Quote:
Originally Posted by Alumiyum
In fact, she said that people can become thin through unhealthy practices, not that they are in fact thin and unhealthy to begin with. It is easy for a thin person to judge a fat person, but thin does not automatically mean healthy.
I never said being 50 pounds overweight would be ok. I have family members that are around 20 pounds overweight with perfect blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels, etc. It is unlikely that the extra weight is from muscle mass, and they do not appear to be thin. They are probably healthier than I am, considering the holy hell I put my body through when I first got to college. Obviously, if someone is 50 or more pounds overweight they are probably unhealthy or are on a path to become unhealthy. That is a different argument that no one is disputing.
My size 10 and 12 family members were far healthier than I (yes, they have been and are monitored by a doctor and are factually very healthy) when I was a 2, and are probably healthier than I am now at a 4, considering the damage I have done to myself (including at one point a diet of almost totally fast food, an addiction to milkshakes, and drinking about 3 times a week...not light beer, either...didn't gain a pound at the time, but there is no telling how many empty calories I was taking in a day...very, very, very unhealthy). The whole point is that BMI numbers are NOT a complete indicator of health, nor is weight. Someone who is on the top of the normal range or the bottom of the overweight range can be healthy. Someone at the bottom to middle of the normal range can be unhealthy. Obviously someone at the top of the overweight range and above is very likely not in good health and I haven't seen anyone argue that yet. No one has or is saying obesity is healthy or that it is ok and safe to be obese. The argument is that "fat" is a general term and doesn't always mean someone is one step from a heart attack. The "muffin top" doesn't by default mean someone is lazy or does not eat right, and the lack of one doesn't necessarily indicate an active person who has healthy eating habits.
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I'm tired of participating in discussions and having to put up a bunch of disclaimers. I'm sorry that I didn't spell out the one you are referring to.
Yes, I realize that a thin person can be unhealthy. They can have "invisible" health problems like high cholesterol or triglycerides, be a closet smoker, yada yada yada. But being even 20 pounds overweight can increase your risk for Type-2 Diabetes, some cancers, arthritis, sleep apnea and asthma. Where you carry the weight is also an important factor (people who store fat in their middle rather on their hips/thighs are at an increased risk for heart disease). If you could possibly decrease those risks, it makes sense to try to do so, sensibly.
I am not judging anyone, and this is not a case of "it's easy for a thin person to judge a fat person". I have a complex medical history and at times, I have had to struggle to put/keep weight on. And yes, people would ignorantly say "I'd love to have your problem", even knowing that I was sometimes in a life and death situation.
Thanks to medications and conscious meal planning, I am usually within the recommended weight range for my height and age. My doctors prefer me to be on the higher end of the spectrum, because A. I tend to lose weight very quickly when sick, and B. there is a correlation between lower body fat percentage and decrease in lung capacity. I take 5-7 medications on any given day just to help my body process food, and even then, I have a lot of pain, discomfort and nausea. Eating is honestly a pain in the a-- because my body doesn't naturally do the things it should with food. I have to think about it constantly.
I'm not saying this to complain, but to tell you that none of this is "easy" for me.
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