Melanie Ward: called 'fat'. Picture: Sunday Telegraph
The average Australian woman now weighs 70.1kg, up from 67kg in 1995. Men now weigh 85.2k on average, up from 82kg in the same period.
Melanie Ward, left, weighs in at 70kg which technically makes her ‘overweight’ at 163cm.
“One and a half million Australians are overweight so we’re getting heavier,” Kristen Hazelwood, head of education and prevention at the Australian Diabetes Council, said.
“Being overweight contributes to two major health issues – heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Obesity is also linked to cancer, depression and kidney disease.”
Here’s what else is on our radar:
1. Stylish kids with fashion savvy parents are apparently responsible for a boom in kiddy couture. Australians spent $1.3 billion on children’s clothing last year.
2. Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak has been sentenced to life in prison after the deaths of anti-regime protestors in 2011. His top security chief was also given life however many Egyptians believe Mubarak should have been hanged.
3. Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations have started in London with the Queen enjoying a spot of horse racing as the Thames was prepped for an enormous flotilla of more than 1000 boats and ships, which she would lead on the Royal Barge.
Here’s a fun fact: Big Ben is being renamed in honour of Her Majesty. It’ll be called Elizabeth Tower.
4. Child care fees have jumped 11 per cent in the last year according to a new report. The average fee is now $70 a day to parents.
5. Karl Lagerfeld has released a perfume called Paper Passion. It smells like books. Would you wear it?
6. ‘Positive education’ seems to be taking off in some schools around the country. Positive education focuses on counter-acting the effects of depression before they even hit. ‘Positive Psychology focuses on cultivating positive emotion, character traits and institutions,’ said Geelong Grammar, one of the schools introducing the school-wide approach.
Comments
170 Comments so far
Hi,I would just like to say what a great Article by Kim Roach it
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My question about this image is why has Mamamia put it up in the first place, gleefully aware that it would launch the avalanche of bile below. Women attacking other women and others trying to delicately tip toe around the issue but secretly enjoying the fracas.
“You’re fat!” “Just eat less” “I’m healthy!” “The lycra is ugly” “It’s simple” “It’s hard” “Blood pressure….” “Oh no I’m fat and now I feel bad” Blah blah blah.
Wow. Just popped in to this site (drawn in by the delightful Zoe Foster who never seems to need to make people feel they are ugly to talk about make-up) and remembered why I stopped coming here in the first place.
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I quite like one of the earlier comments in regards to this, so I’ll paraphrase. She’s not fat, because that’s a subjective term. She’s overweight. I’m the same height and at least 13kgs less. I don’t think using terms such as ‘average’ to describe her is great either. We shouldn’t normalise this; it sends the message that being overweight is okay. We hide behind too many excuses. Forget cotton-wool children, I think as a society we cushion ourselves even more…
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I haven’t read all of the comments so not sure if this has been mentioned already.
Big Ben is not bring renamed, the tower Big Ben is in is being renamed. I think it’s called the Clock Tower or something equally as boring…
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She’s a tiny bit overweight … I wouldn’t call her “fat” but she’s seriously lacking muscle tone.
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Well she looks ok but health wise I doubt she is. I know as I am the same weight and height and I have hypertension fro. The extra kilos.
If your that short any thing over 63 kg is starting to get unhealthy.
this size the fat can be hidden with good clothes and you still look good but let’s not deny it is unhealthy.
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Don’t assume by looking at her that she has health issues. Extra kilos don’t automatically lead to hypertension. I’m currently about 35Kgs overweight (obese by medical standards) and my blood pressure never goes above 120/80 – even allowing for any ‘white coat’ effect. In fact today I measured it at the chemist and it was 116/68.
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Just because your blood pressure is OK doesn’t make you healthy! How’s your heart rate when you run for the train? How often do you get colds? Do you have boundless energy? Do you sleep well? What condition is your hair and skin in? All these things are an indication of your general health.
Both my parents have excellent blood pressure and are at death’s door. Don’t kid yourself. Medically obese is not healthy.
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Actually, blood pressure, as a vital sign, is indeed an indicator of general health. However, I made no assumptions about blood pressure being an indicator of total health. I responded to Amandarose’s statement that high blood pressure resulted from extra kilos. My only point was that extra kilos do not necessarily indicate high blood pressure.
And since you asked, my general health is (now) great because I actively work at keeping it great despite an autoimmune disease which can effect every cell in the body and 10 years ago when it first struck had me feeling like I wanted to die.
My skin is great (thanks no doubt to my grandma’s secret for great skin). My hair is…..well, actually it’s pretty shitty! Masses of curls and therefore dry and with a mind of it’s own. I sleep like a log for 7 hours every night – regardless of the time I go to sleep. Boundless energy? You got me there. Nope, I don’t have boundless energy, I’m not 6 years old. My energy has it limits. I suspect your’s, and everyone else’s does too.
And I will never know what my heart rate is when running for a train. Lordy, I wouldn’t run for a train if you paid me. I like my personal space and life is too short to have spend any of it crammed into a metal can like a sardine with smelly people. I might, however, be encouraged to run away from a train – or at least walk, as that is more my thing. Running is so hard on knee joints.
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If we saw her in regular clothes I doubt anyone would think she’s overweight at all – the lycra is hideous, lighting awful, posture not the best. – almost as if the photographer told her to look “fat” (wonder why!?). Anyway who cares – I’d like to see an equivalent picture of a skinny model or celebrity and have it pointed out that being underweight poses far more health risks than being slightly overweight.
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“…being underweight poses far more health risks than being slightly overweight.”
really?
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I dont think she’s fat. I do think those lycra shorts are hideous though. On anyone.
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Jamie Oliver did a wonderful programme a few years back where he got a bunch of regular looking people and did the BMI ‘test’ on them.
Well, a small few were normal, quite a few who you’d never think were ‘overweight’ fell into that category, a smaller few who looked overweight were ‘obese’, and the last couple who looked a bit overweight were classed as ‘morbidly obese’ (which obviously had them in tears).
The point being – our definition of normal’ is a lot bigger than it is in actuality (probably because western society has been getting bigger over the last couple of decades).
I suppose this discrepancy is the reason why we keep getting outraged when someone who looks relatively normal to us gets classified as ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’.
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Language is a very emotive thing. As many below have said “fat” is a harsh word which in our society has become a derogatory term. Do I think she is fat? No way since that is my goal weight and I’m the same height as her.
Where does this woman sit on the BMI scales, which is what the news article is about – I *think* she is a 27/28 which puts her in the overweight range. But as many many people have said, the BMI scales are used as an indicator. As a health professional, I have seen a 6 foot plus man made of muscle with a BMI of 30. Of course I use my professional judgment and disregard the BMI as an indicator of health, particularly since his blood pressure etc etc was extremely health. I’ve also seen a 5ft odd woman with a BMI of 36 who couldn’t walk up a set of stairs without difficulty breathing, who wasn’t healthy at all, and yes BMI is taken into consideration then.
What we need to focus on is being healthy. And yes, BMI, and waist line, and the number on the scales goes hand in hand in this, but it isn’t everything. So if you are having a healthy diet, are exercising regularly, have good bp, cholesterol etc etc then what shape you are shouldn’t matter. But I do think society’s perception of what is healthy is compeltey off base. I know for one I have a warped sense of what is ok to eat, something which I’m trying to work on.
