Why is ok to say, skinny and not fat?

I have only skimmed this thread but before i do the school run I just want to mention something my Endocrinologist has told me: There is A LOT of untreated/undiagnosed thyroid disease out there that may be confused with diet related weight problems. I can't recall exact figures but it is a massive issue. Because i listen to my body i am one of the fortunate ones who has been diagnosed and am being treated. I have been called "skinny" when i got down to about 60kg (I am 5 foot 7 with big bones so a size 10) and now i am a size 14 and feel fat but am lucky no one has actually told me. i am eating pretty much the same foods as i did when i was size 10 as I am as size 14.

Please don't to be too fast to judge people.

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I know of short and tall people who get inane or thoughtless comments too.

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Definitely. I'm 5'2 and often get people, even perfect strangers calling me shorty, midget etc DH and his brother ALWAYS get 'how's the air up there', giant, 'wow you're so tall' and other stupid comments. It's pretty tiring..yeah we know we are short/tall no need to point out the bleeding obvious! Neither of us are particularly insecure about our height but I'm sure there are lots of people who are and remarks like that would be very hurtful. People just don't think!

I havent read this thread properly just skimmed.

First of all :hug: to everyone.

I would never make judgement on anyone elses weight as I know how many issues I have physically and emotionally because of my own but I do want to add this.

I think society makes being skinny more acceptable thatn being fat.

Look at the models designers choose to wear their clothes down the run ways, even plus size models are generally an Australian 8,10 or 12.

You might go out to buy jeans and see "skinny jeans" that so many would love to be able to wear but you wont find "fatty jeans" there.

I think it is just a fact of life that skinny is much more dresirable than fat.

In a perfect world, there would be no judgement on skinny or fat but I know that if I was being judged I would much prefer to be judged as being skinny than being fat.

Maybe thats just because I am jealous of skinny people or not so much jealous but I have a desire to look like that.

Anyway that is just my opinion on the Opening question.

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I havent read this thread properly just skimmed.

First of all :hug: to everyone.

I would never make judgement on anyone elses weight as I know how many issues I have physically and emotionally because of my own but I do want to add this.

I think society makes being skinny more acceptable thatn being fat.

Look at the models designers choose to wear their clothes down the run ways, even plus size models are generally an Australian 8,10 or 12.

You might go out to buy jeans and see "skinny jeans" that so many would love to be able to wear but you wont find "fatty jeans" there.

I think it is just a fact of life that skinny is much more dresirable than fat.

In a perfect world, there would be no judgement on skinny or fat but I know that if I was being judged I would much prefer to be judged as being skinny than being fat.

Maybe thats just because I am jealous of skinny people or not so much jealous but I have a desire to look like that.

Anyway that is just my opinion on the Opening question.

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I get what you mean:)

But there is an awful lot of judgement from people other then those in celeb lives. IRL people judge me for being skinny as though natural skinny doesn't exsist and Id have to be sick to actually be thin!

I do think the judgment is harsher then being skinny as in, media etc BUT it seems to be focusing on the so called 'real women' being larger. I feel like crap when I hear this comment as I feel like just because I dont have 'curves' Im not a real woman, therefore not disirable (SP) kwim?

I get that too. "Real Women" come in all structures not just curvy! :hug:
I have been a woman for a long time now & I've been thin & fat & in between - but I was still real! :lol:

I think we are running the risk in society of normalising obesity so as to remain as PC as possible also. Obesity for most of us doesn't feel good. It isn't good for our health, our self esteems or our emotions. However, labelling folk as either skinny or fat by others is thoughtless. For both "names" potentially can cause pain. :hug:

BMI is definitely a joke. I'm currently a size 12, BMI 22, but I am 10kg overweight. My natural BMI is smack on 18.5. I'm just a small build ... I'm noticeably smaller than some of the other women around here, and they are most definitely not overweight.

This area is full of good, solid, country people who can heft hay bales and small cows around. I'm a lightweight and have troubles picking up anything much heavier than a chicken. Some people are built solid for a reason :)

BMI is not a joke for around 80% of people of european / western descent. It can be innacturate for some members of the population (some people who have more muscle mass, certain ethnic groups, etc). However one thing that I have found through my employment is that most people who complain about how unrealistic BMI ranges are, are those people who most definitely 'should' be able to fit within it.

