Can you be fat and healthy.

[KAMLEM]

Like I said earlier me and my hubby both are overweight and we are both healthy. Everyone keeps saying you won't be in the future. Can anyone say 100% they will be.

No, but at 100 lbs. overweight you can say with almost 100% certainty that you won't be. It's unavoidable.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Like I said earlier me and my hubby both are overweight and we are both healthy. Everyone keeps saying you won't be in the future. Can anyone say 100% they will be.

I have heard literally more people than I could even begin to count say they felt that way while they cry about how they're dying and going to miss things.

And their families cry.

It's a big, miserable, sorrowful mess. And so very heartbreaking for everyone involved. And it is going on every single day. Not all of it is, but a lot of it is preventable.

"I wish I had listened..."

"I wish I had another chance..."

"I wish I had done it..."

I wish, I wish, I wish. But the wishing doesn't count for doody at that point because then it is too damn late.

"If I could go back..."

But they can't go back because that's not how life works. They cry, they suffer and then they die.

I say all this not to prove you wrong, but so maybe someone will stop and think. Maybe ONE person will say, "I'm not going to put myself and my family through that if I can help it."

People can drink or smoke or be really fat for some time...but it almost always catches up with you in the end. And while people might not realize how much they'll suffer and how much they won't want to go through it, maybe they'll stop for the loved ones whose hearts they will break.

The adult children who say, "We did X and Y and we tried so hard to help her..." They feel guilty, like they should have done more. They feel angry, like their parent knew that the kid needed and loved them, but didn't care and kept doing stuff that was bad for them. And they're so sad to watch their parent suffer. And they're so sad when their parent dies.

People, if you won't do it for yourselves, do it for the people who will be sad to watch you suffer and heartbroken when you die.

(Hopping down off my soapbox now.)

 

[eliza61]

Like I said earlier me and my hubby both are overweight and we are both healthy. Everyone keeps saying you won't be in the future. Can anyone say 100% they will be.

Of course not. As the old saying goes the only guarantees are death and taxes.
What we (especially the medical community) can give you is history, studies and facts.

Like some one else posted, sure you will get the smoker who says "I smoked for 40 years and never had any problems" but the reality is smoking is bad for you. studies have shown this. Obesity is bad for you, studies have shown an increase in all kinds of medical problems directly related to weight.
I'm very happy you and your husband are healthy. You are blessed but if I have to make an educated guess with say a group of 45 year old women who will develop diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease, sorry my odds will be on the obsese patient and I'll have a greater than 75% chance of being correct. I can't be 100% sure what my health will be in the future but I can dang sure get the best odds I can.

Op here.

This thread was in response to a piece that aired on GMA yesterday. the first post has the link. In the story the medical community is concerned with a growing group of women who say it's ok to be obese.
You're absolutely right, as of yesterday all the women in the piece were happy and healthy and young. What physicians are concerned about is the long term affect of carrying an extra 100 lbs around and the increase risk your body is subjected to and the cost associated with it.

 

[minkydog]

We can debate obesity until the cows come home but consider this: Nobody has ever gotten healthier by trying to gain 100 lbs. A whole lot of people have gotten healthier by trying to lose 100 lbs.

Sure I could name several people who are thin but live with chronic illness. My SIL probably weighs 125 lbs, but she's been a type 2 diabetic for about 10 years and is now facing insulin resistence requiring insulin injections. My brother might weigh 140(and he's 6'2") but he's drinking himself into oblivion. But for every thin person I can name i bet I can think of 5 heavy people who are strugging with chronic illnesses and their excess weight is not making things better.

Off my soapbox too. Gonna go get some broccoli.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Well I am 100 pounds overweight and I don't think it's healthy. My blood pressure, etc. is all fine, but I feel the toll it's taking on my breathing, knees, hips, etc. I think the real question is, how do you deal with the mental issues that keep you obese? I'd love to be 100 pounds thinner, not only for myself but for my DD13, but how do you get there? It's such an insurmountable number. The more I think about it, the more depressing it becomes and the more I eat. I kidded myself that I'd never go over 200 pounds, that that number would be my wake up call. Well at 243, I keep thinking 250 will be my limit, but I doubt it. I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and listening to others complain about fat people and how much room we take up on airplane seats, and walking down the sidewalk, and how horrible it is to look at someone my size sure doesn't help. It also doesn't help to hear I'm the cause for higher medical rates. What about the smokers, alcoholics, Jon & Kate having 8 kids... Sometimes being positive rubs off on others, but if you keep pointing the negative finger at them, they're only too happy to oblige.

