# A somewhat crude question about overweight people. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024 "2009-08-11T02:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/21 "2009-08-11T17:33:53Z")
The simple answer are that most fat people, myself included don’t do anything different than people who weigh less. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/22 "2009-08-11T17:56:35Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Link, please? Here you go: [Why would a person do this?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=220523) ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/23 "2009-08-11T18:12:48Z")
I would guess that the thought is that the cheeks wouldn’t separate enough on large enough people. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/24 "2009-08-11T18:39:10Z")
I would imagine that in some public restrooms the size of the stall or positioning of the toilet paper holder might be an issue, as well. I was at a bridal shower a few months ago in an event hall where the stalls were so small and the toilets so low that even I had trouble with it, and I had my poor 94 year old grandmother and her walker with me. I don’t even know how we got her out - it’s kind of a blur now. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/25 "2009-08-11T19:55:42Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > No, it’s not. It’s a question to satisfy curiousity. Nothing about the question was disparaging about overweight people, and it seemed as if the OP framed it about as delicately as possible. > Why isn’t it OK to ask those questions? I completely agree, and was very surprised at **picnurse’s** comment. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/26 "2009-08-11T19:57:14Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Are you curious about pretty girls’ bowel habits Its not hard to find video of that on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/27 "2009-08-11T20:07:30Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > A more interesting question might be how _much_ do overweight people poop. At rest, your body needs 12 calories per pound of body weight to maintain the same weight (the larger you are, the harder blood needs to be pumped, the more effort it takes to move, etc). Someone who weighs 180 pounds has 2,100 calories to play with per day, but someone who weighs 320lbs can take in almost 4,000 calories without gaining/losing. That’s a lot of dookie. Not really. Even when I’m in the food the hardest, bingeing at every meal, it’s maybe one big poop a day. And as mentioned, my anus still fits in the same place over the bowl, and my cheeks are spreadable. > [@Telperien](#): > > “Morbidly obese,” being a medical term for people with BMIs over 40, is not really meaningful in this instance. It isn’t shorthand for “really, insanely fat” the way a lot of people seem to think. For a person 5’10" in height, that would be about 280 pounds. That is hefty, yes, but it’s not circus fat person like I’m sure a lot of people picture. Definitely. Here was me at 5’9"ish and ~320 (BMI around 47); yeah, I was really fat (and it affected blood pressure, etc.) but I could still get around. [![](https://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/gigisdmb/?action=view¤t=heavy.jpg) ](https://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/gigisdmb/?action=view¤t=heavy.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/28 "2009-08-11T20:22:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Specifically, how do you/they fit your butt in the rather tiny hole of the toilet lid? If you’re sticking your butt through the toilet seat, I must warn you… YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!! As a person carrying aroung a few extra pounds, I’ve never had any issues. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/29 "2009-08-11T20:42:14Z")
Only difference I formerly (once 288#, now ~200#) noticed was that I had to be careful how I positioned myself to avoid damaging cheap plastic toilet seats. I used to be fat-bound enough to have flexibility issues, but not enough to have problems reaching my own backside. I could see it being a problem if I was massively heavier, but ask again if I ever hit 400#, God forbid. As to amputees, I guess most have enough ass left to sit on, and any logistical problems would be offset by the fact that, say, a legless person has much less weight to manage for his general size and build, and quite likely has upper body strength out the wazoo from what I remember from _Reach For The Sky_. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/30 "2009-08-11T20:48:42Z")
> [@Gbro](#): > > I worked with a wonderful guy that tipped the scale at 600 lbs. he broke more than one turlet! the wall hanging kind, took out blocks and all. > > At that weight he lost control of staying odor free. > Our prayers are that he is floating free of his earthly body and I am looking forward to a great reunion! Am I reading you right? Sounds like you’re hoping the guy is dead because he smelled like ass. 😕 Or you’re just fond of [non sequiturs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/31 "2009-08-11T20:49:01Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Its not hard to find video of that on the internet. But what if it was 2 girls, and … Nope, can’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/32 "2009-08-11T20:49:13Z")
I think the amputee thing came up in reference to people with no arms, rather than people with no legs. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/33 "2009-08-11T20:56:39Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Am I reading you right? Sounds like you’re hoping the guy is dead because he smelled like ass. 😕 Or you’re just fond of [non sequiturs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur). I thought it meant they know he is dead, and they believe in an afterlife free of the troubles he/we have here. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/34 "2009-08-11T21:00:48Z")
I admit to curiosity about how a person with no arms would handle personal hygiene in public, but I think a bidet would handle hygiene at home. Come to think of it, a bidet would likely assist in the upper/heavier range of the ambulatory morbidly obese\* (those who really do have difficulty reaching various areas). \*Thank you for the clarifications on what morbidly obese really is. I honestly thought it was the extreme end of large individuals, and the simple obese covered basically everyone else who was large. I know better now. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/35 "2009-08-11T21:16:55Z")
I’m a big guy. I have a large frame, and since the excess baggage is fairly well distributed throughout my torso, I “carry my weight well.” In other words, most people, when asked to guess, estimate my weight to be 75-100 lbs less than it actually is. Nonetheless, it does put a certain strain on one’s flexibility. Under ordinary circumstances, using the restroom presents no more difficulties for me than it would for any “normally-proportioned” person. The only exceptions have been those occasions when I’ve thrown out my back – something that used to happen with frustrating regularity. During some of these episodes, my ability to twist my body into a position which would accommodate the wiping process was extremely curtailed. My only option on such occasions was to drag my wounded carcass into the shower for an all-over ablution. Keep this in mind, though. For most people, putting on weight is a gradual process. Cleaning oneself after using the toilet is something normally done several times a day. As one’s girth expands, the muscles in the arm and hand, through frequent practice, stretch to allow greater range of reach. Some unfortunates eventually reach a point where the target region migrates beyond the length of their reach. But until this happens, and as long as one remains flexible enough to perform the necessary contortions, big folks use the crapper just like everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/36 "2009-08-11T21:28:10Z")
It was just last night, as I recall, that I heard an old, old stand-up routine in which the comic asked, “How do blind people know when they’re done wiping?” ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/37 "2009-08-11T22:57:23Z")
As noted above, a lot of people have a distorted image of what 200, 250, 300, etc. pounds actually looks like, and what counts as morbidly obese. [The BMI Project.](http://www.slide.com/r/z9dXPPp64D_DdIywhN6cCu4sFUDIazOb?previous_view=lt_embedded_url) ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/38 "2009-08-12T00:17:18Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > Here you go: [Why would a person do this?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=220523) That’s it. Some threads have mental sticking power and that’s one of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/39 "2009-08-12T03:29:55Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > 1. **Mahaloth** , your question is rude and bigoted. > > 2. Are you curious about pretty girls’ bowel habits, or vets who’ve lost limbs in war or little people? No, because it’s not ok to ask, but somehow fat people are fair game. 1. I really think I handled it a sensitively as possible. I have been on this board since the AOL days(1997, I think), and this is hardly the most offensive or rude question I’ve seen. However, I do not intend to offend, and I’m sorry if it did. 2. Pretty girls? Well, I can figure that out myself. Lost limbs? Little people? I guess I’m a little curious, but I’ve known far more very overweight people than the two categories you gave. Honestly, you have to pick your battles. There are some really rude people out there who tease or are rude to overweight people. I’m not one of them. I am sorry if you were offended. I tried, really hard, to avoid that. I thought my effort was obvious. > [@corkboard](#): > > …and it seemed as if the OP framed it about as delicately as possible. Thanks…I tried. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024/40 "2009-08-12T03:30:58Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > As noted above, a lot of people have a distorted image of what 200, 250, 300, etc. pounds actually looks like, and what counts as morbidly obese. [The BMI Project.](http://www.slide.com/r/z9dXPPp64D_DdIywhN6cCu4sFUDIazOb?previous_view=lt_embedded_url) Yes, I have found this to be true. My friend who was 320 lbs. often had people guess he weighed 240 or so. Also, where is that towel thread? That’s some weird stuff! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-somewhat-crude-question-about-overweight-people/506024.md?page=3)