At work we will always accept a doctors letter giving a specific goal weight for an individual, because we see that 'any' weightloss is good, and not everyone does or wants to fit within that range. The lowest BMI we will accept as healthy is 18, and only within certain circumstances with certain individuals who obtain a letter from a health care professional that states that this is a healthy weight. I would suggest RE that you are one of the few who do happen to have a healthy weight at the lower BMI, particularly if you don't have any / little trouble maintaining that weight. (I am soooo jealous ;) :) )

This morning I had someone try to tell me how rubbish the BMI is and how she is 'big boned' and will never get there. She isn't. But she didn't want to hear otherwise, so we set a higher goal weight and I will discuss the matter with her again as we get closer to that. People often underestimate what they are capable of and like to have 'reasons' (re: excuses) as to why they cann't get there. It is easier to let them come to their own realisations in their own time about these.

Now this Big Boned thing interests me. I feel that I fit into this catagory. With size 9 feet and hands the same size as my DH I think these are clues... Especially when I compare myself to most women who seem to have on average size 7 feet and dainty little hands. I'd love to read about how your actual skeleton should determine your weight!

Big Boned is a myth that somehow that particular persons bones weigh more then everyone elses. The truth is that bones make up a very small percentage of our actual weight. As for bone structure, the BMI does actually (for the most part - say 80% of the western / european descent population) take that into consideration. Hence why it is a healthy weight 'Range'.

My Healthy BMI range for my height is between 56kg and 71kg. As you can see that is very broad spectum of weight. I know I look good at between 60=65kg. Any less then that and I really look sick. I have sisters the same height as me and they weigh 56kg and 54kgs - (sizes 6 and 8) they look good at this weight and are fit and healthy. We have very different builds despit being the same hieght. I also have another sister who is a size 8-10, runs marathons and trains for triathalons, she is the same hieght and looks fabulous and 'skinny' at 70kgs - all of her is muscle.

Just thought I would add that I thought size 8 was the average foot size :)
My sisters and I all have similar foot sizes, 8.5
I was a size 9 for a while when I was at my heaviest (101kg), I never knew until then that your feet can actually gain weight too. :redface:

Well actually people do comment - quite frequently- when they think people are fat. IMO, any commentary about people's bodies is in poor taste, but there are plenty of other people who feel no such compunction.

Misty - actually there are some instances where BMI is a crock of ****. My DH for example is measured every year, every year he fails and is referred for a muscle-fat ratio test...and every year they write him a special note indicating he has passed by virtue of the unusually large amount of muscle and the unusually low amount of fat he has. His body is quite literally denser than the next persons and hence he does not pass the BMI. The BMI is also mathematically out of whack for taller people (who are not just scaled up versions of smaller people, their frames are typically different):

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For a given height, BMI is proportional to weight. However, for a given weight, BMI is inversely proportional to the square of the height. So, if all body dimensions double, and weight scales naturally with the cube of the height, then BMI doubles instead of remaining the same. This results in taller people having a reported BMI that is uncharacteristically high compared to their actual body fat levels.

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The BMI was designed as a statistical tool for population studies and was never intended as a diagnostic tool for individuals. While BMI *may* indicate someone is over or underweight, it cannot be used alone as an accurate determinant of obesity or associated health risk factors.

Ive been taunted about my weight for a very long time. In year 7 I was 80kgs. I was in the school cricket team, long jump and shot put.

It was worse when I got to high school, I was bullied for 2 years by 1 particular girl. I was in the school soccer team, hockey and participated in interschool sports. It was hell. I danced from the age of 2 (tap, jazz, ballet and acrobats) and quit when I was 16/17 because my teacher said I was too fat to be in the new troupe. If someone said wow your skinny Id be like awesome lol. I think my BMI is about 41 now. Quite depressing really.

Its actually still quite upsetting now about how I got treated back then. Or Im just highly emotional atm lol

Marydean - if you read my post you would see that I say that BMI is NOT infallible and that about 20% of people of European / western descent will NOT be covered by it. Those with high muscle mass being likely not too. I also thought I made clear that it is really only relevant to those of european / western descent, many other ethnic groups may not be covered by this: for example asians, ethiopians, etc.

