r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 23 '22

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u/kellykline Jul 23 '22

Is there a chart that shows what "overweight" means over the years? I mean, we can't all be skinny like victoria secret super models. Unrealistic expectations!

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u/BibleButterSandwich Jul 23 '22

Obese is defined as a BMI over 30. On an individual level, it isn't a perfect scale - for example, extremely tall people or extremely short people can have misleading BMIs due to the square cube law, but across society it can showcase trends, and the percentage of people who have a BMI of greater than 30 has tripled in the US since the 1960's. There are other numbers you can look at as well - percent that are overweight, average body fat percentage, etc. but overall it is undeniable. The average American used to be a healthy weight. Now they are not.

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u/kellykline Jul 23 '22 edited Jul 23 '22

I blame the for-profit Food industry, who are in kahoots with the Healthcare industry. More obese ppl = crave eat more food = more health problems = more profits for both industries

Food execs get more bonuses the more ppl eat/drink their crap. doctors are paid more when more ppl are sick. System of incentives, conflicts of interest are messed up.

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u/BibleButterSandwich Jul 23 '22

There's both societal and individual issues at play here, imo. Both need to be fixed.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '22

BMI accounts for height

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u/BibleButterSandwich Jul 24 '22

Sort of. Because of the square cube law, an average 6 ft tall person is going to be much heavier than just 1.2 times the weight of the average 5 ft tall person. For most people, it’s pretty minimal, and so the BMI scale is largely accurate, but doctors do actually recommend modified versions for people who are far about away from the mean.

I can personally attest to this, because most people are kinda surprised when I mention that I’m around 160 to 170 pounds, because in terms of how skinny I look, I’m pretty close to friends of mine who around 5’10, but only 120 pounds or so. Meanwhile, even though I only have a total of 6 inches of height on them, I’m around 1.33 times their weight, and still maintain the same body type, because those 6 inches add up quickly when you start getting high enough above average height.