# Doctor lecturing you about your weight: what's the least overweight you were & still heard it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 13, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979 "2012-06-13T02:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/61 "2012-06-16T22:49:44Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And truth be told that multi-pronged approach (school based education, media messaging, physician awareness along with skill building, and parents hearing the message from a variety of sources as well) is making headway: the increase in pediatric obesity at least has stopped and in some subgroups has reversed course. But that is what it takes, treating it as a systems problem and hitting at multiple levels of that system. And we have a long way to go. FWIW, the sprog’s pediatrician seldom, if ever, recommends a reducing diet unless the child is so obese that he’s at significant risk for something like Type II diabetes. His philosophy is that it’s better to teach the child appropriate eating habits and let him grow into his weight than it is to possibly cause a much bigger problem turning eating habits into a battle of wills. Because no one wins then. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/62 "2012-06-16T22:58:18Z")
Started my diet in January, had my physical Monday. My doctor used to harp on me in high school, when I was 270 and 5’8.5". Then I dropped to 207, he seemed happy enough. Went back up to 220, now am at 190. I just had the opposite experience: the doctor was beside himself cheery/encouraging/proud at how much weight I lost. He asked me what I did, told me to keep up the good work. Even when I was 220+, though, I had a resting heart rate of sixty, good blood pressure and cholesterol, and did squash/spinning 5 times a week. IMO, this was more for aesthetics than anything health related. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/63 "2012-06-17T01:47:54Z")
**antonio107** and **MsRobyn** , I am happy to hear that you have such good commonsense docs for yourself and your sprog respectively! BTW, in the context of this discussion [this link](http://www.downeyobesityreport.com/tag/overweight-americans/) is of some interest: First off by providing some information that illustrates a problem with BMI. It is reasonable to consider the early 60’s as a normative time for weight, before the obesity epidemic hit. It is interesting to note that using the 25 and 30 BMI cutoffs as the definitions of overweight and obesity called over 13+% of the population obese and another 31+% overweight - by definition in that allegedly normative time a total of about 45%, almost half of the population, was defined as being too heavy. Clearly obsessing over hitting that 25 mark is _no_t justified by historic norms (and as has been cited is not likely justified by outcomes data either). 25 was just chosen for its simplicity but it needlessly defined many as overweight who are well within the middle 50% by historic norms and not likely to be at increased risk of obesity related health problems. Secondly and OTOH, while defining 13+% of a normative population as “obese” was perhaps excessive (the top 5% would probably make more sense) the fact that by 2005 that number went up over 35% and that the number of Americans morbidly obese, BMI over 40, went from less than 1% to over 6% (!) is notable. And for anyone who is interested, [here is an article](http://brooklynfoodcoalition.ning.com/group/schoollunchreform/forum/topics/cdc-reports-child-obesity-rates-down-in-nyc) detailing how pediatric obesity rates are leveling off and even decreasing some slight bit in some groups. > [@](#): > > The findings in this report indicate that, from 2006–7 to 2010–11, the prevalence of obesity among New York City public elementary and middle school students decreased overall and across all demographic groups. Decreases in obesity prevalence were most notable among children aged 5–6 years and were greater among white and Asian/Pacific Islander children than among Hispanic and black children. > In the last decade, the prevalence of obesity appears to have stabilized nationally among preschool and school-aged children (7,8). Although studies in New York and California have shown recent declines in pediatric obesity (9,10), this report describes the largest documented decline to date in a large city in the United States, using comprehensive K–8 public school data. > During 2003–2009, New York City implemented multiple interventions to address the increase in childhood obesity. These measures included establishment of regulations to require improved nutrition, increased physical activity time and limited screen time (e.g., video game, television, or computer) in group child care, provision of extensive nutrition education training and physical activity equipment to 80% of group child care centers, and provision of on-site nutrition education workers at 300 centers. School nurses were trained to identify and monitor children at high risk for obesity and to know when to notify parents that a problem exists and when to refer children for additional medical care. Nurses also were given information about obesity prevention programs offered at schools and in the community. In schools, substantial improvements in cafeteria food were made, including a shift from whole milk to 1% fat and skim milk in 2005. The number of middle schools in a before-school and after-school physical activity program was expanded from 40 to 225, and nearly 4,000 elementary classroom teachers were trained to provide in-class physical activity breaks. Additionally, individualized BMI and fitness reports were sent to all parents of K–8 public school students beginning in 2005, with guidance on how to help their children maintain a healthy weight. … The larger decreases in obesity prevalence among children aged 5–6 years suggest that changes in the preschool or home environment might have been particularly important … I am a bit sad that this _good_ news does not get the press it deserves. That’s a significant number of adults to be whose future obesity is being prevented. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/64 "2012-06-17T02:02:38Z")
Also for kicks [this BMI calculator](http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm) is fun. It gives me a BMI of 24.2 and if I weighed just 6 pounds more it would place me over 25, officially overweight. But it also gives percentiles and tells me that for my age and gender I am at about the 25%ile for BMI and that at that “overweight” number I’d still be well in the lower third at the 30%ile. **DrDeth** , that may still not account for muscle mass and skeletal structure differences between individuals and hereby still only be a proxy for percent body fat but the percentile report may at least address one of your concerns. FWIW I’d need to gain 35 pounds, more than 20% of my body weight, to hit a BMI of 30 (i.e.“obese”) and there is no doubt that would be unhealthy for me. And I’d still only be at the 72%ile, still in the middle half of American males my age group. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/65 "2012-06-17T07:13:02Z")
Excellent and well researched points,\*\* DSeid.\*\*🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979/66 "2012-06-21T10:47:18Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > Yeah, I don’t know if other people are as avoidy as I am, but if I think a doctor is going to lecture me about something I have no intention of changing, it just makes me avoid seeing a doctor at all, or lie if it’s something I can lie about. This. I’ve always been heavy, but when I was at my lowest, around 140, I had a doctor lecture me up one side and down the other about my weight. To the point that I have a really hard time getting myself to go to a doctor without almost working myself into a panic about it. Which, of course, spikes my BP and then I get that lecture… This is actually why I don’t have a doctor right now. I start thinking about going and I get the stress reaction going just from that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-lecturing-you-about-your-weight-whats-the-least-overweight-you-were-still-heard-it/624979.md?page=3)