# Doper BMI (Body Mass Index) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 24, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795 "2010-11-24T17:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/181 "2010-12-03T02:51:06Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > More like there’s a lot of Americans on this board and Americans, statistically, are giant fatties. Statistically, obesity in America correlates with a different socioeconomic and ethnic demographic than the one found here. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/182 "2010-12-03T02:58:06Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > It’s ‘Ideal’ because people in this range are more medically healthy as a group than those outside it. The medical establishment uses BMI in a lot of studies, that’s how they determine cut-offs. ‘Underweight’ people have been found to have certain health risks compared to ‘Ideal’ people who are at least risk of a variety of ailments, ‘Overweight’ people have somewhat increased risks compared to ‘Ideal’ and ‘Obese’ people dramatically increased risks. After gathering this kind of information, a decision was made to lower the BMI cut-off for ‘Overweight’ from 27 to 25 to just a couple decades ago. That’s why I proposed that calling it “medically healthy” would be more perspicuous than “ideal”, since most people’s ideal weight isn`t defined entirely by whether it leaves them at greater or lower risk of health problems. Most people also take into account how they look at a particular weight, for instance, when determining if it’s ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/183 "2010-12-03T03:07:24Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > Statistically, obesity in America correlates with a different socioeconomic and ethnic demographic than the one found here. I realize that the plural of “anecdote” is not “data” and that I live in the South, but I just went to a thing today with a bunch of librarians, middle managers, and government drones, and they were _all fat._ Out of maybe 30 people, I’d say two or three were at an ideal weight. White middle class people who wouldn’t be there if they didn’t have jobs. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/184 "2010-12-03T04:00:34Z")
I think the American South might have the highest number of large people in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/185 "2010-12-03T04:06:19Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > More vast oversimplifications. Stopping smoking is as much (or for some people, more) about replacing or distracting oneself from the psychological addiction. (Not to mention, an unlit cigarette can be placed in one’s mouth without making one a smoker) > > I’m glad I don’t live in Blackandwhitia as described by you and Rand. It sounds pretty dystopian. The thing is, when somebody stops smoking, they do it by every single damned time they want a smoke, they _don’t smoke._ Every time a fat person doesn’t eat the extra cookie, they _don’t eat the cookie._ Every time you want to stay in bed, you _get up and go running._ I don’t see how that could possibly be insulting - that’s the only thing that matters, in the end. Not smoking that cigarette, not eating that Snickers bar, not hitting the snooze button. It’s not useful to act like that isn’t the case - in fact, it’s counterproductive. Eventually, the rubber will meet the road and you have got to decide - do I want to sleep late or do I want to live? ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/186 "2010-12-08T22:11:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > The thing is, when somebody stops smoking, they do it by every single damned time they want a smoke, they _don’t smoke._ Every time a fat person doesn’t eat the extra cookie, they _don’t eat the cookie._ Every time you want to stay in bed, you _get up and go running._ I don’t see how that could possibly be insulting - that’s the only thing that matters, in the end. Not smoking that cigarette, not eating that Snickers bar, not hitting the snooze button. It’s not useful to act like that isn’t the case - in fact, it’s counterproductive. Eventually, the rubber will meet the road and you have got to decide - do I want to sleep late or do I want to live? I have to agree. Whatever the deeper issues, it’s the small choices you make each day that make the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/187 "2010-12-09T15:29:34Z")
Agree. When I reached my one year weight loss anniversary I got a tattoo that basically says “dripping water can eat through stone.” It’s to remind myself of the hundreds of little changes I made to be a slender person (packing a lunch, taking the stairs, ordering smaller sizes, measuring pasta, avoiding fast food, etc etc). February will be my 6 year anniversary - and I continue the big and little changes, every day. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/188 "2010-12-11T15:29:42Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Why would it be particularly invalid for short or tall people? Because there are fewer of them to make a statistical comparison from? Because volume - and therefore mass - is proportional to the cube of the height, not the square of the height, so the farther you differ from the average height, the bigger the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/189 "2010-12-11T15:37:15Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Gestalt, I think you are still missing the point. Certain obese dopers are saying that no matter what they do, it is impossible for them or a friend to lose weight. That’s not the equivalent of saying “I just can’t eat” (ie, a statement about one’s own behavior). It’s more like saying “My body is different than every other human’s and doesn’t obey the laws of physics.” > > In fact, the obese person’s statement above is actually the opposite of the skinny statement you posited–the obese person doesn’t recognize that there’s any problem with their behavior and blame their problem on physical factors beyond their control. > > And that’s why they get bagged on–the fact that they are fat is just a side issue. > [@EmAnJ](#): > > Just to further make the comparison, it would be like an underweight person saying ‘I eat 2500 calories a day and I can’t gain any weight! No matter how hard I try, I can’t get myself in to a normal weight range, so I gave up. I don’t want to have to eat 10,000 calories and lie in bed all day, so I decided not to try any more.’ > > If an obese person said ‘I know I eat too much, but I can’t help myself. I just binge like there’s no tomorrow and I keep gaining weight. I can’t stop myself.’, then they’d get the same type of advice as the anorexic acknowledging their problem in the same fashion. I understand the distinction that y’all are making here, and I agree that there is a difference and I was miscategorizing the attitudes towards weight loss by overweight people in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/190 "2010-12-11T20:01:26Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I am someone who can’t help being fat no matter what. Why personal judgments come into play in threads like these, I don’t know. But I can see why other fatties would prefer not to post about their experiences and state of mind, knowing that attacks on them will be inevitable. > > [Polycystic ovary syndrome - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycystic_ovary_syndrome) I thought PCOS [is caused by being fat](http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/What-Causes-PCOS.php) in the first place, and once you have it makes it harder to lose weight, not that you get PCOS for no reason and it makes you obese when you weren’t before. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/191 "2010-12-12T03:25:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I thought PCOS [is caused by being fat](http://pcos.insulitelabs.com/What-Causes-PCOS.php) in the first place, and once you have it makes it harder to lose weight, not that you get PCOS for no reason and it makes you obese when you weren’t before. I don’t know that either scenario is strictly true. I was diagnosed with PCOS years and years ago, and have never been more than 20 pounds above my ideal weight. I wasn’t overweight at the time I was diagnosed, either. While obesity and PCOS are strongly correlated, I don’t know that obesity _has_ to be preset for a diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![skylar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@skylar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skylar)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795/192 "2010-12-12T06:27:50Z")
As someone who has struggled with food addiction and eating-disordered behavior for 10+ years, I wanted to throw in my $0.02 regarding the most recent posts on this thread…food can be just as must of an addiction as nicotine, alcohol, meth, whatever. Food (especially simple carbs/sweet foods) work the same way anti-depressants work in the brain. Food is an ADDICTION and I have huge sympathy for overweight/obese individuals who feel like they can’t get their eating under control. They feel the same way that smokers feel when they have failed at quitting for the millionth time. I highly recommend Overeaters Anonymous. It sounds silly to most, but I go to at least 2-3 meetings per week. Only a person who feels out of control with food can understand how they are the same as a person who feels out of control with alcohol and attends AA…the problem with a food addiction is that you HAVE to eat to live. Humans can live without drinking alcohol, but we can’t live without eating. Telling a compulsive overeater to eat three meals a day is the exact same as telling an alcoholic to just have two or three drinks a day, but unfortunately we have to do it. Bulimia can lead to PCOS regardless of weight, FYI. I personally have met two average-weight bulimics who had PCOS, and this was after I read about bulimia’s correlation with the disease. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doper-bmi-body-mass-index/561795.md?page=9)