Half of women 20 to 39 overweight. Oh, the horror!!!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

More Dangerous Than Smoking? Death by Soda

By Joshua Frank, AlterNet. Posted December 27, 2006.

Drinking one soda a day could cause you to gain 15 pounds a year. Other related health risks include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, bowel cancer and nerve damage.

We are a country of overweight people. Americans are tipping the scales in record numbers, with approximately 130 million who are presently considered overweight or obese. Perhaps most alarmingly of all, half of all women aged 20 to 39 in the United States are included in these figures. Many factors contribute to the growing problem, from our sedentary lifestyles to our overindulgence in high-energy, low nutritional foods. Dealing with the crisis is not easy. The marketing of energy dense foods is a multi-billion dollar industry, and manufacturers of such products go to great lengths to ensure their shareholders continue to profit from the sales of nutrition-less foods.

http://www.alternet.org/story/45498

This is an article about soda and sugary foods but why does the author express alarm about this particular demographic?

Oh yeah, because we're the designated sex objects. :eyes:

He doesn't cite male statistics and doesn't differentiate between "overweight" or "obese" in the women. Considering that young women of any weight have about the lowest mortality rate of any group, I don't understand why Joshua needed to point that out.


This was posted several days ago in DU and again today in the Health forum. I contacted the site to inquire about the comment but didn't get a response from the author. I also posted a comment to the previous OP and one person responded with some earnest sounding nonsense about the health of these women and to chide me for having "a pity party" as he (I assume it was a he) put it. I asked him if he'd been to a mall lately and seen all the overweight men and boys walking around. No answer to that, natch.

I'm tired of the food and weight police in general, and I'm REALLY tired of the same old sexist objectification dressed up as Concern For Your Health.

[ismnotwasm]

1. Good catch!

I work on a transplant unit--it's a renal/hepatic unit really. The renal doctors are sounding very large alarms about obesity because it's a contributing factor in what's called metabolic syndrome. It leads to any number of diseases that you don't want.
One doctor during a lecture didn't specify women--except post-menopausal women, who have a higher risk factor-- in her lecture, to her it's a nation-wide problem that is concentrating especially in the southwest of the US.

Not only is singling out women sexist, it short changes men who have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease generally.
That "beer belly" they think is just dandy while watching "Girls Gone Wild" commercials. Not good.

I also think not acknowledging body types is dangerous. Some women do just fine, round and curvy, but they're taught to hate themselves early on. So if the natural body, the one that suits them best isn't the norm the diets women go on can cause more harm any actual weight.

[eridani]

22. I think you are confusing cause and effect here

Metabolic syndrome is the cause of obesity, not the other way around. If you have it, you are better off being moderately fat than yo-yo dieting your way up to supersize. Also avoiding foods or drinks with a high glycemic index, which would of course include soda, and being as active as possible. Doing those things won't make you thin--just less fat and a lot healthier.

I mean "cause" in the same sense that a defect in a gene coding for one of the enzymes in phenylalanine breakdown causses phenylketonuria (PKU). Parents can keep their kids with this defect from being brain-damaged by restricting phenylalanine in the diet. Absence of brain damage doesn't mean that the gene got fixed. Unfortunately, the equivalent requirement for staying lean for people with metabolic syndrome is a lifetime's worth of hard physical labor on short rations. Not really doable unless you want to devote most of your life to obsessing about your weight.

[ThomCat]

2. Thank you.

I completely missed the sexism in that context until you pointed it out. I tend to gloss over articles like that one and didn't even notice that it was singling out women.

I love this forum. I wish it was a bit more active.

[Warpy]

3. I fired off a quick "Nothing is more dangerous than smoking!"

response, but since my eyes aren't up to reading the whole thing, I missed the part where only overweight women are a problem.

Funny how some middle aged, boring desk jockey with an enormous beer gut can still be god's gift to the female sex, but ten extra pounds on a woman is a cause to shun her.

[spooky3]

4. Check out the comments on "The King of Queens"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701641.html

Yes, I think all those designated sex objects should be forced to start smoking since there is some research that smokers weigh less than non-smokers, everything else held constant. They may die earlier, but they'll look good while they're around! And what did Billy Crystal's Fernando tell us about what's more important (especially for women)...

:sarcasm:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

5. Sexist or not...

the fact that half of women between 20 and 39 are overweight is disturbing and unhealthy.

[VelmaD]

6. but what is overweight?

I was all the way down in a size 6 about a year and a half ago...but right now I'm in a size 10...and according to the BMI I'm overweight. A size 10...overweight. WTF?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. Well, it depends on a few things, like height and body frame.

I'm 5'1" with a small frame. I'd be overweight at a size 10. I'm a size 2-4 and it's a healthy weight for me. I'm not super-thin or anything.

Also, if someone has a lot of muscle mass that could put their BMI into the overweight category, even if they have low bodyfat.

[VelmaD]

8. that was kinda a rhetorical question

My point is that what is considered overweight has moved quite a bit in the course of my adult life. While I look around me and do see a lot of people with very unhealthy lifestyles and eating habits...I conversely worry that the bar for women is set ever lower in terms of weight.