What would you say to someone who is a former fatty like myself? Seriously I used to be very overweight and I am not very 'forgiving' when people say that you can be healthy and fat.

In fact because I was fat, I do realize that it is impossible to be very over weight and healthy. You might fool yourself into it, but it isn't true. I only say that because I fooled myself into thinking that i was for many years. Now I feel otherwise.

So no, you cannot be morbidly obese and healthy.

Maybe you missed my original post -- I'm not fooling myself and I know it's not healthy.

I *do* know what it's like. It's embarrassing and humiliating to hear the comments, to wonder if you're going to fit into an airline seat, to not be able to find clothes that look decent, for people to assume that ALL your problems in life are due to your weight.

Well, I finally recognized that losing weight isn't the whole answer to my prayers. Sure, I can lose 100+ lbs and be healthier. But I'll still be that little girl who was abused and neglected. I'll still be looking for love in all the wrong places(like the fridge.) When I reach 135 lbs I'm still going to have all the emotional issues that I've always had.

That's why I entered therapy as well as Weight Watchers. I go to the WW meetings, rather than do the online program, because I need to face-to-face accountability. I also need the encouragement I find there. I'm working through the underlying issues with my therapist. Actually, weight rarely comes up, but a whole lot of other pain has and since I've been able to face it safely, I've been less inclined to turn to food to fill my hollow places.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I think for most people there is much more of a mental component to being fat than anything else. We use food as a comfort instead of booze or drugs. I tend to eat my unhappiness and it shows. I think it is a wonderful idea to combine therapy and eating well. I feel like it's a matter of getting control of something in my life while everything else might be spiraling out of control.

 

[clgwli]

Maybe you missed my original post -- I'm not fooling myself and I know it's not healthy.

I didn't miss your post

The part of mine that you bolded was me answering the quesiton. Not directed at you.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I didn't miss your post

The part of mine that you bolded was me answering the quesiton. Not directed at you.

Gottcha. Just wanted it to be clear to everyone that I don't kid myself into thinking my weight is healthy.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I don't think that you can be healthy that much overweight but yet we see if glorified all of the time with boys/men.

Take a look at any high school, college or pro football player. They talk about the weight of these boys/men like it's something that they should be striving towards. You can't tell me that it's healthy for them to weigh 250-300lbs.

Yes, the fat tissue part is key...

I have a family member who is 100 lbs. overweight. However, this person is very muscular and although a tiny bit "soft" is in great physical shape, works out daily, etc., can run a half marathon no problem! You would never look at this person and think he is 100 lbs. overweight, though. You would guess maybe 30?? So he definitely doesn't have 100 extra FAT pounds!

Like I said earlier me and my hubby both are overweight and we are both healthy. Everyone keeps saying you won't be in the future. Can anyone say 100% they will be.

DH is overweight - not 100 lbs...maybe 40 lbs...he works out a lot and cardio-wise is in much better shape than me. But when we hike, his knees kill him. So yes, now he's very healthy, but in the long run it would be a lot better on his joints if he lost the weight.

Society "glorifies" the large men because of their athletic accomplishments . . . often achieved with the help of drugs in addition to size. The longer term effect of excessive BMI (a measure which does not distinguish between fat and muscle weight)is well documented.

I can't be the only person remembering Reggie White . . . his weight killed him. Compare him to Alan Page a large footballer who lost weight after his playing days and went on to run marathons. I'm sure a little Googling would turn up a lot more Reggie situations . . . large former athletes who died prematurely.

 

[MushyMushy]

Society "glorifies" the large men because of their athletic accomplishments . . . often achieved with the help of drugs in addition to size. The longer term effect of excessive BMI (a measure which does not distinguish between fat and muscle weight)is well documented.

I can't be the only person remembering Reggie White . . . his weight killed him. Compare him to Alan Page a large footballer who lost weight after his playing days and went on to run marathons. I'm sure a little Googling would turn up a lot more Reggie situations . . . large former athletes who died prematurely.