And I’ve worked in a library, books smell yucky
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I don’t get it. This woman is beautiful. She has curves and looks better in bike pants than I could hope to! She looks healthy.
I don’t understand whether you are trying to say “it’s appauling that women are so crazy that they judged this healthy girl as fat”, “the BMI scale is stupid”, “this girl is a fatty” or whether you are trying to say that women in Australia are experiencing higher levels of diabetes, etc.
Get your positioning on women and their bodies straight, Mamamia. My friend read this earlier and got extremely upset thinking that everyone is looking at her now and thinking she is fat. She isn’t. I hope that you realise what you are making women feel because of this post, and reconsider.
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Had this impact on me for sure!
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If you eat more calories than you expel through exercise, you will get fat. Simple.
If you spend more money than you earn, you will be in debt. Simple again.
If youre cruel to your friends and family, you will have no one who really wants to be around you.]
These concepts arent rocket sceince. They are all decisions which have short and long term consequences. The list of examples goes on and on but its really simple.
Sure, I still have some baby weight that could go, I could be better with money and I may have said things too quickly to family at times but overall, I feel quite balanced as I actually take responsibility for my actions and not boo-hoo to people in an attempt to justify, dismiss and minimise the consequences to my decisions.
PC is out of control and these stories just aggravate both sides.
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Saying “oh it’s simple” is being, well, simplistic.
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If weight loss was that simple, then the obesity issue would not exist in our society.
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Actually, weight loss IS that simple.
I lost over 10kg this year. I cut down on how much I ate. I exercised more.
It wasn’t EASY…but it was SIMPLE!!!
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I wish this wasn’t true.
But sadly, it is.
I just don’t get portion size *big sigh and shake of the head using up more calories*.
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I was just thinking this the other day. I have lost 6 and a half kilos over 5 months and still have to lose another 6 mimimum before I will be happy. It came on gradually and is having to go the same way. It isn’t easy and requires discipline but it actually is quite straightforward, and simple. It’s just a matter of doing it.
BTW my husband and I are currently staying in a hotel with a fantastic bathroom. The kind that has mirrors that show your body from every angle. It is the first time that I have properly seen my own behind in years. I just said to him earlier that if we had mirrors like this in our house we probably would never have let things get to the stage they are. He has been too polite to tell me just how dimpled it actually is!
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Unfortunately, Zip, it’s simply not always that simple.
I’m overweight, have struggled with it all my life. Grew up in the same house with my brother – same activity level, same diet. Well, if you don’t count the half a loaf of bread he could eat as a snack before dinner, or the copious amounts of fruit cake he’d wash down with cups of tea sweetened with 3 spoons of sugar. Guess what he grew up to be? Yeah, I know, you’re probably thinking ‘fat’, right? Wrong! He grew up to be a jockey! You know, the skinny little ‘runt-of-the-litter’ kind that ride race horses.
So perhaps you can tell me how your ‘simple’ theory explains this anomaly, Zip?
Or how I can spend a week on a VLC meal replacement diet and not lose one solitary pound? The only times I have ever lost significant amounts of weight have been when I’ve literally stopped eating. Once when I was 17 and got some very helpful ‘diet’ pills from the doctor – they were actually amphetamines – I lived on black tea and a piece of toast a day for months. And then again in my early early 30 when I was working in a demanding job for 60 hours a week, travelling all over the country, and trying to complete a uni degree so just didn’t have time to eat.
Unfortunately, it’s not all as simple as calories in, and calories burnt up. There’s a whole other metabolic process behind that, that for some people, will determine their weight no matter what.
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It IS that simple Ms Grumpy. The number of calories in vs out isn’t the same for everybody. Yes, everyone’s metabolism is different. It’s also about what type of calories you eat. Cut out sugar, eat less and exercise more.
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As Anna has mentioned, it is always as simple as calories in vs calories out.
I don’t care what kind of excuses you want to make, or that “i just can’t lose the weight”.
Your body does not defy the laws of thermodynamics. You need to calculated your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and based on that calculate the appropriate number of calories you should intake. If you then remove 500 calories from your required “maintenance level” and the important thing here is to follow it strictly – no cheating, you can’t not lose weight.
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The only thing that is as simple as you two proclaim it is, is, well, you two.
In order to restate an erroneous statement you both conveniently ignored all the facts I gave you. But then to hold a belief that all overweight people simply eat too much and are lazy, (because that’s the implication of what you both stated) one has to possess a healthy dose of ignorance. And ‘Anonymous’ so inelegantly displayed that ignorance in referring to ‘thermodynamics’ – which belongs to the engineering sciences. I am not a robot, or otherwise mechanical in any way and therefore thermodynamic theory will never apply to me, nor to you I suspect, although for all I know you may well be a robot.
The term you should have used is, thermogenesis. While you’re looking it up, you should also look up the latest research on weight management. After my original post, I scrolled down and read all the other posts and discovered a very good post by a ‘Susan As Well’ further down which I suggest you read.
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Yes she is overweight for her height. That is just a medical fact based on BMI.
I think our perception of overweight has changed because it’s so common. Overweight is the new norm.
I think calling someone fat is a lot harsher/judgemental/mean than saying they are overweight.
‘Fat’ has more negative connotations.
Fat is emotional and subjective. Overweight is medical and objective.
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agree with this well written statement Angelina… it’s overweight… fat is not an objective term
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Yes. I agree with this totally, I’ve heard quite a few friends say things along the lines of “I know I have to lose a little weight, but I mean, my doctor said I’m OBESE. I’m not really obese, am I?” And what they really mean is “I’m not FAT am I? Not THAT fat?” Often they are gorgeous girls and don’t look as huge as what I think a lot of people imagine “obese” to be, but it doesn’t change the numbers or medical fact.
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I find it interesting that last week a guy posted his naked overweight body on here and women were overwhelmingly positive and encouraging of his courageous acceptance of his body that he admitted was classified overweight by medical standards. Show a womans body of a similar shape and people slam her. We are way more critical of women – slapping medical superiority and ‘fact’ on our criticism.
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Great comment!
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Anon, I am not criticising her.
She has brown hair: fact. She is wearing a pink/purple top: fact. Medically she is classified as overweight: fact. whether you think she’s ‘fat: subjective.
When you say ‘I’m fat’, this often also subjectively means ‘I’m ugly, I’m worthless, I’m unlovable’
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Because his article wasn’t about weight or health, but about his insecurities and overcoming them.He wasn’t trying to convince us he was the picture of good health. If it had of been like the Catherine Deveny article from a while ago, it would have gotten a very different response.
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Perfectly put!
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Agreed! She’s overweight, that’s a fact. Just because more of the world is looking like this doesn’t make the ‘norm’ okay.
I don’t understand why so much weighting is placed on BMIs, or if they really are taken as seriously as they used to be. Look at a 70kg woman, untoned, unhealthy, compared to a 70kg athlete of the same height, and fit and healthy one will actually look smaller. Muscle weights more than fat but also looks so much better.
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Unfortunately, yes she is.
She may represent the average weight of Australian women, but being an average weight does not make her the healthiest weight for her height. I believe that we are normalising being overweight and our standards are changing because of it. I think of myself as a healthy woman who is almost 30 years old, but I look at photos of my parents’ generation at the same age and they are noticably smaller, my mother for instance looks like she weighed about 5 – 10 kgs less than I do and that’s after 2 kids, when I have none (I fall within the “healthy” range on the BMI).
