We get it. We’re fat. Americans are fat. Europeans are fat. And the rest of the globe is quickly catching up. And, yes, excess weight is very, very bad. Gaining too much weight boosts your risk of cancer, heart disease, and, well, 17 other terrible things that we’ve written about before.
So, do our chubby thighs and seems-like-we’ll-never-shed-it baby weight always spell disaster? Is there any silver lining at all? Maybe. Here are five surprising things you may not know about weight—and why a few extra pounds aren’t always as bad as you think.
MYTH No. 1: A high BMI means you need to shed pounds.
FACT: Body mass index, or BMI, is a good starting to point to determine if you’re in shape because it is a simple number that takes into account both height and weight. (You can easily check your BMI using a calculator). But it isn’t perfect—far from it.
BMI does not take into account physical fitness or bone structure, and it doesn’t differentiate between weight gained at a muscle-building camp or weight gained at McDonald’s.
So if you’re packing a lot of muscle—say, if you’re a bodybuilding male—you may end up with a BMI in the obese range. (For example, at the peak of his bodybuilding career, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a BMI of 33, which is considered obese.)
Keri Gans, a registered dietitian and American Dietetic Association spokesperson, measures her clients’ BMI during a consultation, but takes the number with a grain of salt. “The key is muscle,” she says. “A bodybuilder might have a BMI that’s almost obese, when he’s just really, really built with a lot of muscle.”
Comments (93)
Thanks a lot blogger for such a nice post about how to get health by diet .Cows’ milk is the best source of calcium.Fish is essential for optimum health.Skipping breakfast helps shed pounds.Fish is the only good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which may promote heart health.Eat Green and Save the Planet – even if you do it just one day a week.
Thank u
:-)
Keep blogging
http://healthfreak2.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/diet-myths-for-healthy-living/
This article is fantastic and explains things very well. BMI tools are great and like the articles states it is a great starting point. The tool is great to be able to figure out your current calorie intake and how to adjust your calories to lose the weight (most of them do this/msn has a really good one). I only used the BMI tool at the start of my weight loss journey to get those figures (calories).
As far as the extra pounds being ok, well there is no set weight for any height there is a healthy range so of course you have to give yourself a little give and take within 5 pounds or so however no matter what we are all at risk for something, aren’t we?
I am very happy to see number 3 addressed. This is the most disturbing part for me when it comes to the ways people will go to try and achieve fast weight loss. These crazy fad diets are so unreal and deadly I don’t understand the attraction. I guess the instant gratification factor. If you have to cut foods out, if they claim you will lose 5 pounds in a week yadda yadda don’t buy it simple as that, you waste your money and that company is already coming up with something new to take more of your money, they know you and know you will be back. Don’t buy into it. Losing weight begins and ends with proper diet and exercise that fits YOU. I had my struggle with weight and I found my solution that fit my lifestyle. At the end of the day it is all about your desire to get results, if you desire it you will work for it with the right actions in turn you will get the results you expect.
Knowledge is key. Knowing how to eat and what to eat along with moderate exercise (not cardio) you will succeed. Strength training is better for you than cardio as it is an overall body workout. No, it won’t make you into a bodybuilder (unless that is what you are looking for) . It will teach you the best ways to get your body moving to achieve the results you desire. Here is a site with some articles about foods that help reduce belly fat and the benefits of strength training for women, among other great information
http://www.journeydownthescale.info/Lose_belly_fat_articles.html
BMI is a good reference point because the majority of individuals are not body builders. It can be easily calculated and can be a good motivation to start losing weight if needed.
Elizabeth, you fail to acknowledge that BMI is still incorrect with regard to bone structure. My doctor has confirmed this fact. Someone with a large bone structure with a BMI of 26 is probably grossly underweight.
I like this article. Common sense and reasonable. The fact that some of you are so paranoid by fat of any kind is really more disturbing to me than those who commented about their weight issues. I am also disturbed by the general lack of respect for people with weight issues. Nothing in the article suggests enabling people to remain at an unhealthy weight, it is just pointing out that there are many facets to this issue the solutions may not be one size fits all. For those of you who have never struggled with your weight, I hope you never do but perhaps if you did, you may have more compassion for those that do. Since your parents never bothered to teach you that compassion is not enabling it is just remembering that we all struggle with something, those who are overweight happen to wear their struggle on their bodies. Unfortunaley, it is impossible to have a real and true dialog about this subject without people bringing their self righteous attitude and revealing their own fat paranoia into the equation.
This is really useful article,Thank you
Maybe you can look this one:
For Healthy Life
I think having stress and family problems can add so much to bad health that being a few pounds overweight seams like #2 on my list. Get rid of some of that stress and do what you can for you. A loving family is the best health endeavor you can do for yourself. Life on earth isn’t supposed to be perfect. That being said being fit will all fall into place as we do our jumping jacks and eat our smaller portions and healthy snacks.
cancer surviver since ‘96
I think that being fit means being healthy,and if you don´t eat health food and do phisical exercise,you may suffer from diabetes,cholesterol,cancer and so on.
This article highlights just so many important points, I almost don’t know where to begin. I make a living from helping people lose weight; and in so many of these cases, their weight problems were caused by yo-yo dieting which resulted in slow metabolisms. Almost without exception they have been on nasty fad diets like the lemon detox diet. At the time they may have lost weight, only to face major weight problems later on in life. The balanced perspective of this article is refreshing.
I like the article! Full of information. It reminds me of Tyra show about body images :) I think we have to reclaim what skinny is, don’t we? Since I found Tiffany Wright, the Skinny Coach (www.skinnycoach.com) , I do not have to think about how fat I am anymore. I feel just light and health. Losing weight is, of course, critical, but I learned that it is not everything. I merely follow her meal plans and tips, so I am never hungry and never lose my appetite either. If you are interested in, check out http://www.elementalyou.com
Nemo –
You are quite confused. The CDC has studies conducted by MDs and PhDs who are not all (or even the majority of them) employed by diet companies or whatever other conspiracy theories you can come up with. At the end of every paper, a conflict of interest declaration is required so that you can see whether there may be some issues with bias. However, there is a large amount of literature which reports many negative effects associated with obesity. You need to get your facts straight before commenting to people because you make yourself sound ignorant. I would put your comments in the same category as the people who think the moon landing is fake, Elvis is still alive, the government made HIV to kill homosexuals, etc etc. If you want to learn, go to http://www.pubmed.com and read some of the primary research literature. Otherwise, schedule an appointment with your physician and talk with him/her about obesity and long term health risks associated with obesity. He or she may be able to help you or whoever else you may be concerned about.
Nemo you bring shame to your profession. If you disagree with any item in an article be ready to point to it specifically and have ready your well researched pubmed or other source primary study that validates your position.
Without this your dialogue is remarkably unhelpful and disrespectful to the authors that did put time and effort into delivering value for their readers. As an MD and a deliberate user of pubmed and other sources I would support many of the basic points raised by the author.