They don't just glorify the athletes. Look at all the sitcoms and other shows that have a charmingly funny fat man with the young, attractive, witty, THIN wife. Guys, it's okay to be roly poly! You'll still get great chicks!

I don't remember Reggie White - sounds familiar though. I'm going to have to look that up.

 

[happygirl]

I know that being overweight is not the best thing in the world for a person. However, I'm so sick and tired of all the sterotypes and assumptions that come along with it. Like If you are overweight you can't be healthy you must have one leg in the ground. That is such a jaded way to see people.

 

[C.Ann]

I know that being overweight is not the best thing in the world for a person. However, I'm so sick and tired of all the sterotypes and assumptions that come along with it. Like If you are overweight you can't be healthy you must have one leg in the ground. That is such a jaded way to see people.

------------------------------

I don't think it's an assumption - and I don't think it's jaded.. If you say that you and your DH are each 100 lbs. overweight - and you say that both of you are healthy at the moment - I believe you..

But you and your DH are not going to be living "in this moment" forever.. The odds of both of you remaining healthy at that weight - year after year after year - are not in your favor.. There's just no getting around it - it will catch up with you sooner or later..

Sad story about my neighbor up here.. In May he passed away after a 5 year battle with lung cancer.. Was he a smoker at the time that he died? No.. Was he a smoker at the time he was diagnosed? No.. He had quit smoking 26 years before he developed lung cancer - and he's not the first person that I personally know of who had quit smoking as much as 30 years before they were diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently died.. Once the lung damage is done, it's done..

You and your DH still have time on your side.. As far as I know, the majority of the damage that is done by being overweight can be undone - unlike lung damage from smoking.. I know it's not easy - because I'm on the other end of the spectrum and have to literally fight every single day to try to get my weight up to a healthy status.. But the one thing that I do know is that the longer I remain underweight, the more damage I am going to do to my body that likely won't be reversible..

I am not typing out this post to tell you that you "should" diet - or you "should" try to lose weight.. I'm simply trying to point out that the fact that although you and your DH are healthy right now - at this very minute - there is no guarantee that the two of you will stay that way..

Once you are able to accept that, you may not find these types of threads so upsetting.. People are simply stating facts - for you to do with as you please.. Hopefully you will accept them as such and not feel as though people are criticizing or stereotyping you..

 

[Planogirl]

I think the point is that it's good to do what we can to increase our odds of staying healthy longer. Of course, there's no guarantees no matter what we do but we can make it more likely that we will live long lives and feel good while doing so.

I could stand to lose some weight and I know it's hard. I also know that it would be better for me.

 

[bekkiz]

(long post ahead, although, I could write essays about this topic)

First off, I think we need to define fat. Because when the boogity-boogity obesity panic is talked about, it's the rise in folks considered "overweight" or "obese" by the BMI. A number that has basically no relevence to health in any way or form, nor was it ever intended to be a diagnostic tool. That aside, we're talking about people who are roughly 20-40 pounds overweight--not 100. The number of people in that category (100+) has not risen as much as the overweight or obese.

To quote Dr. Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at Rockefeller University
So let me give you an analogy... Imagine that 40 years ago the average IQ was 100 and there was a bell-shaped curve. Imagine now that our educational system improves and the bell-shaped curve shifts a little and the average IQ is now 105. With that you could imagine that the number of people who have an IQ greater than 140, so-called geniuses, might have doubled. Now is it more useful to think about how our education is doing by saying, “average IQ increased 5 points” or “number of geniuses is doubled.” I think probably both are of interest but the former seems to me more informative.

Ok. So how does that analogize to weight? Over the time period that you’ve heard that the obesity rates have quote “doubled” or gone up by 70 percent, the average weight gain is 7 to 10 pounds... think about the fact that 7 to 10 pounds is almost nothing compared to the hundreds of pounds of difference in weight that you might see in any two people walking around the street today, both of whom essentially have unlimited access to calories.

We also need to define health. Is healthy measured by who dies first? Or who survives disease better? Or who avoids disease, and just dies from "old age"? In many cases, it has been shown those people who carry a bit of extra weight have a distinct advantage.