This isn’t to say that the BMI is perfect (for example athletes are almost always rated as “overweight” or “obese”), or that thinnner is always healthier, as cardiovascular health correlates closely with fitness and activity levels. I just think it’s important that we keep a longer term persepctive on what is a healthy weight and not be influenced by the weight of others. It wasn’t healthy to smoke even though a majority of people smoked in the 70′s…
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I find this whole BMI issue really confusing. This women looks absolutely normal/healthy to me and I am suprised she is classed as ‘overweight’ according to BMI. A couple of days ago in the post about Noah I thought he looked ‘pleasantly plump’ and was again very suprised when he was classified as ‘obese’ according to BMI.
I have always looked at BMI as my guide for my weight and have always been in the healthy range (except for being underweight as a eating disordered teenager and slightly over when 9 months pregnant). But what does this actually mean?? I am in the healthy weight range but I don’t look good naked!
Not sure how to articulate what I am asking….. I assume BMI is based on scientific evidence so perhaps my own subjective views of healthy and unhealthy weight is off. I think this women looks great but in terms of BMI is she really unhealthy? Is my view biased? Same with Noah, he looks healthy enough to me…. I must be wrong?
I would love to know more about BMI MM team… maybe a article on it plus info on alternative ways to objectively measure health. Plus I want definititions, if your BMI is in the unhealthy weight range what does this mean???
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Don’t rely on the BMI. It’s arbitrary, it doesn’t take health factors into account, and it was never meant to be applied to individuals. It was supposed to be a population statistic. Check out this very informative article for more info: http://www.beautyredefined.net/the-lies-we-buy-defining-health-at-womens-expense/
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She is definitely chunky. If you’re feeling bad about yourself today, maybe you should be. This could be your wake up call. Exercise, eat more vegetables, less sugar, less fat and chances are you will lose weight.
If my 64 year old mother can go to weight watchers and lose 15kgs anyone can. It’s about self discipline, something that’s severely lacking in most people, we’re all too willing to listen to our own bullshit excuses.
Too busy, too tired, I’ll do it tomorrow – and how dare the media make me feel bad about myself!!!
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Mmmm I’d like to offer a wakeup call to all those smug, judgemental, superior, overly simplistic people out there – you may fit societies narrow definition of what looks good but if your comments depict what your like as a person give me fat any day!
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Let me guess Steph, youre overweight? Rather be fat and deluded than slim and brutally honest?
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ooooo – this is a bit harsh!
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I especially *love* the smug, judgemental, superior, overly simplistic commenters who are anonymous.
*sarcasm intended*
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Today’s mamamia posts make we want to throw my computer out the window. Between this and the Chrissy Swan article, I think the world has gone mad.
Yes, this woman is fat. She is carrying too much fat around her middle. That is a medical fact. I don’t need to know anything else about her. I doesn’t make her a bad person. I don’t automatically hate her for it. But yes, she’s fat.
Similarly, Chrissy Swan and her boy are fat.
Why can’t we call a spade a spade anymore? Because someone’s ego might take a knock? I wear glasses, people comment on it. I don’t get all upset about people pointing out my disability. Because it’s a fact.
Nobody’s perfect, but pretending that we’re all exactly the same isn’t helping anyone.
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it is the criticism and judgement that’s the problem
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Where did ads say you were guilty of judgement?
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What that person said!!
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I agree, your heart isnt going to realise you are offended at being considered over weight! Also my husband was brought up in a terribly overweight family, eating fast food and fatty food and LOTS of food throughout childdhood and he has struggled with his weight throughout adult hood, all though unintentional its not a nice legacy to give your kids.
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Just because this women weighs the same as the ‘average weight of Australian women’ doesn’t mean she isn’t overweight or fat. By saying she is fat we are calling a lot of women we know fat too but I think that’s the point. As a collective population we are overweight and something should change. Sure, you may feel good about yourself, and love yourself at this weight (and so you should), but medically extra weight increases the risk of developing a wide range of disease. I have been 70kg and was fat (I am 172cm)!
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Sorry – I read your comment after I posted mine… I agree entirely.
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I really hate this post – posting a woman in lycra so we can all discuss whether or not she is fat? What on earth is this doing in news media?
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I completely agree with you, Anonymous. This poor girl. She looks like me. I think she looks healthy and like she does do some excercise, but maybe has more in her life than JUST that.
If this was a picture of a man, we wouldn’t be sitting here saying this. Remember last week, how that nude guy was photographing his body (also bordering on obese in terms of BMI), and everyone blabbered on about how they were so proud of him for being himself, and that his body was fantastic???? Where is that sentiment now.
Get some consistency, people! I will not have this discussion about whether this girl is fat when we celebrated a man’s not so perfect body on this exact site not 7 days ago.
I’m extremely disappointed.
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OMG, Im 67 kgs and now heading home to purge ( drastic I know, but thats the point )!!! I have never considered myself over weight till I saw this article!
I am a size 10 and considered by the Australian public as over weight..
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Same here – i’m furious that this was published. This was obviously published to spark discussion but at what cost? So many women who weigh more/the same as this lady will feel insecure about themselves as a direct result of reading this. I don’t care if it is ‘in the news’ – be better than this mamamia!
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I agree. I just did my grocery shopping and I felt like everyone was staring at me thinking how enormous I am (wearing gym leggings). And I’m generally a tough cookie.
Anybody else feeling like shit today?
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I’m currently trying to trim DOWN to this weight! So once I hit my goal weight I will still be considered fat
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So am I!
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yep exactly the same…
nothing worse then feeling like the elephant in the room in a gym class with skinny people looking down there noses cause we are in ‘their’ domain…
We are human, we slip up, we have a binge or two, it doesnt make us any less of a person because we are not ‘normal’ sized
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How far have we come- Super Models of the late 80′s/90′s were all size 10!
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Many of them still are. They are just far taller than most us. A size 10 5’3 person looks much, much larger than a size 10 5’11 person.
Plus size 10 has changed radically in the past 15 years. A size 10 back then is like a size 6-8 today.
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It all depends on how tall you are and whether or not it’s muscle making up your weight or fatty tissue. Just because you’re the same weight as her doesn’t make you automatically fat, it is much more important to focus on exercising daily and eating lots of fruit and vegies than starting at the scales all the time. You shouldn’t over react to the article as there are many aspects to consider. Also purging as a response is ridiculously unhealthy and could lead to stomach ulcers.
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Purging or undereating is the worst way to lose weight: Your body goes into stress/survival mode and starts storing more fat. I really feel for you and as an ex-anorexic who is now comfortable with her body (yes, it is possible!) I want to help. I would strongly advise you to see a counsellor or a psychologist to discuss your relationship with your body.
Please, please stop self-harming. Purging may not be as visible as cutting, but it is just as harmful (if not moreso) to your body, your mind and your health. You can also refer to this page which can point you in the direction of some helpful resources, websites and helplines: http://www.justaskus.org.au/browse/health-well-being/eating-disorders
Please believe me when I say you are not helping yourself by doing this and that there is so much that is more important than a number on a scale.
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I hate this. I wouldn’t call her fat by any means. We also know NOTHING about her. You cannot get an accurate picture of someone’s health merely by looking at them or even by their weight. (You could predict potential health problems one might have if their weight is not ideal – too little or too much).
