On this side of the Pond, we’re catching up. The UK’s figures for obesity and overweight is 63% - making us the third fattest nation , out of the 52 countries in Europe (according to World Health Organisation figures)
My fatherland ain’t much different. 46.6% of women and 50.6% of men are overweight or obese.
I’m sure the prevalence of FF everywhere has absolutely nothing to do with that 
I’ve no doubt that people are more overweight than ever - fast foods/convenience foods are laden with salt, fat and sugar far in excess of dietary needs - but BMI is a poor measuring stick.
And they concede that fact in the article:
The authors acknowledged that B.M.I. is an imperfect measure that may not capture variations in body structure across the population. But from a scientific perspective, experts said, B.M.I. is correlated with other measures of body fat and is a practical tool for studying it at a population level.
Oops. I completely glossed over that in my zeal to be self-righteous!
No worries! It happens to the… most of us
Ive had two doctors in the last year tell me that their software calculates BMI in the online patient portal but that they no longer pay it more than a quick glance as its so inaccurate at the single person level.
At the single person level, yes. As a whole, indicative of an issue that some are calling an epidemic.
Last week I went to the doctor (for my annual checkup), they gave me a printout after they checked my height and weighed me. Right smack dab in the middle of the sheet was my BMI number (quite prominent).
It was in the normal range – towards the high side of normal, but normal, none the less. And yes, my doctor did mention it when we went over all of my numbers.
BMI may be an “imperfect measure” of body composition, but it is still a measure, even though it may be both underinclusive and overinclusive.
Just because it is an imperfect measure, doesn’t mean it’s not a useful source of information, especially when there is currently no other metric is that is ostensibly better.
It’s like complaining that the tallest midget at the midget convention is too short. Sure, but she’s still the tallest person there.
BMI is flawed but it’s now a convention. The new or “better” tool is waist to hip ratio (WHR).
the circumference of the waist divided by the circumference of the hip
A healthy waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) depends on your sex and is:
- Women: 0.85 or less
- Men: 0.9 or less
Over 1.0 is considered increased health risks.
Both are indicators and not absolutes, individually everyone is different. Indicators however still indicate. YMMV.
In any case, American obesity increased post war, when ultraprocessed foods became a norm. Not a coincidence if you ask me.
But yes…since the discussion was regarding just one person she skipped over it.
Somehow “obese” and particularly “overweight” seem to me to be relative to a normal, rather than to a somewhat arbitrary metric. “Tall”, for example, means relative to the population, not “over 65 inches”. The latter might have been tall in ancient Rome but isn’t now. Similarly, concepts of “overweight” are as much determined by the population as by some metric.
Just my opinion, of course.
So if they were talking about something relative to the population, the “normal” weight would be the 50th percentile; the number half of the subjects are above or below.
I think that would mean the “normal” weight people are at risk for metabolic conditions.
Which sucks for people who have slim hips, swimmers’ build or are apple shaped.
It’s a feel good tool for pear-shaped people and hourglass- shaped people, I suppose.
I would have a BMI of around 18 if I was able to keep my waist to hip ratio under 0.85.
Unfortunately, I am technically obese right now. I have only been able to keep my BMI under 25 for a 2 month period in 2014, when I was on a strict diet with almost no complex carbs or refined sugar.
My BMI has been between 25 and 30 for most of my adult life, with maybe 4 years of a BMI around 22 to 24 (which is around 135 lbs -148 lbs for a female who is 5 ft 6)
Yup.
You left out stress, poverty and rising food costs. Healthy food is often more expensive, and sometimes harder to find, depending on one’s neighborhood.