[LostinVA]

15. Never pay attention to the BMI to determine health/overweight

It shows some healthy people as overweight, and some unhealthy people as fine. It's not a good resource.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

9. More males are overweight according to this research

http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml

Considering that men are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease in general, plus the typical bodily distribution of the weight (apple vs. pear shape), it seems to me that there should be more alarm over male girth from a purely health-based standpoint. But the author of that article chose to focus on young women in his comment. I just pointed it out because it led me to believe that he had other, possibly less-than- altruistic motives, for stating it.

[redqueen]

10. "possibly"?

You are being so generous by using that word.

[spooky3]

13. true, but the same study says more women are obese

but I otherwise agree with you.

[Katherine Brengle]

11. In addition...

"ideal" weight ranges for women are absurdly low. At 5'2" my weight is supposedly best in the 115-125 lb range.

Well, I look like a cancer patient in that weight range.

Anything over that "ideal" is considered overweight.

And don't even get me started on women who lift weights and are thus heavier due to increased muscle mass - I got crap from doctors for years for being "overweight" while I looked and felt better than friends who "weighed" less than I do.

Bah.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

12. Doctors are influenced by the same culture as everyone else

We've internalized this idea that women are supposed to measure 36-24-36 and weigh no more than 120 lbs. regardless of height, build, occupation, or activity level. I feel you on the muscularity thing. I've worked out for years and had some very physically demanding jobs. I, too, would look sickly and emaciated if I got down to what the charts and most uniformed people think I should weigh. Guys are often stunned when I tell them my weight. They've been led to believe that every woman over 140 lbs. is obese. No wonder women still lie about their weight.

[spooky3]

14. I think the BMIs are calculated the same for women as for men

aren't they? According to this link, they are, and if you are 5'2" and 120 you are smack in the middle of normal and at 130, you are still normal.

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.htm

Those old "insurance" tables where women were expected to weigh a lot less than men of the same height, made no sense to me, given that men's mortality rates were higher than for women at most ages. I had a sneaking suspicion about the executives who set up those tables...

[Katherine Brengle]

16. BMI is a horrible way to judge the health of a weight-lifter --

for the average person, perhaps it has some value, but I put no stock in it for someone of higher than average musculature and less than average bodyfat levels.

When not pregnant, I weight between 150-155 lbs and 5'2" -- I am in no way obese, and I "look" what most would guess to be about 130 lbs. However, I have significantly more muscle than the average woman.

According to the BMI scale, I am coming up close on obese lol.

[geniph]

17. The BMI is a joke

My husband is a big man - he's 6'2" with a very large frame (his wrists are the size of my knees, I swear!), and he's certainly overweight, but nowhere near as overweight as the BMI would insist. Even when he's perfectly fit, he weighs 240-250, because he's just plain BIG. He has thighs like tree trunks, for heavens' sakes! Right now, according to the BMI, he's morbidly obese. It's true he has a big belly, but he's also immensely strong and fit, and nowhere near as unhealthy as the weight charts would have you believe. To fit in the recommended weight range of 180-210, he'd have to be in a concentration camp.

I fall right where I should, according to the "recommended weight" tables, but at the lower end of the range (I'm 5'2", so the lower end is around 115), I really do not look well. I got down below 115 a couple of years ago, and everyone thought I was deathly ill. I'm happiest about 125, which is perfectly normal, but according to our weirdly skewed societal ideas about "beauty" meaning being bone-thin, that's 20 lbs. overweight. I'm trying to imagine what I'd look like at 105. It wouldn't be a pretty sight. And I'd have to buy children's clothes! I was in a size 1 when I was at 115, for crying out loud. Where do you go from a size 1?

[politicat]

18. Of course I can't find the source at the moment....

But I remember reading something within the last few months about the BMI and the height weight charts, and how they were developed from a skewed sample. The Insurance charts were developed with data from people who lived through the Depression, and included more than a few people who endured childhood malnutrition, thus leading to smaller frames and abnormally low body masses and making for a lower than correct average. (Something about comparing physical data collected in the 1919 to 1925 period to data collected in the 1949 to 1955 period. It was an economics study in statistical analysis...). And the original BMI charts were developed with measurements of post bootcamp service personnel, who have just been through one of the most rigorous physical events a person can go through.

I know that my musculature will not handle me being at my "ideal" weight - 108 pounds. For one, I wouldn't have any muscle left, and I'd be running a lot of malnutrition issues. (Having been there... once and only once.) I know that, if and when the Zombies attack, I can walk across 1500 miles of freezing midwest to escape if I continue to keep my fit, comfortable and active, if technically overweight, body. Were I at ideal weight, I'd never make it.

[Katherine Brengle]

20. Exactly - I'm building a physique that will be able...

to take me through the End Times if necessary lol.

[eridani]

23. Size conventions surely have changed over the years.

When I was 12, I weighed 115 lbs at 5'4" and wore a size 14.

[Katherine Brengle]

29. Was it 14 in kid sizes though?

Which sound about right - I think that correlates to like a 1 or 2 in adult sizes.