Although I know this post will largely lmao be ignored, let me just post this little gem of a medical blog. This is the analysis by a nurse (a thin nurse at that, just in case you might think she was trying to justify her doughnut habit or something) of a variety of medical studies, many having to do with obesity. It's quite enlightening to see the differences between the actual findings and what is reported by the media.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/

A couple quotes:
We know that the body of evidence, as even acknowledged by an expert review conducted by the National Institutes of Health, shows that weight gain with age or stable weights even if fat, for both men and women has the lowest death rates; while dieting, weight loss or fluctuating weights (yo-yoing), significantly increases the risk of actual death, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and cancers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
In fact, the men who were the most obese and sedentary had a similar risk for all-cause mortality (HR=0.56) as the “normal” weight men who were the most physically fit (HR=0.49). This finding certainly didn’t make the headlines. Beliefs among the general public about both the benefits of exercise and the dangers of obesity as people age appear beyond what the evidence supports.

These results are consistent with the largest Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas, on younger adults which had focused on fitness and reported it attenuates the risks associated with obesity. The ACLS had clinically followed more than 25,000 civilian men for over ten years and the data actually found a small, consistent survival advantage the heavier the men were. The Cooper Institute of Aerobics Research has performed similar studies on more than 113,000 women.

 

[MushyMushy]

I have heard literally more people than I could even begin to count say they felt that way while they cry about how they're dying and going to miss things.

And their families cry.

It's a big, miserable, sorrowful mess. And so very heartbreaking for everyone involved. And it is going on every single day. Not all of it is, but a lot of it is preventable.

"I wish I had listened..."

"I wish I had another chance..."

"I wish I had done it..."

I wish, I wish, I wish. But the wishing doesn't count for doody at that point because then it is too damn late.

"If I could go back..."

But they can't go back because that's not how life works. They cry, they suffer and then they die.

I say all this not to prove you wrong, but so maybe someone will stop and think. Maybe ONE person will say, "I'm not going to put myself and my family through that if I can help it."

People can drink or smoke or be really fat for some time...but it almost always catches up with you in the end. And while people might not realize how much they'll suffer and how much they won't want to go through it, maybe they'll stop for the loved ones whose hearts they will break.

The adult children who say, "We did X and Y and we tried so hard to help her..." They feel guilty, like they should have done more. They feel angry, like their parent knew that the kid needed and loved them, but didn't care and kept doing stuff that was bad for them. And they're so sad to watch their parent suffer. And they're so sad when their parent dies.

People, if you won't do it for yourselves, do it for the people who will be sad to watch you suffer and heartbroken when you die.

(Hopping down off my soapbox now.)

I missed this when you first posted it for some reason. I have tears in my eyes reading it.

That was us. My mother was morbidly obese my entire life -- oh, and just let me say, too, that she was an RN for 40 years, so she KNEW what was going on with herself. Her way of showing love was to either give us things or feed us. My sister and I weren't fat as kids (in fact, she was downright skinny), but the lifetime of bad habits caught up with me as an adult. I doubt my sister's healthy because she still doesn't eat right -- she's just lucky enough that it doesn't make her fat.

My mother was never healthy. She constantly suffered from the "obese" diseases -- diabetes, high blood pressure, really bad joint pain, heel spurs, couldn't hardly walk and didn't want to drag herself off the couch except to go to work. After she retired, all she did was sit on the couch and eat. All my life, our conversations revolved around food. It was never "did you have fun at that party;" it was "what did they have to eat?"

Towards the last 5 years of her life, she needed more care than we could give her. It took two BIG strong men to move her from a bed to a wheelchair. It wasn't so bad when she could move herself, but she was basically confined to three places -- her bed, her wheelchair, and her recliner. Last summer, she just gave up. That happened in the hospital when they put her on a severely restrictive diet. You could see it in her face, the giving up. Even then, food meant more to her than herself or any of us. Ironically, she ended up starving herself to death. She began to refuse to eat the healthy foods, and then she got sicker. The sicker she got, the less she could eat, even foods she would have liked.

CB, you're right, we were constantly asking what we could have done. But we DID all we could throughout our lives. We hassled her about her weight (yes, I know it was wrong NOW, but I was a kid), we tried being supportive, we tried doing it with her. But it was like an addiction.