BUT if you are a Woman of european / western descent, then the odds are that you 'should' be able to fit into this range or close to it - this is again not infallable, but the 'majority' should be able too.

Edit to say: It is very possible for someone to be fit and healthy and 'obese' according to the BMI.

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Weight is a very emotive issue and I get really peeved when there is any insinuation that overweight people should just exercise more and eat less. I eat less than a 3 yo now to stay this thin (thanks to my lapband). Is that something someone should be able to sustain on their own? C'mon now. And exercising when you're heavy is very hard, sometimes painful and even with a lapband, many PCOS sufferers don't lose weight, because their body doesn't work like everyone else's. I had PCO and gained 25kgs in a year when I was younger. Was that me suddenly eating more and being lazy?

Weight is a personal thing and how you manage it should not be anyone else's business.

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I think societally we are happy to make a whole lot of assumptions about why people are skinny or fat - when the reality of people's lives are frequently quite different to those assumptions. There is a lot of research at the moment about how stress vs happiness affects the biochemistry of weight gain, and it's one of the reasons why malnourished or impoverished children grow into wildly overweight adults. It's also true that once you gain or lose a certain amount of fat, your entire biochemistry around nutrition and fat storage changes. What's true for healthy adults in the "normal" weight range does not necessarily apply to people who are (on their own personal scale of health) under or overweight.

Yep, just ask all those breast cancer patients who gain on average 10 -20kg over the space of all of 6 months despite getting their breasts chopped off, even tho they have spewed their guts out for 5 months straight on chemo. It's the combination of the body's shock at being thrown suddenly into an artificial menopause plus the steroid medication that does it...not to mention the stress and grief involved in the process. Many of those women never lose all of that weight either, the changes to their bodies are profound. If was just about diet and exercise, this just would not happen.

ETA - sorry Misty, I read the post after that one and have only caught up with your previous post just now. It's also possible for people who are in the BMI-determined "healthy weight range" who are actually unhealthily overweight, by virtue of the amount of fat they carry relative to their muscle mass and skeleton (like you point out there are ethnic differences). There's a whole field of statistics which is about measuring people's height & weight & health etc (forget the name) but its quite complex. My point was that the BMI is really very crude whereas the reality of the health-body-size relationship is complex.

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An average (Western) woman has always been a size 14 or higher anyway. This is not a new thing.
Our bodies have never been that slim, size 10 was never average.

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:clap: Sorry Limey, I have to spread the love...BUT the point I wanted to make about the change in the "average" size of women is that over the same period of time women are also TALLER on average than they have been in the past. This has to do with consuming more calories while we are growing (and hence girls are getting their periods earlier too) BUT this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's a feature of a well-nourished population.

This is relevant to the size 16 comment that Inanna made because when your body is taller (and your skeleton is bigger) you may not fit into a size 10 or 12 or even a size 14 at your skinniest, most underweight. Also, even though the 'average woman' is now a size 16, the actual dimensions of the clothes sizing has changed over that time. Someone who used to fit into size 14 901s in the early 1990's, may not fit into a size 14 hipster jean now - even tho their body is the same size - but the cut of the clothes over that time has become straighter, fewer pleats etc.

I agree 100% that it's not healthy to normalise obesity, but I don't think that the change in the average dress size is a sign that that's happening. I think the size of the "individual serve" soft drink bottles is much more of a sign than that. Does anyone remember when a buddy bottle of coke was 210 mls?

And just to make things even more complex (and a bit OT but thought I'd throw it in): there was an article i read somewhere about how some very thin people can still be carrying a dangerous amount of fat: around their vital organs. It's a genetic thing but can be made worse by smoking, drinking and other lifestyle factors (makes the fat build up too great). Fat is not only stored just under the skin, it is stored around your liver, kidneys, heart etc. Interestingly i experienced evidence of how my body stores fat recently when i went in for a scan due to kidney pain. The radiologist said he wasn't really able to get a good image because there wasn't enough fat around my kidneys! It seems as if the image of the organs was visible mainly due to an outline created by the fat layer... or that's how i understand it. Anyhow, not really relevant to this discussion... just something i have learned recently about how our bodies store (or don't store) fat! So whilst i lug around a particularly "ample" behind LOL at least I can be comforted that i have slim organs!