Before judging this woman’s health, I would want to know more (and only if I was her nurse, otherwise why the hell would I need to know? it’s not my business).
What’s her BP? BGL? Cholesterol? Nutrition? Exercise? Has she recently had a baby (in which case she looks damn good)? Does she smoke? The list is endless. The BMI does not count for everything.
We need to stop judging people on how they look. It really is what’s in the inside that counts. If her vital organs are chugging along nicely, then who cares what she looks like?
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Also, “outfit” is vile. It looks like one of those before and after weight loss ad pictures. I’m hoping there’s an after with her in normal clothing.
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Nobody looks good in lycra. Nobody.
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what about matt shirvington??
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Oh no, no, no. Now I have a picture in my head that I can’t get out.
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you’re welcome
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Moving on to a different subject (i hope?), I really like this column by Annabel Crabb in the weekend paper:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/shock-and-oar-our-women-rowers-are-behaving-almost-like–men-20120602-1zook.html?rand=1338643908794
This bit would be LOL funny if it weren’t sadly true:
‘Everyone knows what the role of female athletes is in this country.”
“Their obligation is to get blisteringly good at their sport, and then to get a second job so that they can keep playing it.’
“Their job is to behave 500 per cent better than their male counterparts, while earning maybe 10 per cent of the salary (if they are lucky enough to play in one of the handful of codes that actually pay chicks).”
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Is she fat? I don’t know. Is “fat” a socially constructed judgement based on outdated and irrelevant calculations that use arbitrary numbers meant to be applied to populations, not individuals? YES.
Is she healthy? Is her blood pressure okay? Is she fit? Does she have a heart condition? Does she have a sprained ankle? Does she have arthritis? Is she about to compete in a marathon? Does she have a blister on her little toe? Wait… can we tell ANY of that by looking at her and judging whether she’s “fat”??? NO.
And the most important questions of all… is she an autonomous human with the ability to think critically? And is she the ONLY person who can decide whether she even cares about any of those questions?
Exactly.
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This is the second article in a week on Mamamia where there have been a plethora (word of the week) of comments that criticise the use of BMI.
Perhaps to balance this out, Mamamia could commission an article on the statistics behind the use of BMI? I have great confidence in your ability to make the article interesting.
I work in an industry that relies on the use of BMI as a diagnostic tool and there is no question (with a few exceptions) that there is a correlation between high BMI and health issues.
It can be frustrating trying to tell some people that they are obese and the conversation can bear a striking similarity to logical discussion with an anti-vaxxer (please, lets not go there again). Perhaps a better example would be trying to tell a body builder that just because he has a lot of muscle does not mean that he is fit (yes, it is mainly men).
Would it help if we used the “fat” word? Would that make the conversation more palatable? Are we trying to be too PC? Guys, if I can’t get my arms around your waist, you fail the cuddle test and that means that you are overweight and unhealthy. Refusing to tuck in your shirt may hide your weight from your friends but it cannot hide the weight from your doctor, or your girlfriend.
If you are comfortable with being overweight, thats fine. Happy is good. I am all for happy. But I am also all for informed, realistic decisions. If your BMI says you are overweight, then chances are high that you are actually overweight rather than BMI is crap.
Denial is a great place to live but, Lord, no wonder Australia is one of the fattest nations in the world.
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This is a good article that talks about the BMI: http://www.beautyredefined.net/the-lies-we-buy-defining-health-at-womens-expense/ (the PDF version, linked at the end, contains the relevant journal articles and references).
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Thank you for the link.
Interesting article (I do confess to getting bored about three quarters of the way through but valiant effort for someone with a short attention span). I take on board some of the points made and it is a good starting point. But only a starting point because some of the opinions she has put forward are not based on fact and are questionable at best.
The writer makes a big deal of the profit-making motive of insurance companies. It doesn’t explain why insurance companies have raised the BMI loading cut off point a number of times in recent history. If they were only interested in profits, then the BMI cut off point would remain the same.
Insurance premiums are calculated by actuaries (an actuary is someone who wanted to be an accountant but didn’t have the personality for it) based on actual claim data. For example, if you smoke you are roughly twice as likely to become ill or die than if you don’t smoke and premiums are calculated accordingly. Nothing to do with doctors. Nothing to do with people in hospitals. Nothing to do with how you feel. Everything to do with actual people with insurance cover, paying actual premiums and making actual claims for actual amounts of money which insurance companies actually pay out.
And so based on actual claim data, it is true that insurance companies seem to agree that those who are only a little overweight can be healthy and they have extended the BMI range.
But for those who are obese, the premium can be anything from being twice that imposed on those in the normal weight range (because you will become diabetic or have a heart attack or get cancer or your knees will go or your back etc) to a refusal to insure those who are so fat that it is judged that they will die early and insurance companies will not insure them because the risk and cost is too high. Remember that profit margin that the article focussed on? It doesn’t pay to take a premium of a couple of hundred dollars a year when the payout will be a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
That whole bit about insurance companies needing to make a profit may be true but that whole business of making a profit through raising premiums is false logic. False logic: when the cock crows, the sun comes up therefore the cock crowing makes the sun rise.
And just one last one (I can’t help myself): Two people are flying in a hot air balloon and realize they are lost. They see a man on the ground, so they navigate the balloon to where they can speak to him. They yell to him, “Can you help us – we’re lost.” The man on the ground replies, “You’re in a hot air balloon, about two hundred feet off the ground.” One of the people in the balloon replies to the man on the ground, “You must be an actuary. You gave us information that is accurate, but completely useless.” The actuary on the ground yells to the people in the balloon, “you must be in marketing.” They yell back, “yes, how did you know?” The actuary says,” well, you’re in the same situation you were in before you talked to me, but now it’s my fault.”
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Oh yes, I agree with the over-emphasis on ‘greed’ of insurers. I worked in the insurance industry for 12 years, so I definitely get it!
But the interesting point from that, taking away the greed aspect, is that the BMI was clearly stated to be inaccurate when applied to individuals, and was never intended to be used that way. And yet now it is used as THE tool to assess ‘healthy’ weight, and often used in the absence of other health indicators like body fat percentage, fitness, cardiac health etc. Thin CAN mean healthy, but doesn’t always. Overweight CAN mean unhealthy, but doesn’t always. The BMI oversimplifies the matter way too much, and conflates ‘health’ with ‘size/weight’… which can lead people to focus on weight loss but not overall health. That’s my issue with it.
Hehe. Love the joke!
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Actually no, smokers are not twice as likely to die as a non-smoker. Get sick yes but not die. 100% of smokers die. 100% or non-smokers die. It’s even.
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I love your comment Cara. LOVE IT.
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She may not be fit and yes may be slightly overweight but fat no. She’s not fat.
I’m fat. Yes I need to lose weight, yes I’m doing something about that but even when I get down to my goal weight of 75kg I guess I’m still going to be considered fat!
While I’m actively doing something to lose the weight, I’m very much at peace with my body. Could it be slimmer? For sure but then some people could be heavier – cest la vie. I love my body, sure it’s not perfect but then how many have perfect bodies?
And yes one day I *may* become a drain on the health system but hey so could YOU, so could ANYONE regardless of their size and IF I do, then it would be the first time in my 37 years of being on this planet that I would have had ANY medical issues, so so far I think I’m doing ok.