Even as she was lying in a bed dying, I was eating more and gaining more and getting fatter than I already was.

And then my wonderful, sweet, crazy friend died. Heart problems ran in his family and he even had a heart attack in his 30s. He had never gotten obese, but like my sister, also didn't eat right throughout his adulthood. He broke my heart. Just broke it in a million pieces and I don't know if I'll ever be right again.

In January, something just sort of clicked in MY head. I was at my highest weight ever and beginning to outgrow my clothes. I did have health problems, though they weren't weight related. But I didn't want to leave the house or see anybody. I was becoming a hermit. Couldn't bring myself to work.

So I started off counting calories. That's it. Made no other changes than just eating less than I was. As time went by, I was really sticking with the diet! That's never happened before, ever. Then I started making other changes, like the types of food I was eating. Added more fruits and veggies. Changed fatty meats to lean. Still sticking with it. Then decided maybe a little exercise wouldn't hurt. So I've been doing strength training and cardio since the end of March.

I've only lost 30 pounds since then -- sure, I wish it would come off faster. I have 100 pounds to lose, after all. But I think the way it's coming off, it'll stay off. And the habits I'm getting into now will stay.

I don't know why I'm sharing all this. There are folks here who are pretty hostile to obese people and I've never understood it. I've taken some attacks myself for it. But I just want to say I still understand where some of you are coming from. Losing weight is NOT a matter of willpower as some would like to think. It's not just a matter of eat less and exercise more. It's in our brains. I hope nobody has to lose a loved one before it "clicks in their brain" too.

Okay, sorry for rambling and hijacking. CB, you just really hit the nail on the head here.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I missed this when you first posted it for some reason. I have tears in my eyes reading it.

That was us. My mother was morbidly obese my entire life -- oh, and just let me say, too, that she was an RN for 40 years, so she KNEW what was going on with herself. Her way of showing love was to either give us things or feed us. My sister and I weren't fat as kids (in fact, she was downright skinny), but the lifetime of bad habits caught up with me as an adult. I doubt my sister's healthy because she still doesn't eat right -- she's just lucky enough that it doesn't make her fat.

My mother was never healthy. She constantly suffered from the "obese" diseases -- diabetes, high blood pressure, really bad joint pain, heel spurs, couldn't hardly walk and didn't want to drag herself off the couch except to go to work. After she retired, all she did was sit on the couch and eat. All my life, our conversations revolved around food. It was never "did you have fun at that party;" it was "what did they have to eat?"

Towards the last 5 years of her life, she needed more care than we could give her. It took two BIG strong men to move her from a bed to a wheelchair. It wasn't so bad when she could move herself, but she was basically confined to three places -- her bed, her wheelchair, and her recliner. Last summer, she just gave up. That happened in the hospital when they put her on a severely restrictive diet. You could see it in her face, the giving up. Even then, food meant more to her than herself or any of us. Ironically, she ended up starving herself to death. She began to refuse to eat the healthy foods, and then she got sicker. The sicker she got, the less she could eat, even foods she would have liked.

CB, you're right, we were constantly asking what we could have done. But we DID all we could throughout our lives. We hassled her about her weight (yes, I know it was wrong NOW, but I was a kid), we tried being supportive, we tried doing it with her. But it was like an addiction.

Even as she was lying in a bed dying, I was eating more and gaining more and getting fatter than I already was.

And then my wonderful, sweet, crazy friend died. Heart problems ran in his family and he even had a heart attack in his 30s. He had never gotten obese, but like my sister, also didn't eat right throughout his adulthood. He broke my heart. Just broke it in a million pieces and I don't know if I'll ever be right again.

In January, something just sort of clicked in MY head. I was at my highest weight ever and beginning to outgrow my clothes. I did have health problems, though they weren't weight related. But I didn't want to leave the house or see anybody. I was becoming a hermit. Couldn't bring myself to work.

So I started off counting calories. That's it. Made no other changes than just eating less than I was. As time went by, I was really sticking with the diet! That's never happened before, ever. Then I started making other changes, like the types of food I was eating. Added more fruits and veggies. Changed fatty meats to lean. Still sticking with it. Then decided maybe a little exercise wouldn't hurt. So I've been doing strength training and cardio since the end of March.

