Sports Illustrated Swim Suit "Plus Size" Model

[Dentam]

Everyone starts getting defensive when the "other side" uses discriminatory language. Height, frame, muscle, etc all play a role when it comes to weight, size, and health.

I did "get to work" to lose weight in my mid 20s. I was cold all the time and 1000-1200 calories a day just wasn't healthy. And even then, I was still only a size 8/10 because of the size of my skeleton. I'm happier being curvier, thank you. My body naturally wants to stay at a certain weight and it takes work to move that number up or down. I realize some men won't be attracted to me, but we all have our preferences. Just don't tell me I'm fat, lazy, obese, etc.

I can lift significantly more weight than many of the petite and/or thin women at my gym. And yet less than most men because of our natural body compositions.

THIS. I basically stopped eating when I was 19 and was exercising a lot. The lowest weight I reached (after all of that plus a 3 week severe illness) was 132 lbs on my 5'7" frame. I was MISERABLE. There is so much more to gauging health than the outdated BMI measurement which vastly simplifies it based on only two measurements - weight and height.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I know what I know, and see what I see. Thinking of my elders that worked on tobacco farms their entire lives. Strong women. 180 pounds. I am not talking My 600 Pound Life. But rather big, strong, working women.

I remember a time when doctors forbid parents from using pacifiers. Now they are the cure-all when it comes to SIDS. I don't always trust doctors.

I am thinking my 180 pound active grandmother has a better chance than your 115 pound grandmother when they have that initial 20 pound loss upon arrival to the nursing home.

#farmstrong

My 100 lb grandmother was still living on her own on the second floor (no elevator) when she was 90. My mom has a microscopic 98-year-old friend who is similarly active.

The reason you see heavier people survive longer in the nursing home is because they're going in at 70 while the thin ones are much older when they go in.

 

[Dentam]

Just because the average woman is overweight does not mean she is healthy or that it is good.
170 pounds is borderline obese.

This statement is not only beyond rude but also inaccurate.

 

[disney4us2002]

This statement is not only beyond rude but also inaccurate.

Rude is in the eye of the reader I guess. What is inaccurate? I am 5'3 and 170lbs is obese, not borderline obese. Do you mean the model who is 5'10? She says she is 200lbs not 170lbs and that seems borderline obese as well.

 

[Dentam]

Rude is in the eye of the reader I guess. What is inaccurate? I am 5'3 and 170lbs is obese, not borderline obese. Do you mean the model who is 5'10? She says she is 200lbs not 170lbs and that seems borderline obese as well.

It is rude because it was in direct response to this poster's statement below, which makes great points.

I disagree. So much of our size is dependent on our build and structure. The average dress size for American women is 12-14. If this woman is a size 10 then she is below average despite her weight. Heck, I'm 5'5" and weigh right around 170 and I'm a size 10.

You can take 5 women of the exact same height and weight and they will all look vastly different. It is such a hard thing to generalize about.

It is inaccurate because you cannot claim someone is obese or borderline obese based on an outdated system using only height and weight as guidelines. People need to educate themselves on this and stop using an out of date and overly simplified system of measurement.

 

[Dentam]

Someone already posted this link but for those who didn't see it here it is again: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

ETA more recent articles on the topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...-bmi-measurements_us_56ba893de4b0b40245c49e78

https://www.yahoo.com/health/your-bmi-number-is-probably-pointless-194234407.html

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/obesity-study/

Throwing some cold water on the whole "being overweight might be good for you!" studies.

 

[DisneyOma]

Please go volunteer at a nursing home. It's those 180 pound ladies that survive and are thriving. Compared to the 115 pound women that die within weeks of arrival.

I am sorry. But the older I get, the happier I am that I have some meat on my bones. You can give me all of the statistics that you want. I don't believe that skinny people live longer.

You didn't take into account the ones that died before they made it into the nursing home - the ones who had strokes, heart attacks, complications from type 2 diabetes.

I do agree that when one is fighting a fatal condition (that would land you in a nursing home) you last longer with the stored fat. Of course, 'surviving' in a nursing home is not how I want the end of my life to look like, and 'thriving' in there is just sad.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

You didn't take into account the ones that died before they made it into the nursing home - the ones who had strokes, heart attacks, complications from type 2 diabetes.

I do agree that when one is fighting a fatal condition (that would land you in a nursing home) you last longer with the stored fat. Of course, 'surviving' in a nursing home is not how I want the end of my life to look like, and 'thriving' in there is just sad.

THIS. Also, perhaps the healthy thin ones were happily living their lives NOT IN a nursing home. My always slender 94 year old grandmother still lives on her own. But beyond that, her overall quality of life amazes her doctors because she takes no medications except a blood pressure pill. Beyond that? She took cod liver oil every day and stayed slender. She loves to brag about how the doctors rave about her overall health. And my other grandmother also lived to be over 90. However, she struggled with her weight and was mostly immobile. Had a few surgeries on her heart. Died of a stroke after finishing out her life in a nursing home. Now someone who worked there might have said, look. she lived to be over 90 and had weight issues! But the overall quality of most the second half of her life is not something anyone should hope for.

 

[lustergirl]

Good on her I guess. No chance I'd wear a bikini at her size. I just don't think bikinis look good over a size 10. Totally my opinion for myself. Others are free to wear whatever they want or nothing at all.

really????

 

[Dentam]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/obesity-study/

Throwing some cold water on the whole "being overweight might be good for you!" studies.

The article brings up some good points, like leaner people being more likely to be smokers, but once again, BMI is used as the guiding measurement here. It's amazing to me that such an inaccurate measurement is still being used in studies.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

The article brings up some good points, like leaner people being more likely to be smokers, but once again, BMI is used as the guiding measurement here. It's amazing to me that such an inaccurate measurement is still being used in studies.

Yeah, BMI is definitely not accurate but the article I posted was dissecting the studies which happened to also use BMI as the guiding principle. They could only work with what the previous studies said. But definitely a better method than BMI needs to be explored and used in studies, no doubt about it.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

BMI is 100 percent accurate.

 

[Dentam]

BMI is 100 percent accurate.

Sigh. I assume you are just arguing for the sake of arguing so won't take the bait.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Sigh. I assume you are just arguing for the sake of arguing so won't take the bait.

Please tell me how you can get an inaccurate number out of the BMI formula?

 

[Dentam]

Please tell me how you can get an inaccurate number out of the BMI formula?

I posted three links explaining just that. Please go back and read them.

 

[rigs32]

Right.

Because two women of the same height, one with a pelvis width of, say, 12" can be properly compared to a woman with a pelvis width of 18". I'm talking bone measurement.

 

[disney4us2002]

Please tell me how you can get an inaccurate number out of the BMI formula?

She(?) isn't saying you get an innaccurate number from the BMI; she is saying the BMI calculator itself is invalid. So if we don't measure fitness vs obesity using height/weight or BMI, how do we accurately figure out what a person should weigh? All these diet programs use something. Not to mention the physicals required for some life insurance. There must be some formula - it can't be just "I feel fine".

 

[pryncess527]

Please tell me how you can get an inaccurate number out of the BMI formula?

The math will produce an accurate math result.
That doesn't mean the number contains the meaning people often expect it too.

 

[Aladora]

Please tell me how you can get an inaccurate number out of the BMI formula?

Quite simply, because muscle weighs more than fat which is why many athletes fall on the "overweight" or even "obese" end of the BMI scale. The math is not inaccurate, the formula is.

Waist to height measurement is a much better way to measure if a person is at risk for obesity relates health issues.