Wellness Wednesday: Is fat the new normal?
This summary
in Business Insider of a WalletHub report that cited a JAMA Internal Medicine
article declares "More than three-quarters of American adults are now
overweight or obese." Part of that assessment comes from standards that
have been changing over the years. The JAMA
Internal Medicine study (covers 2007-2012) made these points:
- Method.
- The data covered adults 25 years or older, excluding pregnant adults.
- Body mass index (BMI) was calculated (body mass in kilograms / height in meters squared)
- Standards applied:
- BMI < 18.5: Underweight
- 18.5 < BMI < 24.9: Normal
- 25.0 < BMI < 29.9: Overweight
- 30.0 < BMI < 34.9: Obese, Class 1
- 35.0 < BMI < 39.9: Obese, Class 2
- BMI ≥ 40: Obese, Class 3
- Results:
- Overweight: 39.96% of men; 29.74% of women
- Obese: 35.04% of men; 35.84% of women
- Discussion:
- Trend shows increase in BMI.
- Higher BMI has been associated with chronic health problems.
Wikipedia has a summary
of the history of the BMI, and the BMI has
attracted its share of criticism. One of those criticism is BMI doesn't
differentiate between truly fat people and muscular people. Another criticism
is that it ignores waist size, which is a more important indicator of fat.
Wherever you come
down on this debate, you can usually tell if you're overweight. Have you gained
weight over the last several years but haven't been pumping iron? Chances are
that extra weight isn't muscle. Have you gained weight but haven't been very active?
You may not have been putting on muscle. Have you gained weight but your diet
hasn't changed much and remains heavy on desserts and comfort food? Nope.
Probably not muscle.
Don't fret. Any
journey starts with the first step. Let's walk!