I've only lost 30 pounds since then -- sure, I wish it would come off faster. I have 100 pounds to lose, after all. But I think the way it's coming off, it'll stay off. And the habits I'm getting into now will stay.

I don't know why I'm sharing all this. There are folks here who are pretty hostile to obese people and I've never understood it. I've taken some attacks myself for it. But I just want to say I still understand where some of you are coming from. Losing weight is NOT a matter of willpower as some would like to think. It's not just a matter of eat less and exercise more. It's in our brains. I hope nobody has to lose a loved one before it "clicks in their brain" too.

Okay, sorry for rambling and hijacking. CB, you just really hit the nail on the head here.

I can't thank you enough for sharing your story with us. This is the type of support I was speaking of earlier, where just spouting statistics doesn't cut it. I always feel like making little changes won't be enough, but you have shown me that little changes can make the difference. Hopefully we can all find a way to support each other on our long and scary journey to better and healthier living. My sympathies on the loss of your mom and friend. I am glad to see that you have turned your sorrow into something good.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I don't know why I'm sharing all this. There are folks here who are pretty hostile to obese people and I've never understood it. I've taken some attacks myself for it. But I just want to say I still understand where some of you are coming from. Losing weight is NOT a matter of willpower as some would like to think. It's not just a matter of eat less and exercise more. It's in our brains. I hope nobody has to lose a loved one before it "clicks in their brain" too.

Okay, sorry for rambling and hijacking. CB, you just really hit the nail on the head here.

I cut it down because it was long.

I'm sorry about your mom. I hope you don't sit around with that illogical, "If I'd only done X or Y, she'd still be alive" thinking. You should not feel ashamed because you did nothing of which to be ashamed. You couldn't change your mom. She'd still be dead no matter what you'd done or tried.

People do what they do. They have their reasons.

I'm sure your mother loved you very much. Not loving their kids is never part of the game for these folks. They just didn't have the "can-do" spirit toward losing weight. They get bogged down in the "I'm fat" part and lose the spirit that gives them the determination to go through all the hard work of losing the weight.

You see it on the DIS all the time...people saying they CAN'T quit smoking or eating too much. And they really believe that. They think they can't. And they always tell others that they just don't know how hard it is.

We know it is hard. But we also know that if they REALLY WANT to do the work, they can stop smoking. They CAN lose the weight.

You can do it. It's really hard, but you can do something that is hard and succeed. No doubt about it.

I'm really happy for you that you're on your quest for better health. I did it. Quit smoking, cut out salt, lost some weight, exercised more (and more and more and more, lol). I did it all little by little. Hard? Bet your *** it's hard. Worth it? Oh, yeah.

You'll do it. And you'll be so proud of yourself when you have done it.

 

[Macca1111]

I don't know why I'm sharing all this.

For hugs, of course! Good luck in your journey, it sounds like you're making great strides.

 

[FergieTCat]

I saw this on CNN.com this morning and thought of this thread:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c7aaeb7940626693fa418a1eab2291f6.81&show_article=1

I have no comment, but I had to share because I know this will drive some of you insane.

 

[happygirl]

i saw this on cnn.com this morning and thought of this thread:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=cng.c7aaeb7940626693fa418a1eab2291f6.81&show_article=1

i have no comment, but i had to share because i know this will drive some of you insane.

lol

 

[IDoDis]

A BMI of 18.5 or under is pretty darn thin -- outright skin and bones unless you lift heavy weights. I would venture to say that 98% of people over the age of 40 have a higher BMI than 18.5, even those who are pretty fit and exercise. It doesn't take much to get that BMI up over 25 though. My BMI is 22.3 and I weigh 117 pounds. It takes a lot of work to keep it low. I can't imagine how I'd look if my BMI were 18 or under at my age. I would look anorexic.

However, most people who are 45 or more pounds overweight that don't exercise and carry the weight as fat and not muscle, carry a BMI of around 30 which is in the unhealthy range. Remember, this report is from Japan. Their version of "chubby" is going to be interpreted as a normal weight here in the U.S. Their version of thin is like being anorexic here in the U.S. You don't see a lot of over weight people in that part of the world compared to North America.