Judging someone solely on face value can never be a good thing.
However, the current state of PC-ness and avoidance of just being realistic is not doing anyone any favors (my opinion)
The simple fact is, we are (generally) over fed and under exercised, and to try and pin a medical label on this phenomenon (in my opinion) is dangerous and a cop out.
I know so many people who have subjected themselves to a barrage of blood tests, hoping against hope that they have some kind of serious medical condition that predisposes them to being overweight, that its not funny. And it makes a mockery of the people who do have real issues.
I think we need to stop looking for the reason we are getting fatter, and start looking at how we can realisitically and sustainably stop over eating. ie, START with a reduction in portion size.

I would say the reason people don't think twice as saying 'you're skinny' is because society has us all believing that skinny is very good while 'you're looking fat' is offensive because to be fat is a bad thing.

I am not dismissing how for someone like yourself, it could be quite offensive, but I guess it is societies fault why we all think this way.

A couple of other thoughts I wanted to add -
though 'we' the society we see thin as healthy and fat as unhealthy, this isn't always right as already said - I worked witha girl who was very, very tall - maybe 6 foot or a bit taller, she was a thin as a twig, but ate an incredible amount of unhealthy stuff. She would eat entire packs of chocolate biscuits, cakes, chips, lollies, etc, etc most days of the week - so while she appeared healthy, I wonder what her cholesterol really was like. i also know a number of overweight people who eat very healthy diets, even myself at my lightest seem to only manage 70kg (I'm 5' 7) eat a very healthy diet though remain somewhat chubby.
I believe it does defintely come down to genes and metabolism as to how everyone balances weight.
Last year when I had my lap, I was 75kg and certainly didn't feel thin or healthy, yet the nurses and anaethetist all commented that I would be easy as I was so fit and healthy - I was on the top end of the BMI healthy range for my height.

Something else worthy of comment, is clothing styles that has been mentioned. Look at the 80's - high waisted jeans were the in thing, the waist line did up around the thinnest parts of the woman, now hipsters sit around the wider part of a woman - though lots of girls stuff themselves into a smaller size and have the hip fat fall over! In the 80's and 90's baggy was in, now we wear fitted clothing.

Not really on topic, but just rambling thoughts from my brain!

MD two words...

Christina Hendricks.

:) The woman is stunning, and yet I am sure most people look at her and say she is fat.

One of my best friends in high school is huge - I mean she is about 6'5 and solid, she is sporty, and carries so much muscle it isn't funny (I think the phrase my brother used at the time was "brick sh**house". And she is, lol she used to say it herself.
But she couldn't be healthier, she was and still is, one of the most athletic and physically active people I know, she eats well, and pretty sure her heart is as strong as a horse.

The problem I have with people's labels on 'fat' and 'skinny' is that somewhere they have become confused with 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' or even 'fit' and 'unfit'.
Being 'overweight' or being 'morbidly obese' according to BMI (Which is where I apparently am, yet my mother who was only 2 inches taller than me, but weighed 30 kilo more than I do now, is only 'obese' - load of BS) is absolutely NO - NO - indication of health and fitness.
I was a size 6 - because I worked 60 hours a week next in a HOT kitchen, next to a 400 degree pizza oven, drank water like it was going out of fashion, barely ate and smoked a crapload of marijuana - if you had have asked me to run around the block I would have fallen in a heap with smokers cough probably. But Kylie (mentioned above) could (and still does lol) plays 3 games of soccer on a weekend and goes and does beach volleyball afterwards, but is 'overweight'.
My unlce, and ASIO agent (think James Bond), healthy as anything on the surface, barely drank, never smoked, ran 5kms every morning before work plus trainging...bolt upright in bed with no warning at 3 am, massive heart attack and dead in seconds.