If YOU don’t want to be fat, then YOU go and exercise your arse off and shovel rabbit food in your mouth but don’t, for one minute think, that YOU have ANY right to tell me how I should be living MY life and treating MY body.
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Oh, Anonymous, I am in EXACTLY THE SAME situation as you. 90kg, aiming for 75. I’m with you on this journey. Loved your comment.
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I don’t care if she’s fat, I care if she’s healthy.
Actually that’s not right either.
She shouldn’t care if she’s fat, she should care if she’s healthy.
That is all.
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I think she would look better in a more flattering outfit, it emphasises her pear shape. I doubt anyone would look fabulous wearing that combination.
I think she looks a little chubby but not fat and personally I think she looks far more attractive than the skeletal fashionably thin girls in the social pages each weekend.
In saying that though as we get older it is harder to maintain a slim body. I have friends who eat sensibly and exercise and look exactly like this woman. So to say she’s unhealthy and needs to get on the treadmill isnt fair.
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Your comment about ‘skeletal fashionably thin girls’ is more offensive than describing someone as fat (not to mention false. You have to very, very underweight to look even close to ‘skeletal’).
The point of the oufit is that it lets us see her shape properly. I can look much thinner in the right outfit, but I still weigh the same and look the same underneath.
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I don’t know why you’re saying her comment was false and offensive.
(a) a lot of fashionably thin women (alexis chung, posh spice, kate bosworth, etc) are skeletally thin and
(b) she was stating her preference, that slightly chubby is more attractive to her than skeletally thin.
Do you find it offensive that she has that preference? Or do you find it offensive that she’s suggesting that some women in social pages are skeletal thin? I think you might have misread her comment, because I can’t really make sense of your response.
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None of the people you mention above are ‘skeletal’. They are thin, Posh and Kate are probably underweight, but they are not ‘skeletal’. People close to the brink of death due to starvation are skeletal, thin celebrities are not.
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I dont think its wrong to call someone skeletal who is clearly underweight and unhealthy. I know many women and young girls who only eat one small meal per day to maintain their tiny figures so they can fit into size 6 clothes which is just as dangerous as being overweight. And I dont think gaunt drawn faces are attractive. I know women who have botox because they are so thin their faces look prematurely wrinkled. Simple solution is to eat normally and put on a few kilos but they wont do that. Sorry if that offends you but thats my opinion.
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I think Drs would tell you it’s more unhealthy to be underwieght than in the overweight category.
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I see the topic of weight raised time and time again on this website and have refrained from ever commenting as it is such a divisive topic.
I dislike the word ‘fat’ and call my kids up on it anytime they use it. It’s not helpful, it’s derogatory and it conjures up negative images – reinforced constantly by the media. However, when did it all become so PC? Why can’t we talk about the fact that what is now ‘normal’ weight for Australian women is not what it should be?
There seems so much defensiveness from people who say that they do ‘all the right things’ are ‘very fit’ etc and are still over the recommended BMI. Yes, the BMI in some instances is not a good indicator but there has to be a general rule of thumb as a guide for people. I also understand (& definitely sympathise) that for a certain percentage of the population, weight loss is such a huge hurdle and when they try to lose weight and keep it off, it doesn’t work. For the rest of us (& I speak from experience), it really is simple…….exercise (daily) and eat food that is close to its natural source as possible, cut down on unnecessary carbohydrates, stop dieting and start building a sustainable way of eating into your everyday life etc etc etc….. it’s starting to sound like a broken record. I would throw the question back to the many people who say they’ve tried and the weight won’t shift that if they sat down and really dissected their daily diet, it could be modified further to help cut out unnecessary foods.
We definitely can’t help that we’ve moved to more sedentary jobs, however we can help what we put in our mouths. It does require a complete change of mindset, where treats really are treats and we eat for hunger not emotion. I do believe that the woman in this photo needs to lose some of the extra weight she is carrying in order to live a long and healthy life.
Unfortunately this story has been sensationalised by calling the lady in the photo ‘fat’ and that does not help us get to the real heart of the issue. Our generation will be testing the medical system like never before if we don’t stop tiptoeing around the fact that we need to shed excess kilos and lower our body fat percentage.
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I totally agree iamevilcupcake – you’ve hit a very raw nerve here…..Look, it’s a “no-brainer” that if you’re young and fairly healthy, and you start eating loads of processed and take-away and high carb, high animal fat foods and stop basic exercise for a prolonged period – you’ll put on (maybe) 20kgs…….but if you reverse this behaviour -you’ll probably lose that weight in, say, 4 – 5 months. This is what the Weight-loss companies and shows make their money on – people who’s “behaviour” needs a bit of an overhaul…………….Then you have the people (like myself) with long-term health issues who’ve slowly put on that weight and are eating the right diet and conscientiously watch every mouthful, but cannot shift that weight due to pain, fatigue, restricted movement and medications. These people have to endure the scorn, “well-meaning” advice from “skinny experts”, pity and ridicule of stereo-types in the media…… I could detail my weight-loss/weight gain journey over the last 20yrs only to see a suspicious post from some jerk who’s only positive in life is that “at least they’re not FAT”……….I’ve been scolded, patronised, advised, overlooked, sniggered at, by “know-it-all simpletons” who simply don’t care about the impact of pain & illness on weight gain……so thanks “cuppy” for your well-aimed rant………oh and by the way, that model is NOT FAT -she’s normal, and the critics are often either women who themselves feel pressured to conform, or males who have a very dodgy and sinister reason for wanting grown women to resemble 13yr olds……….women who’ve lived a life impacted upon by menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, hormone imbalance, menopause, and of cause in some cases – men, are often prone to weight fluctuations which (if they’ve slowed up) cause MORE weight gain – then they may get opportunistic diabetes, arthritis & on it goes……..too varied and complicated for the “skinny experts” I’m afraid – that “fat gene” isn’t the excuse people are looking for, it’s just a small part of the puzzle.
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Child care in regional areas is nothing like the cost of child care in the cities. Just thought I would bring this up as it is never mentioned and it’s one of the ways that the cost of living is greatly reduced for people who choose to live in the country.
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Guys, don’t be daft. She’s obviously overweight. Stop being ridiculous and politically correct. Get on a treadmill.
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Having been that exact weight at that exact height, and being of a very similar body shape, I’d say she’s fat, no question. Fat in that she’s clearly carrying a lot of unnecessary weight (it obviously isn’t a ton of muscle that’s adding to her weight and she’s not an athlete), not fat as in “ew look at the fattie”. I’m not sure why there’s quotation marks around overweight, she quite clearly is.
The word fat has become so loaded in the last few decades, but it’s simply a descriptive, like thin or tall or short. Fat used to mean anyone (speaking generally) size 12 (as in true size 12, not Kmart size 12) and up, but as we’ve gotten larger and larger we’ve changed our perceptions of what fat is. Just a few decades ago this woman would have been very large (my grandmother was considered plump when she was my age, but as a size 10 I’m like a stuffed ham in her old clothes), today she’s the average. But being average doesn’t make you healthy or fit or not overweight. There’s states in the US where the average is verging on morbidly obese.
