Most overweight people don't aim for slim: study

[Writer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/bodyimage_weight_dc;_ylt=AmU6MfPh0kZQxIQAkcWyDWSs0NUE

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Most overweight people want to trim down but aren't looking to shed enough pounds to put them in a healthy weight range, suggesting larger body sizes are becoming more acceptable, according to a new study.

Researchers from New York's Cornell University assessed the current and ideal body weight of 310 college students in a survey and then determined the corresponding body mass indexes.

They found nearly 90 percent of normal-weight women wanted to weigh less, with most desiring a body weight that still fell within the normal-weight range.

:popcorn:

~Writer~

[chelaque liberal]

1. I think that means most are being realistic.

When you yo-yo over and over, and spend your life not being satisfied with who you are, you reach a point where you realize it just isn't going to happen. It is much healthier to accept a few extra pounds (within reason)and to like yourself.

[Heidi]

2. Perhaps it means that reality is becoming more acceptable.

They found nearly 90 percent of normal-weight women wanted to weigh less, with most desiring a body weight that still fell within the normal-weight range.

[Recursion]

3. Maybe they know the danger of weight fluctuation?

Which is, after all, significantly more dangerous than non-morbid overweight.

[Warpy]

4. No, it means they're being realistic

because the statistics are gloomy. No matter how ideal weight is achieved: diet, exercise, surgery or a combination of all of those, 90% of people who achieve it gain all the weight back plus more within 5 years.

We have no permanent treatment for obesity. The statistics demonstrate it is not a moral failure. The statistics demonstrate that we poorly understand the cause and until we do that, we can't forumalate the cure.

[Demeter]

5. Define Healthy Weight Range

When I was in the "healthy Weight Range" I was constantly ill. Any virus within a 10 mile radius found me. And I was sick for weeks, much longer than "average". That no longer happens, since I left those days behind me.

[nashville_brook]

6. more people should want to be normal. they obviously haven't been shamed enough.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I gave up. I just freaking gave up. I have been obsessed with diet and body weight and

puking and exercising since I was 11 years old. 25 years later I weigh twice what I ought to, and I am just too tired and sad to care anymore.

[annabanana]

9. You have been bullied into the "sad" part.

The healthy food we used to eat is now permeated with corn starch.. Huge portions of juicy "heart sabotage" blare out at you every 11 minutes on TV.. Portions in restaurants can feed a family of 4.. And Paris Hilton is held up as the ideal..

This is not a level playing field.

[Clintonista2]

10. Same with me

I've tried everything, even when I end up shedding weight, it's been impossible to keep off. I just gave up caring years ago.

[Beaverhausen]

8. Most people make unhealthy choices every day - smoking, speeding...

...driving recklessly, driving drunk, living in disaster prone-areas, etc. Something is going to kill us, each of us makes choices as to what is acceptable or not.

I say this as someone who lost 50 lbs this past year and am now in the "normal" weight range. But I have done this several times in my life, so I know it's not the most healthy choice to make. I do plan to keep it off this time. :crazy:

[dmallind]

11. might also be because BMI scales are a joke

They are simply not applicable to huge swathes of the population. I could have 4% body fat and still be in the "overweight" category - because BMI data does not apply to anyone with more muscular development than a typical Kenyan marathon runner.

[Missy Vixen]

12. I guess I'm more than a bit curious

about the use of the popcorn emoticon on the OP's post.

Julie

[Beausoir]

14. As am I.

Silliness.

[Writer]

16. Because I'm an evil person who enjoys upsetting other people.

:eyes:

[flvegan]

13. Sigh. Weight is a number. That's it. The BMI is horseshit.

Most doctors don't know shit about nutrition. Most folks can't afford an honest nutritionist. Too many folks rely on junk science to base fad diets on.

Want to take a big chip out of the "obesity epidemic"? Mandatory basic nutrition course in high school. One that's not subsidized by Kraft, either.

People largely don't know how to eat. Too much is based on emotion and or convenience.

Try treating your car like you do your body. See what happens.

*Well, I drive a Camry. The diesel line is shorter, so I'll get my gas there.
*I won't be able to get another oil change until after the next interval. Put 7 quarts in.
*I'm short on cash and time so at this oil change, just put 2 quarts in.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. Doctors can be tyrants...

Our (fireplug-shaped) doctor recently seriously chided my husband and me for being three and 10 pounds "overweight" respectively, despite the fact that we both are very conscious of nutrition and exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week. (This summer we walked over 20 miles a week.) We haven't been sick in ages and our lab work was perfect.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to "normal." I think people should relax a little bit about this, as long as they're living a healthy lifestyle.