But like I said before, weight is such a small variable. At 5'2" 155 and well-muscled, I wear anywhere from an 8 to a 12 depending on the brand and cut -- a good friend of mine is 6 inches taller than me and no more than 20 or so lbs heavier and wears a 16-18 - no muscle, very high bf% and her hips are naturally much wider than mine...

:shrug:

[spooky3]

19. agree

[Morgana LaFey]

24. I'm 5'3" and that is exactly what my weight range was when I was

young and healthy, and I looked terrific (with plenty of curves), not like a cancer patient at all. I'll certainly take your word for it, but I have to confess it's hard for me to imagine or visualize.

[Katherine Brengle]

30. In my case...

I train very seriously and have a lot more muscle than most women -- so most women at my height and weight would probably look very different than I do.

When I was in that weight range, years ago, I was very very small and I didn't have much muscle bc it was before I started training.

[Dastard Stepchild]

28. My propensity for building muscle..

and my rather large bone structure (hello, size 8.5 shoe!) make it nearly impossible for me to get down to the recommended 115-125 range. I'm 5'2" as well, and I just can't do it. I can get down to 125 if I cut out the unnecessaries... like food. :)

I propose that if I actually did that really good fat test - the one involving a pool and expensive equipment - I would learn that I have really good stats. But on the scale, I look off the mark.

Meh - even at my skeletal 125 pounds, I had a chest circumference of 37 inches. I'm just, you know, built like a brick shithouse. :)

[lizerdbits]

31. Weight lifting (Sorry, I know you said not to get you started)

:) My mom and I have the same BMI even though I'm 3 inches taller and a size smaller. She walks occasionally while I lift 2-3 times a week and do cardio 2-3 times a week. In college I loaded luggage at an airport and could often lift more than some guys, so I'm not into the 50 reps with a light weight kind of lifting. I'm 5'6" and 165 but wear low end 14- usually a little too baggy but 12 often too snug and I like loose clothes. I won't deny I could lose some fat but putting me in the same category as my 5'3" mom with much less muscle is crazy. Once when I donated blood I told the interviewer how much I weighed and he told me to get a new scale and wrote 150 on the sheet. Every time I go to a doctor and tell them how much I weigh they either look at me funny or put the big weight on the scale one notch lower than it should be and slowly tap the smaller one up until I tell them to move the big one up one notch.

[NotGivingUp]

21. i left a reply to the article at alternet saying how sexist that statement was. n/t

[Morgana LaFey]

25. You know, it really is a horror

As someone who suffers from obesity myself -- along with some attendant problems (see eridani's post upthread on matabolic syndrome, which is excellent) -- I definitely decry discrimination on the basis of weight, and I certainly decry sexism camouflaged as weight discrimination... but I really do believe that we Americans are in big trouble health-wise, and it IS a national crisis.

BUT, targeting those of us who are fat is targeting the wrong people -- it is our food producers who should be brought to task. Basically, sugar (of various types) is in everything, and daily and virtually unending onslaughts of sugar in our diet is the cause of the metabolic problems (insulin resistance) that cause so much of the weight that is plaguing Americans. I don't know if there are other causes of serious weight problems, but I KNOW that insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome is a huge cause of most (if not all) if the obesity in this country.

To avoid this -- or to try to correct the problem -- one has to forego basically all sugar (that means virtually all packaged goods) and all processed grains (wheat) which turns into sugar in your body. We are a wheat-based society, so that alone is difficult. And of course, upping your intake of vegetables (and more vegetables and more vegetables!) is important, along with making sure you're getting the right fats (the good ones). AND, exercise.

Frankly, all of this is extremely difficult in THIS society, especially since the search for real food is necessary for at least 3 meals a day, day in and day out (world without end, amen). It would be so much easier if not everything in a jar or package had added sugar of one type or another (or fake sugar substitute).

Not long ago I made it a point when I was out in a large crowd of people to just notice the weight of the people, and the vast majority of ALL ages were overweight -- a little or a lot.

How many of them, I wondered, were even aware of how they needed to eat to avoid this? What insulin resistance is and how to either avoid it or "cure" it (before one gets diabetes or high blood pressure or stroke or heart disease or cancer or Alzheimer's --- insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for all of these horrific diseases/conditions).

We need massive education, and massive activism, legislation and intervention on the food industry front. OR, we'll just get fatter and sicker as a nation.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

26. I absolutely agree with you

My point was that he singled out young women, as opposed to any other group. It may seem a bit reflexive and reactionary, but I couldn't help but feel that there was something to that beyond health considerations. It wouldn't even surprise me if Josh was not overtly aware of what he was doing there. It's so ingrained in many of us to think of women in terms of our decorative function, and to assume that being decorative is our primary desire in life, that statements like that barely ever get noticed or questioned.

He may have written that because he expects women of "dateable" or "marriageable" age to make a great effort to maintain a slim figure. In any case, the comment was out-of-place in an otherwise useful article.

[Scout]

27. if more than half of the women are "overweight" then....

doesn't that make overweight the new "normal"?

:evilgrin: