take into consideration how much fat to muscle this person may have. If this person in muscle heavy, muscle being denser than fat, they will weigh more, though may well be smaller in waist, wrist, neck, hip measurements.

I have always argued against the use of either scales or BMI as one's sole means of judging their "weight fitness". Far better to use a tape measure. And even this is far from a perfect means of judging.

I suppose the best is to simply eat smart and stay active ... and don't go around insulting people just because they echo an old joke about weight vs height. (Hey, pjam90. It's FUNNY! Really it is.)

I have the perfect plan: Everyone that eats, dies, so I am going to stop eating and live forever!

Seriously, food companies should be prohibited from making products that are nothing but 'fat pills'. Sorry, donut makers. Like with pink slime, people do not read nutrition labels as much as they should, or even understand what half of the stuff really is. The calories and fat should appear on the wall with the items being sold at fast food restaurants. Subway does it. Most of the contents of vending machines should be against the law. Get serious, the availability has a serious impact. True, you can't stop people like me from making delicious chocolate chip cookies with just enough dough to hold the chips together, but that takes work and doesn't happen that often.

Beanathome, what in the world does "normal" have anything to do with this? Nowhere does "normal equate to healthy. If everyone cut off their hand it would be "normal" to do so. Guess what. That doesn't make it healthy. Trying to make it alright to be obese because "everyone else is" does nothing more than make it not your fault you are obese. It is only your fault that you are obese. Of course, be fat all you want. It's your decision. But don't spread your filth to other people making it sound like it is alright to be obese because it is "normal". It used to be normal for everyone to dump their sewage in the streets and never take bathes. That "normal" wasn't too healthy, now was it?

Beanathome's post

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Deschet13's head.

Somebody tell me why there is nothing better than BMI for athletes? I play football and we are SUPPOSSED to weigh more...in muscle. I am 5'10 and weigh 170 and my BMI says I am fat. I am not fat at all, I have muscle. BMI is IGNORANT

I have a pretty good sense of humor, yet when i see a 180lb 10 year old it doesn't not bring a smile to my face.

Adults have every right to chose for themselves but these over weight children is almost criminal. Say what you want, I actually care.

As an ex wrestler, I understand the amount of work it takes to a lose a pound. And then you grab the water bottle and start over again. It is 100 times harder to lose than it is to gain.

The BMI has always been a joke, I am considered to be border line obese? In a world that consistently creates unnecessary complexity for profit the audacity to try and simplify the human body? We are a backwards people.

They should just use one's trouser waist size as the indicator...ladies excluded, of course.

beanathome has a point. Most adult women carry around multiple pounds of fat that nature has given us. They're called "breasts". They are primarily fat. You don't have to have kids to acquire these male loved and baby useful fat deposits. Does the tests take this into account, or does the machine figure every women needs a radically mastectomy? babies tend to leave additional fat around the hips and buttocks. As a mother, I'm 5'6" and 150 pounds. 36-27-32 for the boys who like old fashioned statistics. And by the "needed" calculations, I would be "obese". And just when you think people will get away from the skeletal look for women.

Athletekid...There is, just calculate your percent body fat. If you're an athlete and using BMI to calculate how fit you are, then you are probably a terrible football player. Your coaches probably don't tell you these things, because your duty is to keep the bench warm.

Well all I can say is these researchers are rather naïve if they think that reclassifying what constitutes obesity is going to save lives or cut down on medical costs. This is because virtually nobody seems to have the will power to cut back on the calories no matter how unhealthy they think those extra pounds may be to their health. I have a relative who lived through cancer twice and she still won’t quit smoking or make any attempt to lose weight. Anyway the only thing this will do is piss off a lot of women. In fact just by reading the responses on here you can see that they are already getting very defensive about it. But why get so defensive? After all, you are either happy with your weight or you are not. And if you are happy with it then why would you care what your medical classification is? Well actually I know why. First of all women are just very insecure when it comes to their weight and always will be. And secondly, as a society we are in serious denial when it comes to our weight and are constantly trying increase what is considered to be a "normal" healthy weight so that we can feel better about ourselves without having to actually put in the effort to trim down. But now we have these researchers trying to move the line back in the other direction which is pissing people off who want to think of themselves as being at a normal weight. By the way, although most people tend to use the word "normal" to mean "like the average person" it also means "optimal", or "as nature intended" and this is the definition we should be using when talking about a normal weight for humans. If we continue the way we are going though, constantly raising what is considered to be a normal weight in order to feel better about ourselves, then eventually even morbidly obese people will consider themselves to be normal. Is that really the direction we want to continue to go in?