The problem of course being, you cannot judge peoples fitness without testing it, and for some reason we all feel it necessary to judge ourselves in comparison to other people of our gender, height, age, station, etc...and when it comes to health, it is just not possible in most mid-range cases (excluding 400lbs people that can't move from the couch and the other end, the clearly unhealthily underweight waif catwalk models we saw a few years ago)

Tangent - Limeslice, Christina Hendricks is the sexiest woman I have ever seen, LOVED her in Firefly. She has replaced Angelina and Scarlett as 'women I'd turn for' :)

lol Same Berenice!
Mad Men is my fav, and I don't know how she pours herself into half the clothes they put her in but she is amazing.
Bit like when you see real photos of Marilyn Monroe ;)

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I do think the judgment is harsher then being skinny as in, media etc BUT it seems to be focusing on the so called 'real women' being larger. I feel like crap when I hear this comment as I feel like just because I dont have 'curves' Im not a real woman, therefore not disirable (SP) kwim?

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Actually as someone who was obese and who now wears a size 6 (and is therefore considered 'skinny') it has been my personal experience that people who are overweight are judged much more harshly than people who are thin. And yes, most people would consider a person more attractive if they're thin than if they're overweight.

I've been on both sides of the fence and that's my observation anyway.

I must admit Dedicated Mummy, I always cringe when I see clothing made for plus size women marketed as being for 'real women'. That's just as offensive as saying I'm not sexy because I'm overweight - two sides of the same coin.

The day we all walk down the street without judging or being judged on outward appearances alone will be a giant leap forward :)

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Actually as someone who was obese and who now wears a size 6 (and is therefore considered 'skinny') it has been my personal experience that people who are overweight are judged much more harshly than people who are thin. And yes, most people would consider a person more attractive if they're thin than if they're overweight.

I've been on both sides of the fence and that's my observation anyway.

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Oh no, I meant I think when you're bigger, it's harsher;)

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MD two words...

Christina Hendricks.

:) The woman is stunning, and yet I am sure most people look at her and say she is fat.

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Ok now I'm kinda shocked...I didn't actually know who you were talking about (haven't ever seen Madmen but I've read ppl commenting about it) but when I googled, she actually seems like a totally normal not-fat-at-all person to me??!? With rather a magnificent bosom...:lol:

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I don't believe in making people feel crappy, about themselves etc.

But for as long as I can remember I have ahd "Gee your skinny" and be looked up and down like Im sick?!

Im not sick, Im 54kgs and long, I eat like a horse!

What Im getting at is why do people think its ok to say this, yet I never hear people say to somebody "Gee, you've stacked on the weight!" Or "Your fat, arn't you!"

:lol::redface:

When I was younger I would get these comments and HATED my weight:( Its still with me to question how I look. I hate it. Just because Im thin doesn't mean I love my body etc.

So tell me, why do you think its ok/ not ok?

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I am not sure, but I think comments about people being fat and gaining weight happens sooo frequently and generally our society is more accepting of 'skinny'. Just look at our celebrities and models, thin is in.

If you are naturally thin embrace it! It is other people who have the problem in making judgements, not yours. Don't let it get you down - everyone is subject to some sort of judgement about their physique no matter what weight they are ;) We just have to try to be happy within ourselves and move past all that.

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Ok now I'm kinda shocked...I didn't actually know who you were talking about (haven't ever seen Madmen but I've read ppl commenting about it) but when I googled, she actually seems like a totally normal not-fat-at-all person to me??!? With rather a magnificent bosom...:lol:

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I think it would be more noticeable if you stood her next to Angelina Jolie, because Christina is definitely curvy and has more meat than most Hollywood starlets these days - but I wouldn't even come close to saying she's fat :o That woman is hot, sexy stuff, and if I looked like her I reckon I'd be truly happy. Of course, if I looked like her, DH would never let me outta the house ;) so that might get a bit painful :rofl:

I personally don't get the Christina Hendricks thing either. I have no idea who she is but I googled her after reading MD's comment. She looks pretty average to me??? I don't think she looks waifish but she isn't beefy either? She looks healthy.

She has bigger breasts than some - thus the voluptuous statements but to me she's just got a fairly healthy looking body??? Am I missing something?

