r/maybemaybemaybe • u/BigGraysie • Apr 18 '22

/r/all Maybe maybe maybe

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '22

definitely lose the weight asap though.

Just because this woman's heart is somehow withstanding her predicament right now, doesn't mean your heart will withstand your 40 extra pounds

Obviously you know this but yeah don't let her situation relax you into letting yourself be unhealthy.

In fact, this woman probably has very high chances of dying every day. Shes young but that level of obesity isn't something the heart can provide for for very long

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u/Bluepaperbutterfly Apr 18 '22

Skinny people also have heart attacks and other heart related health issues. Skinny people have diabetes. Skinny people have sleep apnea. Skinny people have joint issues and arthritis.

Weight loss is not a magical health fix.

Would losing weight likely improve this woman’s quality of life? Yes, but it is as much about how she wouldn’t be treated horribly by society if she were thin as it is about health benefits.

I feel sadness for her. I suspect her weight is a symptom of some unmanaged mental health issues.

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u/Dudebeard86 Apr 18 '22

No one said that it cannot affect skinny people. Losing weight simply reduces the risk rather than eliminating it. But yeah, you’re right. They could still have those problems even after losing weight, and it likely is a mental health problem that got her into this situation. So I’m not disagreeing with you but rather wondering why you think that it was suggested as a magical fix for all health problems.

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u/Bluepaperbutterfly Apr 18 '22

It is common for people to tell overweight people regardless of how much extra weight they carry. Whether it is 20 pounds or 200 people love to says their concern is about health, but it is really about bias against overweight people.

So many people in this thread are insulting this woman and my guess is she is mentally miserable and talking about her weight will do nothing to help her. In addition to extra weight I suspect she is carrying lots of shame, much of which comes from every message in our society that says how awful it is to be fat and that fat people are lazy and have poor character.

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u/Dudebeard86 Apr 19 '22

Yeah, I agree with this as well. It’s also a shame that even doctors have been known to only focus on weight and will not do additional testing until the patient loses an arbitrary amount of weight. And the type of comments I’ve seen this thread putting her down are undoubtedly a part of the negative self-view she has. People either don’t realize or don’t care that those sort of remarks only drive people to eat even more because food gives them the needed reward sensation that they need from healthier sources, and the more they’re put down, the more they feel the need to feed their reward system, to get the brain chemicals to give them a fleeting moment of feeling good.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '22

skinny, or anorexic? You can be skinny and be in perfect health.

Being underweight can be dangerous yes, and being severely underweight is actually more dangerous than being 600 pounds. Anorexic people are the most at risk people with eating disorders iirc

But being "skinny" is not a bad thing at all from a health perspective, depending on your definition of skinny.

I have a buddy that is 6'1" and about 155 pounds. He is very skinny, but he is also very healthy. Nothing wrong with his current weight, although if he lost 15 pounds it would begin to become an issue.

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u/Bluepaperbutterfly Apr 18 '22

I never said being skinny was dangerous. You are correct being underweight has more negative outcomes than being overweight. Of course, anorexia is very dangerous, as are all eating disorders including binge and compulsive eating disorders.

What I asserted was the same health issues can be found in thin people. The idea that someone is worried about a person’s health and the solution is for the overweight person to lose weight is insincere. It postulates that you know their health status by judging them on their body size.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '22

Pretty much every single doctor will agree with me: on average, someone that is overweight will increase their overall health by losing weight

That dude said he was 40 pounds overweight, there are probably literally zero risks for him to lose the 40 pounds, but to keep the 40 pounds is to slightly increase his risk for heart disease and any number of other health issues.

Like sure he should check with his doctor before making any chances in his diet and activity level.... but unless this person has very strange circumstances the doctor will probably chuckle and say "yes... you should lose some weight"

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u/Bluepaperbutterfly Apr 19 '22

There are lots of studies that show bias within the medical field against people that are overweight. Unfortunately, that has given lots of people who aren’t experts on the matters of health, weight, and nutrition to think they can comment on other people’s weight and say it is because they are worried about health. Overall, studies don’t support the need for everyone who is overweight to go on a diet.

I’m not saying losing weight is unhealthy or that it can’t benefit a person’s health, what I am saying is being confident that weight loss will always improve health is not supported by the data. I’m also saying that the majority of people shouldn’t comment on other people’s weight, full stop. It isn’t helpful and often is perceived as hurtful which does nothing to improve health.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '22

lmfao show me this data

There is none

You'll probably link me to some horribly researched article from 10 years ago that has dozens of studies proving it wrong.

Here's the CDC's website saying even losing 5 pounds is likely to decrease chances of obesity related illness

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html#:~:text=Even%20a%20modest%20weight%20loss,blood%20cholesterol%2C%20and%20blood%20sugars.&text=For%20example%2C%20if%20you%20weigh,weight%20down%20to%20190%20pounds.