By the way Valhallaarwen, if you are happy with your weight then that’s great, more power to you, but 125lbs at 5’-2" is NOT "skinny" by any stretch of the imagination. 95lbs would be skinny, 103 – 108lbs would be optimal, and 115lbs would be slightly overweight.

Just when I thought I could get my doctor off my damn back... nope. Because their alternative charts are still bull@!$%#.

I'm a 5'8" female with great muscle tone and at my most fit(ballet, yoga, etc, 17+ years experience) I could only get up to 114 lbs. Now that I'm sick off my ass with bronchitis, a pulled back muscle, and a multitude of other non-athletic related health issues I've been sitting on my ass for months and guess what??!! i'm finally up to 120 lbs! Oh wait- that's still 10lbs less than what my doc wants me to be at since my BMI at 113 is just too gosh darn low for his liking. I get chewed out every single time I go into his office for it. I've learned to turn off my ears and ignore him. I keep telling him that I'm comfortable at my weight and feel healthy but he still goes by that stupid chart.

I have a ballet build and very streamlined muscles. The FDA can kiss my ass. It's hard to gain weight in a healthy manner when you have a certain build. My husband on the other hand is built like a solid muscle brickhouse, four inches taller than me, and always reads as 75lbs overweight! He's one of the healthiest people I know. You look at him and you wouldn't know that he weighs as much as he does because his bone mass is ridiculously high. He's one of those guys who has to walk in through a door sideways because of his shoulders.

No one in my family fits into that BMI chart and never will. Body types aren't even considered.

If I got up to 130lbs like my doctor wants me to(and I have before. once. NEVER again!) I'd be fat, unhappy, and just plain miserable. The one time I did get up that high my own mother walked right past me in an airport because she didn't even recognize me.

BMI needs to be thrown out permanently.

Get rid of BMI all together. I was at 9% body fat (measured by underwater weighing - quite accurate, and my BMI was still 22. I was 150lbs at 18% body fat. If it really is body fat that leads to increased disease, then measure it already.

We all want to live as long as possible. The problem is, the human body, like everything other living thing in the universe, has a life span. Living a healthy life style will in most case prolong our existence but it does not guarantee a longer life. Then one should also factor in the quality of that longer life span. At what cost does it come? (Remember Ewell Gibbons) He ate crap that billygoats would puke on and still died at a normal age. Our longer lifespans also cost society and place burdens on our surviving family members. No, I am not advocating we off each other at a certain age. Just simply putting things in a factual perspective. I say, live healthy, but know what it feels like to be drunk once in a while, live healthy but know what a quarter pounder with cheese tastes like, benchpress your body weight 3 sets of 8 but also know what a day at the beach feels like. Here is a good measure for all you people....When you stop being proud to take off your clothes and have sex in the daylight, you might need to modify your diet or stop having sex. Basically live life, health in portions but nothing that kills your reasons for living. By my life scale, making it to 80 is my goal. Past that is a bonus as long as i am not a burden on anyone else.

This is rediculous. Overweight people USE BMI to say they are healthy when they really aren't. You KNOW if you are mostly muscle or fat. YOU know if you work out or not. YOU know if you have muscles or not.

There is no way that people would go get a blood test to see if they are "overwight/obese" (yes I lump both into the same category). If you HAVE to get a blood test to tell you that, I guarantee you are one or the other.

Look, the vast majority of people that are considered overweight/obese are ACTUALLY overweight or obese. A very slim percentage of of people are "built like a tank" and have lots of muscle but are very large. Saying you are one of those people (when you probably aren't) is just the newest round of excuses overweight people make for not losing weight.

BMI is the least intrusive way to "test" for body fat. Do you really think people would go get a blood test, or volunteer to get measured by calipers just to tell them that they are fat? I don't think so. I'm not saying BMI is the most accurate, it's an estimation, that's it. I know it's inherantly wrong. When I stop running I lose weight, and my BMI goes down, what does that tell you?

It makes sense that mostly women had the flawed BMI readings as women naturally contain more fat than men. However, the percentage of fat that a man would be considered obese is normal or a bit overweight for women. I'm just wondering all this stress over being overweight and obese isn't compounding the problem. I think people have to do their best to eat healthy and exercise and not be obsessed by their weight.

Why must we all be anorexic skeletons to not be considered obese?

I currently weight 150. I am 5 ft. 1 1/2 inches tall. Here the thing, I am in good health now. I used to be 216 and was very heavy and used to get winded. I got down to 125, I was too damn skinny, looked sick and felt horrible.

This is what is typical of our fat (I'm sorry - obese) society. People can rationalize anything. Having lost over 42% of one's body weight, the body goes through some adjustments trying to cope with the loss of "reserves" by trying to slow the systems down to regain those reserves. Also people lose muscle mass as well and they don't have the strength in relation to the new size. They had become so used to seeing themselves in their bloated state that when they see themselves with all of the loose sagging skin they start playing head games with themselves and justifying how they are better off regaining the weight. At 5'1-1/2" and 150 pounds you may be in good health emotionally but certainly not physically.

And where does the medical industry get off telling people they are fat? Hasn't the "shrink" industry informed them they will hurt the fragile emotional state of our society and cause the people to respond by overeating? But the medical industry needs to tell the shrinks that's how they got "undertall" - overeating. So the vicious cycle continues.

Why must we all be anorexic skeletons to not be considered obese?

Why must we all be pleasantly plump to not be considered anorexic?

BMI isn't very accurate. I always fall into the overweight category at 6 ft 195 lbs. even though I am in relatively good shape. The best way to know if you are overweight or not is from a doctor.

BMI isn't very accurate, but it's better than weight and height charts alone.

Every doctor's office in America should start using body fat measurements. They also aren't totally accurate compared with volume by total immersion, but they're close enough and cheap and easy enough to use.

I just lost about ten pounds over the last month with a lifestyle diet change (exercise more, eat more good food and less bad, and keep a food diary to track calories and nutrients) and I'm successfully losing fat and not muscle and my body fat scale measurements and calculations show that to be the case.

My BMI back when I started was close but a tad lower than my body fat percentage. Now at ten pounds less, the BMI is over a percent higher than my current consistent body fat measurements. I'm currently approaching that overweight/obese threshold and definitely feeling better and looking forward to gradually getting to the next normal/overweight threshold sometime later this year. It takes willpower, but it's not that bad since I'm approaching it gradually and allow myself a guilt free day now and then where I do overindulge a bit.

Body fat percentage (and also water percentage) is definitely the to go, but although BMI can be off by a few percent, it still can be used as a rough indicator if anywhere in the high 20's or above that you are overweight enough to have serious long term health issues, so get some body fat measurements and set some realistic goals and gradually work to get there. Normal range and thin people should check themselves to see if their good BMI number is not showing their actual fat percentage.

Let's eat .... and....eat....and eat... and be merry, .... for tomorrow we shall die.

thinker, no I am not obese. I knew someone would say that. I do not go around huffing and puffing as I go around, nor do I have a big stomach which I used to have when I was heavy. I am not obese. I have a big chest, which no longer hurts when I had the extra weight. Another thing, I am black. Those charts do not reflex black women which is why I stated that I am more comfortable at the weight I am now. I am not bloated, and regardless of what you say, I am in a good place physically. I may not go to the gym everyday, but I go. I attend zumba, dance and yoga classes as well as ride the bike. Just because I don't look like those silly models or actresse don't mean that I am not well physically. I am very comfortable physically and mentally, and the public needs to understand that not all women are a size 2 naturally because they are not. I am a full figured woman and I love it. I have curves, not a fat tummy or a$$. Actually, if anything, my a$$ is getting toned.

Just so you know, when I was fat (216), my crazy doctor wanted me to get the operation. I told him nope because he thought I needed to lose 100 lbs. I got near that and I felt crappy. So please do not believe that just because a chart tells you what you should look like to be healthy, you should do it unless you are truly obese. It does not talk into account all the different body types of women which burns me. Think what you want, but I know I am healthy and as long as I can get around (btw, I don't drive, so I pretty much walk everywhere unless I take the bus or my hubby drives me) I do get around.

BMI is only one way to measure obesity, and of course there are variations in body types. Most height and weight charts provide a range for healthy weight at a given height, based on age and gender.

Cholesterol levels, blood sugar, blood pressure and heart rate are all better indicators of health than BMI. But good health is largely a choice, and obesity seems to be a choice all too many Americans are making these days.

valhallaarwen - It's admirable that you lost a significant amount of weight. However, the fact remains that while you may "feel" good about your self image you are clinically obese. The better measure of a person's "fitness" is a body fat study. People who carry around excess weight aren't necessarily going to die earlier but it certainly raises the risk of health related problems. There are studies that show black women may be healthy at a slightly higher weight than whites, there are also studies that indicate that heavier weights in blacks can result in more health problems than whites.

The results of the BMI study is that it was derived about two hundred years ago and focused mainly on whites. Now they have learned that it is a very rudimentary tool used to assess people of any race and that there are more realistic methods to evaluate people.

Thinker, yes, I understand your point, and that is why I believe it is silly to have a tool that, dare I say, discriminates on body image, but I am not clinically obese, nor am I. Why in the hell should I not believe that I am okay. If you saw me, you wouldn't think I was the weight I am, I look lighter than I am. IMO, someone who is clincially obese has an excessive amount of fat on their stomach, arms, thighs and legs, and butt. I do not have that. If I was obese as you stated, I wouldn't be able to walk around without stopping every few feet in the heat of the sun, which I do on a daily basis, except when it is pouring down. I am not making excuses for myself, I do go out and exercise. Trust me, I am a hell of a lot healthier than those women who go around drinking nothing but diet coke with a straw.

BTW, aren't many so called healthy non-obese folks dropping dead also. So why are athletes dropping dead all the time if they are sooo healthy?

JS in SD, I had same issues when I was in USAF, It was a big hassle when we had our Fat Boy checks. I was 5'9 but also very broad in shoulders and stout. Finally I had a Base Doctor who resolved this for me by putting in a weight waiver right in my medical records. Signed by him, his commander and staff at Tactical Air Command. I remember my first issue fatigues in basic training, to get a shirt to fit on shoulders had sleeves out past my hands and hung down to almost my knees. Guess that's what I get for being a farm kid tossing hay bales in my youth.

You're not going to get an unbiased discussion on this newsboard because the majority of people are.....how do I put this delicately??? ...fat....

I suppose, but it's probably a waste of time since most of America is overweight not underweight. By the way you resent "nasty" women on TV, I'm guessing you might fall into the heavy category. Get to running. Don't do it for me, do it for yourself.

That's actually an ignorant thing to say. Scientific studies have shown repeatedly that being underweight can actually prolong life. This was first demonstrated in mice many decades ago and has been supported by more modern studies in humans. So, you may hate thin, skinny, in-shape types of people but unfortunately they are not harming themselves like you're doing with your obesity.

Overlord,

The difference is in how the person became underweight. A person who is naturally underweight is one thing, but people who starve themselves or who purge or other sorts of similar things have been proven to have serious heart problems based on how they have abused their bodies. Or look at drug addicts. They end up being underweight--but not healthy.

I think the whole point is that you can't take a one-size-fits-all approach and make broad generalizations. That's why the BMI doesn't work. And suggesting the change they suggested in the article--going from BMI 30 to BMI 24 to indicate obesity? It's just as problematic as if they didn't change the threshold. When I was 5'6" and weighed 150 pounds, I was running 45 miles per week. I ran 5K runs almost every weekend and frequently placed in my age group. This was 20 years ago. I was in the best shape of my life. No one, NO ONE, would have even categorized me as being "overweight," let alone obese. And my heart health was fantastic.

Braverman's suggestions about fat versus muscle is just far better than BMI.

I saw the new face of obesity staring at me yesterday. It was saying, "Can I super size that for you?".

Typical day in America:

Its 9 in the morning the other day and I'm pumping gas. A woman parks her SUV in the handicapped spot opposite me. She can barely get out of the vehicle because she is obese. She goes in the store and gets chips and a sugared soda for a snack. Geez lady, that's why your handicapped.

Just wait until you get past 30 years of age if you don't think the BMI is not important and you suffer your first heart attack. If you live, and have something to live for --- the BMI will be important to you.

Or look at drug addicts. They end up being underweight--but not healthy.

Poor analogy. Is their unhealthy condition due to lack of body fat or excess toxins?

The point of the article was that BMI is a very poor tool used to indicate "obesity" because it simplified the measurement too much. Changing to the BMI 24 from the BMI 30 was more realistic but still very inaccurate.

As you noted there are people who are active and have different body shapes and different muscle/skeleton ratios and that is why a body fat study is needed for an accurate assessment.

For example, when I was in the military I was deemed to be overweight because my weight to bicep/tricep measurement (Air Force version of BMI) indicated that I was "overweight". I was sent to the doctor for an assessment. When he started the exams he stated that I shouldn't be in the program. I swam 2.5 miles/day, bicycled at least 25 miles/day with a century (100 mi.) ride nearly every Saturday in the summers, and ran 3-6 mi/day. No I didn't do triathlons. But because of my exercise regimen I didn't have a large upper-arm circumference. My BMI was 0.2 above AF standards. My doctors assessment was "clinically obese but not physically obese". This was two weeks before my birthday after which I was allowed by regulation to be 3% fatter but no heavier (military intelligence). The primary measurement was weight and the secondary was BMI. I questioned the sanity of the contradiction of measurements in my case but gladly accepted the penalty - mandatory exercising during duty hours. The AF has gone to a different method to assess BMI which is more realistic but still relatively inaccurate.

So I pretty much feel that the honest to goodness truth can shut down this whole discussion.
I went to the doctor to lose weight and they measured my body fat, metabolic rate and other things. I am a fat girl however, I weigh more than what I look. The weight of my muscles, organs, and bones alone were 146lbs!! I am 5'1 that would mean even with 0% body fat I would still be considered overweight by the BMI
If I were to lose fat and not just weight that included muscle a healthy weight for me would be 162 to 180 that would be in the healthy range of weight. There are others like me that this, they call it being built like a horse, ie Beyonce who has alot of muscle and Im sure her weight doesn't have her in the "normal" range.
I have friends who are "normal" weight and I look at their small love handles and arms that are not the tightest. Fat per cubic inch weighs less than muscle so this explains this. People can poke at my hefty weight the bone on the sides of my waist and I know that at a much higher weight I will look smaller and more tight in the abs and other places than "normal weighters"
Yes, no one should claim being big boned for the sake of an excuse, be healthy, but please know what "your" healthy is as prescribed by a medical doctor and not just what you, family, or your significant other sa
I rather be 165lbs 34 27 38 (Healthy as prescribed) than be 130lbs 34 32 34 BMI "normal"

Overlord.

You are correct sir. There is ample data showing that a restricted calorie diet can significantly increase longevity. Expect most people to bristle at the suggestion though.

As my brother-in-law says,

"Fat and happy".