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I’ve spent a substantial portion of my nursing career working with people to help them manage chronic diseases with weight management being part of their program, no matter whether they have heart disease, diabetes or other chronic diseases. I absolutely do not have the definitive answer to weight control problems (wish I did) but this much I know is true in my experience with people:
1. The relationship between a person’s BMI and weight and appearance have often not correlated to good health in individuals.
2. The most recent research on weight gain and inability to lose weight is demonstrating strong links between the effects of hormones on inability to lose weight, despite dieting and exercise. These hormones, for example, leptin, have far-ranging effects on body weight. The research is just beginning to unravel the whole story behind these hormones. Many health professionals are waiting for the results of this research. The public, by and large, aren’t even very aware of these hormones.
3. Sleep and the ability of the liver to detoxify fat also affect a person’s ability to lose weight. If you aren’t getting enough sleep and your liver cannot detoxify fat and eliminate it from the body, dieting and exercise cannot pick up the slack from it very well. These are the people who diet and exercise religiously and pour buckets of tears into the nurse’s laps, lamenting “I just can’t lose it”.
4. Because weight management is such a complex issue involving measurements of blood components, percentage of body fat, waist and height measurements, ultrasounds of organs such as the liver and heart, complete lifestyle assessment and gender, its probably a pretty stupid thing to have an opinion on someone’s weight and health just by looking at them when you pass them on the street or looking at their photo.
You are really making a judgment not based on any real knowledge about the person’s health, just your own feelings about weight. Your judgment of them probably says more about you and your weight or health issues than it does about them.
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Agree times a million.
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Yes, yes, yes.
Weight loss for people in this situation takes a lot of work and professional help.
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Great post, Susan.
Excellent points.
‘Your judgment of them probably says more about you and your weight or health issues than it does about them’
This line particurlarly.
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Thanks Susan as well for this comment.
I have a hormone imbalance that has led to a range of health problems, including but not only weight gain.
My doctor told me my hormones would keep my face unlined and my butt fat. So far, true! My BMI is 26, so I’m just slightly overweight. But man, I have to struggle to keep to this weight. I keep working on it, because I know weight gain will only make my hormones even worse, but I’m really looking forward to increased awareness of this as an issue. I feel sorry for people who struggle with their weight, only to be told they are fat or lazy – diet and exercise is not the whole answer.
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I think whether this woman is perceived as ‘fat’ or not depends on a person’s own size and perception.
I’m 5 cms taller and nearly 20 kgs lighter than the lady and so therefore can’t help but make the judgement based on my own particulars.
‘Fat’ is in the eye of the beholder. The most important opinion should be that of the individual themselves, and really in relation to self-esteem and positive body image, and alongside this, that of a medical professional.
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Mamamia! Another body image issue! And again I will ask where are the health & fitness posts to go alongside these body image posts?
I understand this is just the news post but from scrolling through only half the comments here I can see that the image of this woman has stirred some debate. Is she fat or is she thin?
The problem is we shouldn’t be focusing on the weight of this woman. I don’t know if she has had children, if she has a desk job, what type of diet she has. Aren’t they the important things?
I get that you have just grabbed the morning headlines, but I think you know your audience enough to understand that this sort of headline needs a longer more balanced post.
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Have to agree with you hey, from where I’m sitting I looked and my first thought was “she’s not that big, but she doesn’t look fit at all”. It’s the fitness bit that gets me. We’re all different body types so to me, that hardly matters – weight is just a number.
I am waayyy slimmer than I was 3 years ago, but I weigh just as much. Why? I lost about 10kg of fat and put on that weight again in muscle, only I look a lot more toned and a lot less ‘bottom heavy’!
MM please can we have lots more fitness-focused articles? maybe something on how to work it around hectic lifestyles, cooking included, personal challenges (like wanting to run a marathon or something) or how it’s sooo important to get out of the house and do things including exercise after you’ve have a baby??
I found losing the weight was hard not because I wasn’t willing, but because I simply didn’t know how to do it right!
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Random – but I’d love to see posts about activities, exercise etc etc. Could be another interesting topic…
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I’m actually getting really sick of Australians’ obsession with weight. When I went to Europe on holiday, there aren’t many fat people at all, in fact the only ones I saw were Aussie or American tourists.
There were barely any gyms there. And, no fast food stores either. Noone really spoke about weight. It wasn’t an issue. People were much more confident. Not like here, where people seem to obsess over the gym, weight, our national average, etc. I think the problem is we have so many fast food stores – and gyms. A stupid combination where one cancels out the other and there’s this endless cycle of eating, obsessing, eating, obsessing. I don’t know. I just noticed it more when I went o/s and it’s kind of sad.
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I’m with MissMin. I’ve just had my second baby and it would be really good to see some fitness-focused articles on here. Sure, I’d like to fit back into my old jeans – but I’d also just like to feel really fantastic, too.
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Try the Les Mills classes if you haven’t already – loads of women from all walks of life, some fit some really not, but all there having fun and getting into some energy packed classes that will honestly make you feel fantastic. My energy levels went through the roof when I started (after recovering from glandular fever!). It took about 2months to make it part of my weekly routine and a year on I felt sooo much better, more energetic, happier with everything and just generally a nicer person to be around!
Some gyms offer a creche too, so you can take bub and leave them to play for an hour with other kiddies while you take some ‘me’ time, and maybe take bub in with you for a swim afterwards
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I used to be very against going to gyms, we have the great outdoors after all and I love getting outside. BUT I also sail, and I needed more muscle to keep up with the men, so the gym offered me that separate environment where I can focus and build up to lifting weights that I could not do easily in another context. I also find it encouraging to go and do a class with other people, so we’re all gaining energy and motivation and general good feelings from everyone who’s there having fun.
It also offers convenience to fit exercise in around uni and work where showers are on hand and I can store my clothes/bike helmet, etc.
Completely agree on the fast food things though – I noticed the same when I was in France for a month. I was also lucky enough to have a mum that taught us about healthy eating – I haven’t touched junk food (with the exception of fish and chips sometimes) since I was about 12.
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Totally agree. I’m from Europe and the way they eat and live over there is so completely different to here. No body would ever consider going to a gym, because they get so much exercise walking everywhere.
And portion size! When my relatives visit here, they can’t finish half of what’s on their plate!
Read “French Women Don’t Get Fat” and you’ll get the drift of the lifestyle coices we make that are making us fat.
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Be prepared for a rant . . .
Who freaking cares. I’m talking about the girl who is fat. SHE ISN’T FAT. I’m fat. But you know what? It’s no one’s freaking business.
And I don’t want to hear about how overweight people are a massive drain on the healthcare system because it’s utter bullshit. You know what is a drain? Smokers. Yep smokers. They are a drain because any medication they take is subsidised by the government. But if someone who can’t lose weight the conventional way of eating healthy and excercising, what are they supposed to do? My late husband was confined to a wheelchair, and the only way he could lose weight was by doing something like Tony Ferguson. And you know what? It worked! But does the government or anyone else help out in that circumstance? No! Of course not!
And you know what else? Smoking is just as damaging for heart disease and stroke, but for some unknown reason it’s far more acceptable to have a go at fat people and say how if they just lost weight they would be so much healthier. Why is it socially acceptable to laugh at, make fun of, and accuse fat people when smokers are just as much of a burden?
You know why? It’s because of the way we look. People think it’s ok because in their minds we look horrible. It’s ok to laugh at us because we look terrible and you sure as hell don’t want to be seen with us. Doesn’t matter we have a great personality, because we are fat. Doesn’t matter that we help our community, because we are fat.
And well meaning people who think they are “helping” by saying something to us fatties should just shut the hell up. Don’t hide behind the “we just care about you” bullshit and just admit it’s because of the way we look. You are ashamed of us. Don’t push your prejudice onto us thanks. But what people don’t seem to realise is that there is a REASON for the way we are, and it’s not because we eat junk food and sit on our ass all day.
In short . . . MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.
Sorry, I’ve had that bottled up for a while . . .
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I agree, cuppy. It is crap that there isn’t more subsidised help for people struggling with their weight. My partner is a smoker and so are most of his family, I quite happily call them out on how unhealthy their habit is, not just to them but to those of us around them, every chance I get & their response is always the same “smokers aren’t a drain on the health system, why do you think the tax on cigarettes is so high?” and, actually, theyre probably right that in a sense they are paying for their healthcare later on down the track by paying phenomenal prices for their habit now. I think people need to keep their comments about other people’s weight to themselves, seriously, it hurts when people make comments on someone’s appearance, no matter how they try and sugar coat it.
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And are they paying enough to cover the health care costs of people they affect with their second-hand and third-hand smoke?
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That’s another issue. People have no problem overlooking the fact that smokers can contribute to other peoples health when they smoke in public because clearly being fat is sooooooo much more harmful.
My being overweight doesn’t impact on the people next to me at work when I’m around them. Doesn’t impact on my family when I’m around them. I don’t have sick days, because I don’t get sick. I don’t spend 10 minutes in every hour outside “getting fresh air” and taking the companies time.
And for people who say it lessens my life expectancy, so does smoking, but the difference is my fatness doesn’t lessen the life expectancy of those around me.
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Would that be the same for you, if someone you knew was getting far too thin? You wouldnt comment? Not trying to stir – just wondering if it goes both ways
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I would ask them whether they were ok, and see where the conversation went. I would never EVER say, “You are too thin, what’s wrong?”
Big difference between “We are worried about you because you’ve put on so much weight” and “Are you ok?” With fat people the weight is ALWAYS mentioned and it’s a perfect way to end a conversation.
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The weight is always mentioned for skinny people too though – in fact I always thought it was mentioned more than with fat people, to their face anyway. People thought it was ok. In school I was endlessly teased for being thin. (I was tall and thus the fat didnt catch up with me till later). Everyday of high school I was kicked, hit, spat on, called “anorexic” “bag of bones” “disgusting” – everything. People didnt hold back whereas the fat kids had the support of the girls at least, they had learned it was inappropriate to call another fat to their face. Then I grew boobs and hips and ppl shut up. I hate people sometimes. lol. Know it’s different to your sitch but that’s just my bitter experience.
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This is my point. The weight of a person, thin or fat is no one’s business.
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Agree with you Cuppy. It’s between themselves and their health advisor. Everyone else should just butt out.
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Great comment.
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My parents have been overweight my entire life (25+ years). And not just a little overweight – for the majority of this time they have been obese. I will never stop encouraging them to make a healthy lifestyle change because I should ‘mind my own business’ – the happiness and health of my family IS my business – to this day my parents encourage me to be healthy and now I am doing the same. It is far more important to me that they live a longer, healthier life than to say nothing and see them head to an early grave.
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It’s the WAY that people say it though. Most people will bring it up in such a judgemental way that isn’t going to benefit anyone.
If you can discuss the issue with your parents in a way that isn’t going to make them feel worthless, then more power to you.
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I’m in no way defending smoking (I used to work on an ENT ward), but smoking brings in a huge amount of revenue via the excise on cigarettes. So they kinda are contributing towards their costs. I’ve seen smoking attacked on other blogs and online newspapers, probably worse than the overweight.
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I wish you hadn’t published the story on what people think is ‘fat’. Made me feel awful about myself in a way i’m not used to by content on mamamia.
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Oh yeah, she’s huge *rolls eyes*
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I’d like to know why there isn’t a similar picture of a man here, consider that they, too, have increased in average weight. Then the title of this appalling article could have been, ‘Are these people fat?’
Oh, wait. I know. Because then maybe the issue would actually be about ‘health’. At 163cm tall and 70kg, this lovely woman’s BMI is 1.3 points into the overweight category.
Now, I’m no doctor, but I’m guessing she’s not likely to collapse from a heart attack any time soon, and without looking at her cholesterol and blood sugar levels, I choose not to make a judgement about how close she is to that.
Let’s be honest: we are not talking about health. We are talking about beauty. We are talking about sex. When the comments on The Herald Sun say she is ‘fat’, ‘unhealthy’, ‘overweight’, what they’re really saying is that they don’t find her muffin top, or her pale skin (which shows every flaw), or her thighs that touch sexy.
When we are ‘appalled’ by the fact that the average Australian woman weighs 70kg, it is not because we are so afraid that our sister or our best friend or our neighbour is going to develop diabetes and be ill and be in discomfort. We are ‘appalled’ that we’ve let ourselves look like this, that we’re so weak that we can’t just ‘Lay off the white bread, fatty’.
Ugh. Why is Mamamia even reproducing this article? This is Herald Sun stuff; fodder for the lowest common denominator.
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Yes, it is sexist that they choose a woman not a man or both. But this is not fodder for the lowest common denominator. This IS a health issue. Our health as a society is getting worse because people are getting fatter. FACT. Being overweight is not just about the way you look. It is about your health whether that is what you think is important or not. It is a risk factor for type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is an epidemic. It is about health.
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Okay, so if it is about health, why is it just the, ahem, ‘health’ of a woman that we are asked to judge? That is, that we are asked to judge by looking at a photo; minus blood tests, minus waist circumference, minus a medical degree; using only the BMI test, which is fairly flawed in its calculations? And why are we asked if this woman is ‘fat’, not if she ‘looks healthy’?
No, no, you’re right. I guess this IS about health…
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My first response too, Noelle. Where’s the bloke with the same proportions?
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Because it was in the Body section of the Sunday Herald Sun, which is a pull-out mag aimed at women.
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I’m 178cm and I weigh 75, 5 more kilos than Melanie but I’m over 10cm taller. And I’m considered “curvy” by my peers but a different kind of curvy than her – skinny limbs, big bust, big butt, got a gut, little waist. We’re all different shapes but I suppose putting that into perspective makes her a little overweight in the “BMI” scale, but I dont think she is by much and I certainly wouldn’t call her “fat.” I wouldnt say “curvy” either – people use that term too often when someone is not skinny – she is just a normal lady to me with a bit of extra weight. I like this pic. It doesnt make me feel like crap compared to all the other photoshopped images of sticks.
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Rubbish! I have a very similar figure, but weigh 90kg. I must be taller than her. But I run 5-7 km every second day and eat well. I must be overweight too according to the BMI but I have never felt or been healthier in my life. I think the BMI is Big Mistake Invented by people with too much time on their hands.
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I look like this lady right now…maybe a bit heavier…and I hate myself and am deperate to lose weight. I exercise but it does nothing. So I am cutting down on sugar and I hope that works.
This is normal now so it isn’t considered fat anymore. But this lady, like me, probably has a desk job, a busy lifestyle, eats some processed food and has a glass of wine now and then. That all it takes and it’s soooo hArd to manage all that AND lose weight. I wish I’d known not to gain it in the first place but it just seems to creep up on you.