MD my referral to a size 16 was probably not the best as it's not about dress size.

What concerns me is that we seem (societal we) unable to just call it. We are getting bigger. Obesity is massive (scuse the pun) in this country and other western cultures.

Somethings gotta change or we are all going to kill ourselves eating or conversely not eating.

I understand much of what Misty says I have heard it so many many times. "I'm just big boned"... We all have different builds and that's all good. Having excess tummy fat, inner thighs rubbing together, diabetes etc tells us we need to change something. That is dang hard I get that. I GET IT!!! I have had to lose weight. It was hard. But I wanted to be alive for my kids. I wanted to swim without feeling self conscious again. I wanted to walk without being puffed. I didn't wnt my knees to hurt. I wanted to feel good in myself.

We can say BMI is rubbish (which it's not - it's just not infallibe - it's a guide a very fallible guide but one none the less), we can say we have big bones. We can say it's all honkity tonk but the reality is 3 out of every 5 adults in Australia have a weight issue that will impact on their long term health.

The issue originally in this thread is commenting on that in a peer situation. It is not helpful. It can hurt. it's not polite. I wouldm't do it.

I look at friends who are really thin naturally and how they eat. They eat differently to what some of my larger friends do. They pick. They eat slowly. They move more. They have treats but instead of 1 slice they have half. Instead of eating quickly they chew really slowly.

Our culture is fast. We are in a hurry. Dinner is gulped. Food is gulped. Our tummy's don't register their fullness because it's all gone down too quick (I am including me here don't think I am not speaking personally!)

There is a small section of obese people who have conditions that make weight loss more difficult. However it's small. For the rest of us we have to relearn what our very unhealthy society has taught us is normal... :hug:

Christina Hendricks is a size 18...and is 'technically' overweight. That was my point.
But she has been called fat all over the American media, despite the fact that for her role in Mad Men she is the same average size of most women from that era - when they were not 'fat' but beautiful.

My statement was in direct connection to the comment made about size 16 being a 'new' average size, and a contrast between generations and how those changes have changed the way we see body image - that is has very little to do with actual health or obesity, but perception.

I just googled her size and it says she's an american size 10-11. So that makes her a size 14-15 Australian & she's 170cms tall so that makes her in the normal range I think? I'm not sure if it does or not but I'm pretty sure it does. (Misty will know this).

So,to me she's just a normal sized Woman with a DD top looking foxy!

Whoops sorry Limey we posted at the same time I think. xxx

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Ok now I'm kinda shocked...I didn't actually know who you were talking about (haven't ever seen Madmen but I've read ppl commenting about it) but when I googled, she actually seems like a totally normal not-fat-at-all person to me??!? With rather a magnificent bosom...:lol:

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Actually that's what I thought - I didn't know her either and googled and was trying to find a picture where she looked fat - big boobies, but couldn't see a whole lot of wobbly bits. And if she's a size 16, then I should be wearing a 20 or something.... cause I am a 14 and am bigger than how she appears in piccies.

Sorry, bit off topic....

Her size comes from her boobs and her curves. It's all about where you carry your weight. My body shape is very different to most of my friends who weigh the same as me, I carry it in proportion and still have a very defined waist, larger boobies and the butt to boot ;) And it also comes from knowing how to wear your clothes and tone your arms. It's not about what size your clothes say, what your BMI is or even what the scales say. It's more about healthy lifestyle. You really cannot define a women's health by the size of her clothing. Because shape is very different to weight and unhealthiness.

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Her size comes from her boobs and her curves. It's all about where you carry your weight. My body shape is very different to most of my friends who weigh the same as me, I carry it in proportion and still have a very defined waist, larger boobies and the butt to boot ;) And it also comes from knowing how to wear your clothes and tone your arms. It's not about what size your clothes say, what your BMI is or even what the scales say. It's more about healthy lifestyle. You really cannot define a women's health by the size of her clothing. Because shape is very different to weight and unhealthiness.

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Exactly. Thank you for saying it better than I! lol

I don't think she is oversized though? :think: To me she is just a gorgeous Goddess with large breasts!