WARFAB, here are a couple of sites you might find helpful:

The first shows the Jackson & Pollack Standard Body Fat Percentage scale (this is the one you see most often.)

http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

The second one is a Body Fat Calculator which allows you to plug in your own statistics and it will bring up your estimated Body Fat Percentage.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-percentage-calculator

For women, 18-22% is ideal for non-athletes, and 15% is the goal for athletes. For men, 10-15% is ideal for non-athletes, and 5% is ideal for athletes.

Here's an excuse for you- I went on a healthy diet/exercise program through webmd. I worked my way up to walking three miles every day and down to less than a thousand calories every day (every bite carefully measured/weighed and recorded). I could only get a couple pounds down from obese to overweight on the charts. Should I have kept cutting calories and increasing exercise until I lost muscle? And possibly damaged organs? Or should we focus more on healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, physical fitness?

inmissouri, 1000 calories is not nearly enough for anyone, especially one on a diet. I've spent a lifetime believing that the fewer calories I ate, the more weight I would lose. When I finally decided to give up on diets and work with a trainer who did some testing and put me on an 1800 calorie diet along with weight training and cardio, the pounds fell off. It was counter-intuitive to eat more, but it worked. Get a monitor that will track your calories burned, and try to keep your calories deficit to around 1000 a day to lose two pounds per week.

Annie- I'm now busy with two little ones, so I just go for moderation. I try to go for healthier choices most of the time, and get exercise chasing the kids. Yes, I could lose a few, but I think being able to carry over 50 lbs of squirming children up two flights of stairs to our apartment, without losing my breath or breaking a sweat, means I'm at least in halfway decent shape. I'll probably try to manage everything more once they're a bit older, but I'll probably stick to cardio- my muscles are already bulky enough.

About 25 years ago I was getting monthly health newsletters from UC-Berkeley regarding foods, healthy diets, dieting, etc. They suggested ignoring the BMI due to its inaccuracy. As for dieting, they didn't recommend extreme caloric starvation diets but suggested a calorie deficit (burn slightly more calories than ingesting) through exercise. No fat doesn't turn into muscle but a change of weight and size could be indicated by the ratio of fat and lean mass.

Many of the articles written in those newsletters are coming out in the today's mainstream medias as recent medical "discoveries".

The medical profession doesn't exactly use BMI to a large degree. It's more for people at home to determine how fat they are without seeking professional help. We can't all give ourselves a CBC sitting on our couch. ehh... If you go to a physician they're going to run several tests (none of them involving BMI) to determine how healthy you are and what your percent body fat is (which is very important).

The BMI is not used for people who sit at home..Idiot. It is used EXCLUSIVELY by the Armed Forces. And when it is this inaccurate, using it to determine peoples careers is ridiculous. Which is exactly what they use for...3x out and UR out!

BMI is not used by people at home..Idiot! It is used EXCLUSIVELY by the Armed Services. Peoples careers hang in the balance on this useless, inaccurate measurement. 3x out and UR OUT!.

Agreed, I have been screaming from the hilltops for years that BMI is a total load of horse crap. I did, therefore, find this article to be cathartic.

My thoughts exactly. Jim Fixx died of a heart attack. It wasn't the fat.

The logic. It burns!

I think there's a definite causal relationship that's been scientifically established....which is quite different from just being correlated.

You wouldn't say smoking is just correlated with lung cancer, would you?

Correct, but it is people's choice in what they want to eat, not the government. That's what the problem is. If I chose to eat something, I will eat it, and I don't blame the government.

The government has chosen to highly subsidize the production of certain crops, which is why processed foods almost always use High Fructose Corn Syrup rather than cane sugar even though HFCS stimulates the body to produce new fat cells (eek!) while sugar does not.

I believe you hit the nail right on the head. It is all about food. Genetic modified foods along with the chemicals including pesticides doesn't do the body good. I am a prime example of that. I watched my diet and worked out and worked out and I couldn't loose the baggage. I was sick all time. I knew something was wrong but all doctors did was prescribe drugs for symptoms and this problem was ALL about my diet..I have celiac disease. I went to several doctors and hospitals. Sorry, they said, it is all in your head we can't help you.....bye bye! I ended up having to diagnosed myself. Let me tell you, there was a great deal of animosity towards me for making the request to be tested. At 48 I FINALLY find out what was wrong with me all my life. The digestive system gets destroyed by this disease and can no longer break down the fat in your body. So there it lies with all the toxins! I don't doubt that this is an issue for SO many other Americans in this country.

Yes, Get rid of processed foods (don't buy them) - but our capitalist system also means companies are free to make whatever they want (You could make the tobacco argument to ban processed foods, but it wouldn't fly, so we're back to personal responsibility). However, 'ban the FDA and USDA' ? ARE YOU KIDDING? If you were upset about pink slime, you don't have a clue what would happen without official oversight. Imagine buying whole wheat crackers that have no wheat and 50% sawdust. Imagine milk watered down by half, imagine going back to the days when canners used arsenic to keep canned peas green. Come on - The FDA, EPA, USDA and others have their issues, but we're a lot better with them than without them. Get the politicians out of them and they'd work a lot better.

Let me throw a wrench into this whole argument about BMI vs other tests. Think a minute: Cost for BMI = $0.00, DXA test = $Lots.00 (not to mention radiation exposure) , Leptin Blood test = $10 - 100.00. Now tell me how bad health costs are skyrocketing!!! Maybe BMI is not that useful, but do you need a battery of expensive tests to figure out that you're fat? Is your doctor such a whimp that he can't tell you that you need to lose weight or you'll die early? Wake up folks - it's up to us to get real, stop making excuses and take control of our own lives - you don't need a printout from LabCorp to tell you what your mirror screams at you every morning and nobody's holding a gun to your head making you buy that burger , fries and coke.

Good point, Al. All those chemicals in our body are definitely affecting the efficiency of our metabolism.

I totally agree! Let's hear it for genetic modified food....BRAVO! :(

Ideal for women is 22% or less, and ideal for men is 15% or less.

Our gym was shut down for a period of time because someone died on the treadmill and they were trying to figure out what exactly happened because the guy was in excellent shape. His heart gave out is what they finally told everyone.

That happened at my gym too. The guy died in the shower and the janitor found him. It was awful.

Hey now, science is a tough area to study. You probably failed out of Algebra 1 and broke into a cold sweat after hearing the word mitochondria.

HUH, You make no sense at all!

They don't already? The ones I've been to have. It's kind of annoying.

toons222...Thata boy. Keep it goin.

to toons222, Here's my attaboy. Congrats and keep it going....I'm trying to lose too, but the fast food gets me all the time. My bad....it's just up to the individual to get off their (my) ass and do something about it. Again, congrats!!!!!

Go f.... yourself european! You probably weigh 900 lbs.

I don't know about that. Fat is fat.

There is something like that. It's called calculating your percent body fat. Who would've thought? Look for it on Google. Warning: You will need a measuring tape.

You can't calculate your percent bodyfat using a measuring tape because that takes no account for lean body mass..DUHH

....google or Wikipedia won't tell you that or anything else valid when it comes to health and fitness.....calipers kinda if you even knew how to use body fat calipers.

BMI is only accurate for sedentary people who have very little muscle mass.....BMI is invalid to anyone who exercises or lifts weights. BMI would tell an athlete with a very dangerously low percentage of body fat that they are in the correct range, and it would also tell a healthy athlete/exercise enthusiast that they are overweight or obese!

The ACSM (American College of Sports Morons) uses this measurement standard because they lack critical thinking ability.

Bachelor of Science Exercise Science, CSCS

MEGA BINGO! You have my vote! The American diet has changed for the worse. Processed this, preservatives that, sodium this and corn syrup that. The inflationary pressures making healthy choice foods have skyrocketed but there seems to be many reasons why America is on the road to fat but not so happy. On the reverse side we have runway models who look almost anemic or anorexic and the media hand in hand with Hollywood who are extremely biased to what is perceived as normal, making younger generations, through their national media attention, have all sorts of problems accepting themselves for who they really are : Normal. Back to the chunky side of the issue and my opinion slanted your way Kat is, cooking at home by scratch instead of electing to throw processed foods in the microwave, or pulling the the drive-up at the local greasy spoon is taking its toll. Fresh vegetables and fresh fruits by portion size are expensive on limited or stressed budgets ( Fuel, utilities, taxes) and Americans no where near consume enough of these types of foods to offset daily stresses, long hours, sleep disorders, and financial distress from our fast paced family lives. Yadda yadda!

actually, it's because you're too dang lazy to open up a $1 can of tuna, add a touch of mayo and throw on two slices of whole grain bread.

I've found that grocery stores have good sales, you can get good deals at the farmer's market if you have one, and I've found that the asian market has good vegetables at cheap prices. People just don't want to look.

Don't believe the propaganda...eating healthy is dirt cheap. Right now at my local grocery store there are:

Carrots 50 cents a pound, bananas 60 cents a pound, apples 99 cents a pound, rice 2 bucks a bag, beans 2 bucks a bag, chicken thigh meat a buck a pound, lettuce 75 cents a head, oatmeal a giant box for a couple of bucks. Water, pure clean water the only thing you ever need to drink, 69 cents a gallon (and free from the tap). You can eat healthy for days for the price of one large Dominos pizza....you just have to be willing to...actually...take...the...time...to...cook...your...own....meals. I know, tough to find the time when the average American now watches 36 hours a week of TV. Yes, watching TV is a full time job, which also leaves precious little time for exercise.

Anyway...it is unbelievably cheap to eat healthy, absolutely free to exercise. If you make minimum wage, you can do it. Just do it!

Fat is a choice.

i agree but then when fat people want to diet --most diets say carrots and beans and pasta and potatos are too sugary or have too many carbs.....

esbee, if you just eat plant food, you'll lose weight. don't read a diet book or follow a fad diet, that will make you fatter in the end.

Eat plants, eat whole protein sources, and eat whole grains. Eat 1800 calories if you are a man and 1500 if you are female. If you want to eat more, exercise and you can eat as many more calories as you burn.

Putting on muscle doesn't mean you're losing fat. Most weightlifters I know skimp on running. Muscle turns to fat if you don't do cardio.

Ok all you misinformed, uneducated people, nothing is more stupid to say then saying "muscle turns into fat" or "fat turns into muscle."

Sorry just a little impossible unless you are some freaky alien. What happens is that you can loose fat at the same time as gaining muscle or vise versa. Your body has been programmed to stay at a certain weight that your are currently at through a "set point" controlled in your hypothalamus (in your brain). You actually change the composition of your weight first, then through stronger measures (in overcoming your body's high or low metabolism) actually start to gain or loose total weight.

Except for those who have sit-down jobs and lay down all day otherwise..your just gonna gain a lot more fat and loose muscle for a total weight gain untill your so heavy that youll be gaining muscle from all those 400 pound squat thrusts off the toilet.

All that fat will turn into a permanent resistance training "weight belt"

Yes, I am a 6'5", 265 lb. triathlete who has been competing in endurance sports for almost 20 years. I threatened to kick a doctor's ass once for calling me obese. Oh, and then there was the military, who, just days after I had competed in a tri, told me I "needed a thicker neck" so that my proportions would satisfy their stupidity. They seriously just told a lifelong athlete to lift weights with his neck.

Most of what US Consumers eat can hardly be considered food. It's more like good-tasting poison.

Optimist - I've often thought the same thing......as an incentive for Americans to lose weight, for every pound they did lose, a pound of 'food aid' could be sent to Africa. A little idealistic perhaps, but no better motivation....

A good motivational factor to getting a person to lose weight would be everytime they go to the doctor they would be weighted in and this report would go to a management weight control agency and then that person would be taxed accordingly. Republicans are seriously considering such a program both at a state and federal level. This program will be called "The Weight Taxation Program" for better health.

Africa can go F itself.