I am sorry if I offend anyone with this, I don’t mean to. I just feel a bit desperate right now!!!
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BB I’m not offended by your comment but I am concerned for you. By all means strive to be healthier, but you should not ever think that health runs side-by-side with weight. One can have an effect on the other but not necessarily and not always. I’m far healthier now than 5 years ago and yet I weigh more. I feel better about myself now despite the extra kilos, because I know my body is functioning as it should be. I find that when I went through a period of over-exercising and under-eating and stressing about my body, my weight went up, because hormones associated with stress can often stop your body from improving its health because it’s constantly panicking and so stores fat.
Focus less on aesthetic goals and more on fitness/health goals. Increasing exercise and decreasing sugar are both great steps that you’re taking, so focus on those as your goals rather than the weight. Perhaps you should aim to jog continuously (even if it’s very slowly) for 2km and set yourself a date you want to achieve that by, and then increase it for the next month. Or perhaps you want to be able to do 10 full push-ups (I can’t even do one!). Or perhaps you want to limit yourself to one can of soft-drink each week, then each fortnight, and then each month. These kinds of goals are easier ways to improve your health and feel good about what you **achieve**, rather than what you **weigh**. In the end, knowing that you can lift your own body weight or run a certain distance is more satisfying than losing 2kg. Start with small goals and work your way up, don’t try doing it all at once.
And when your body starts to become a strong machine that only you can operate and control, and you know how much it can achieve, the weight of that machine becomes irrelevant and the focus on the weight laughable. Who cares if you weigh 5 extra kilos if it means you can leap up a flight of stairs and not be out of breath at the end, can lift the boxes you need to move house, can feel happy drinking lots of water and can beat your male friend in an arm wrestle? (OK, so I can’t do the last one – but I can at least put up a fight!)
As your goals increase and your fitness changes over time, you’ll find your body moves with it. If genetics are at play then it could be that you’ll never lose those kilos: but in that case why not make the body you have the best and the healthiest it can be? Just don’t go overboard and don’t worry so much: set small, realistic goals and enjoy watching yourself achieve them! If your body can change, it will, but you can’t rush it and you can’t worry so much about it.
If you want some help I’m studying to become a personal trainer and happy to help. Post any Qs etc here and I’ll do what I can. I just don’t want this negative psychological spiral you’re on to keep going – relax a bit, enjoy the exercise and the benefits that come with it, and you’ll feel better guaranteed, regardless of weight or BMI (both of which are shitty measurements anyway!)
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She’s clearly overweight. I don’t understand how you could see her as thin or even healthy. I’m not surprised that the average Australian woman is overweight.
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Because it’s an absolute fallacy that weight is SO important in terms of overall healthiness. It is much better to be slightly overweight, and fit, than it is to be really skinny and unfit.
What you eat, exercise and lifestyle go towards health much more than the figure on the scales.
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AJM, you are going to make a very caring and inspiring personal trainer. What a fantastic comment. It makes such sense. Thank you!
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To be honest, I don’t think BMI is a suitable measure on it’s own. I much prefer body composition scales and waist circumference as a measure.
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who looks great in lycra bike shorts and standing front on to the camera? A very leading article. I would not describe this woman as fat at all but she has the oh so offensive roll over the top of her pants (oh no!). We have been conditioned to think that this is unacceptable. I was more bothered by the young girls comments such as “embarressing that this is the norm” and “who is comfortable in this state?” What state? Between this article and the crticism Chrissie Swan has received no wonder there are weight issues in this country. Making people feel like crap isn’t exactly motivating. My son is apparently in his healthy weight range according to that absurd measurement the BMI. He is as thin as a rake and I was concerned he was underweight
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I think the word fat is absolutely bullshit. It has such unnecessary negative connotations.
She looks slightly heavier than a slender and toned body shape. But she that doesn’t look unappealing. She doesn’t look unhealthy. I think she looks really attractive and would look amazing in a curvy wrap dress. BUT – to say she is fat has the connotations that she is disgusting – and she just isn’t! There are all different kinds of looking good. She fits some of them – and not others. Like all of us!
The emphasis on size is RIDICULOUS. The stigma to the word ‘fat’ is RIDICULOUS.
We have so many aspects of our lives that are unhealthy, why do we focus on weight as SO important??
I am skinny, lean, fit and really healthy. BUT – I drink, probably to the verge of binge drinking occasionally, I don’t get enough sleep and do eat too much sugar – so I CAN’T take the moral high ground and criticise someone else’s weight. Not to say we should turn a blind eye to societies gradual creep towards unhealthiness.
BUT, weight just doesn’t = health.
We need to stop judging it as such, remove the emphasis on weight and put more emphasis on healthy lifestyles.
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Great comment, Jess. Thanks for your honesty.
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Is she fat? Well she’s not thin. I’m 2cm taller than Melanie, weigh 57kg and I am from big boned irish potato farming stock! I have weighed up to 95kg in the past so I know how easy it is to gain weight and how much more comfortable it is to justify myself as “in the
healthy range” rather than modify my habits.
I agree with some other commenters about the “creep” of the average weight, and how it’s becoming more normal. Just because more of us are overweight doesn’t make it healthy.
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No, but weight is by far the least-beneficial measurement. Body fat percentage would be far better. I lost about 10kg last year and then started training in order to try to lose the last few, but then started gaining weight. I freaked out but it turned out it’s because my body had reached its happy zone and started converting fat into muscle – so my measurements stayed the same but my weight went up!
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I too was disgusted at the comments from young people. One I read said she would be too embarrassed to let herself go out in public looking this disgusting. Average or not, it would not enter my mind to describe this woman as fat. Yeah sure, she has a bit of pudge on her hips, but does that really equate to being fat? In a world where 7 year olds are coming home asking if they look fat, when clearly they are tiny little things, I don’t find it helpful to be labeling this woman as fat. Yes, we have an obesity crisis going on, but perspective is what is needed. I think there is a big difference between needing to lose 5 kgs and being fat! If I were this woman, as long as I was eating healthy and exercising, then the only thing I would be worried about would be my hips. I certainly would not be thinking I deserved all the horrible comments that have been made.
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On the subect of childcare- it is so expensive. I was talking to a friend who had recently had a baby and she was expressing the view that private school fees are very high. And whilst I agree I just said to her that nothing will seem expensive again to her once she has experienced the costs of childcare. The centre my kids go to is $80 a day and that’s pretty normal. What else in life other than your mortgage do you pay $400 a week for (for 1 child)? That is $20,800 a year! Thank goodness for the CCR otherwise our family would be stuffed.
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“nothing will seem expensive again to her once she has experienced the costs of childcare”
Have you looked at the cost of private school fees lately…?
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At least private school fees are a choice. You can’t get around paying childcare if you have a child and want/ need to work.
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Yep of course I have – I have an older child in a private school!
The average for private school fees where I live is aboout $18,000 per year. I think Sydney and Melbourne have higher fees than that – is that what you are getting at?
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Yes, unfortunately in Sydney pvt avg school fees are around $25K – it increases as they get older. I don’t know about Melbourne.
And @Vegas, yes, I know private school fees are a choice, but that’s another whole discussion.
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$70 a day, I wish!
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