I think though it's important to remember it's not necessarily what size clothing you wear but having a large belly or extra adiposity is a health risk no matter how much you exercise. For example Magda looks gorgeous (as do all women!) but she is still carrying too much weight for health around her middle & especially her neck. (Neck adiposity is a risk factor for cardiac conditions) That doesn't mean she hasn't done an incredible amount of work. Shown immense fortitude on her journey. Just that despite that she still for health is overweight. Regardless how much we want to be PC and say: "we're all different" yadda yadda. It's the adiposity around organs (& this usually is reflected in abdominal adiposity, neck adiposity, upper thigh, backside and upper arm)

This is a completely different subject to weather or not a size 16 looks gorgeously sexy! She may or may not - but we do know the things above generally tell us you are at higher risk of early death to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses. :hug:

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It's the adiposity around organs (& this usually is reflected in abdominal adiposity, neck adiposity, upper thigh, backside and upper arm)

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I agree regarding the carrying fat on the tummy/neck, but I thought weight on thighs and backside was considered fine for women - I always have large thighs, at 65kg I have a large bottom and thighs but no fat elsewhere, I would have to be a skeleton before the fat would move from that area.


PS Anyone else notice the weight watchers online ad popping up at the top of the page - haha, how coincidental!

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"Gee, you've stacked on the weight!"

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LOL you'd will be surprised some people will actually say it, my close friends will tell me and my Mum will say it to DP or i if we 'have' put on weight ... she doesn't hold back BUT then if i lose weight my Mum makes nasty comments like have i stuck my fingers down my throat :o, but i feel like saying " Nah Mum you've got the wrong daughter, the other one has had bulimia not me " !!

Kass when i was your age i got down to 51kilo's yet i'm 5ft5" and i thought i was still over weight yet everyone else told me i was far too slim and looked ill :shakehead:

Oh dear don't think WE can win either way :rolleyes:

Kass if you eat anything like i have seen your DD#1 i can vouch she is one very good healthy but big eater, i love it and wish my own DD would eat ALL those good things like artichokes & olives like your DD :pray:

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I agree regarding the carrying fat on the tummy/neck, but I thought weight on thighs and backside was considered fine for women - I always have large thighs, at 65kg I have a large bottom and thighs but no fat elsewhere, I would have to be a skeleton before the fat would move from that area.

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I didn't word that well. Different body shapes are more predisposed to "excess weight" related issues. Bums and thighs are not excluded - however you are absolutely correct. It is normal, beautiful and gorgeous for women to have hips and butts if that's their shape. Just that excess weight on this area can predispose. We know that it often shows high estrogen tendencies etc etc etc. Please know this isn't good or bad or indifferent. Just that generally speaking when we carry excess weight on these areas our risk factors increase. Some people can put on weight and get larger all over (I am one). Some it goes straight to the hips, butt, neck... We know that this is more of a problem. As is excessive abdo adiposity.

I was speaking with some girlfriends today over coffee about this post. One is a GP one is an RN and the other a physio... Each of them agreed that our acceptance of a larger sized body being normal has happened in our society with terrible consequences for our health, our fertility and our future. Whilst we are bombarded with those waif like models (some of whom may be naturally waif like!) we have rebelled to seeing a more round body as "normal"... Whilst it may be normal for some for many of us it's the affects of our abundant lifestyles & lack of physical activity that is rife in today's society.

It's really a hard one as it is dangerous turf to talk on. :hug:

Have you noticed though, that if you are now obese you are the new object of public scorn? Read comments following any story about how an overweight worker lost thier job for something completely non-related to their weight or another subject completely, and it appears to be be completely ok to insult, humiliate and scorn them. Somethings people say are extremely cruel and insulting and if said about someone of a different race or culture would be removed because of racial villification. IMO by the media focussing on how good being thin and fit is, they are alienating and ostracising a portion of society. I am not saying being obese is healthy or good in anyway, but it has come down to the fact that the last group of people it is entirely acceptable to discriminate and villify are the overweight.

Absolutely I have noticed that. Just as I've noticed that anyone really thin is automatically thought to be bulimic etc. I think judgements on others is a dangerous ground to walk on. This however is different to speaking generally about the way our society has changed healthwise...

It's a tough one hey. :hug: