"apparently, it has gotten a lot worse in the last 15 years."

Really??? Surely you jest!

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Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!

i guess i never realized how much worse it has gotten in the last 15 yrs.

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Where would you want to swim ?

Shocking.... However, it's is also apparent in some triathlete too. But at least they are doing something about, they just need to keep it up.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's.....Mequonman.

While you may be getting faster and fitter as a triathlete

I don't know, have you seen the last finishers in a marathon or Ironman lately?

I watched a marathon last year and was shocked at those finishing near the back of the pack.

People have to realize that exercise is not enough, you have to eat properly too to be healthy.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

What do you all think of the BMI calculations? They seem crazy to me. I'm 6'3" and it says my healthy weight can range anywhere from 148 lbs to 199 lbs. That's one heck of a range. Right now I'm at about 201 and I've been between 190-210 most of my adult life.

How do you know your ideal weight?

Well, the upshot is that they'll start making airplane seats wider so that the fit among us will have ample room on those long flights!

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

BMI calculations have to be used properly. Even then they have a lot of potential error. You have to consider a person's frame and endo/meso/ectomorph build.

If you're "normal" weight you are in the minority. Only about a third of Americans fall into this catagory. Interesting article.

Ever see the movie "Super Size Me".

http://www.usatoday.com/...08-weight-usat_x.htm

Quality of life and longevity (tied together- good quality of life over age 60) are key reason to keep up the training, and make it into a lifestyle. When I was a bit younger, I used to think it was better to be strong and a few pounds heavy. Now, I feel better the more weight I strip off. I don't really miss the weightlifter size like I thought I would. Lucklily, my wife has started to change her habits as well, particularly eating habits. She's small and thin (5'1", 101 #), but feels better on a cleaner diet. The real bonus is our daughter growing up a healthy, active child. Nothing like 45 minutes of basement soccer to tire her out before bed! (And maybe some outside time if this (*&^%% ice ever goes away!)

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If I don't, who will? -Me
It's like being bipolar in opinion is a requirement around here. -TripleThreat

BMI is really just a general figure that is used by health professionals to determine whether someone falls into normal, overweight, or obese categories. And of course, athletes tend to find that their BMIs are way off. Also, your BMI should not really be used to tell you your ideal body weight as you have pointed out that your range is very broad.

Ideal Body Weights are calculated differently:

IBW for men= 106 lbs for the first 5' (or 60 inches) + 6lbs for each additional inch over 5 feet with a range of +/- 10%.... so your ideal body weight should be about 196lbs and your range is 176-216lbs.

IBW for women= 100lbs for the first 5' (or 60 inches) + 5lbs for each additional inch over 5 feet with a range of +/- 10%

Sounds to me like you're doing pretty good!

BMI is complete crap for any highly-trained athlete. It doesn't distinguish whatsoever between weight that's carried in the form of fat and that which is carried in the form of muscle.

The guy who owns the gym where I work out says I'm practically "manorexic." Yet my BMI says I'm somewhat overweight ... which is nonsense.

BMI is a measure that pretty much only applies to lazy, sedentary types of people.
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Bob C.

The "science" on any matter can never be settled until every possible variable is taken into account.

Well, the upshot is that they'll start making airplane seats wider

And they are changing the definition of "small" and "medium" clothes to fool people into thinking they are not really gaining any weight.

It's not a lie if you don't believe it.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

My body-type is somewhere in the middle. I guess that would put me at about 175 lbs for my ideal weight, give or take a few pounds, which in my mind is just about right.

"IBW for men= 106 lbs for the first 5' (or 60 inches) + 6lbs for each additional inch over 5 feet with a range of +/- 10%.... so your ideal body weight should be about 196lbs and your range is 176-216lbs.

IBW for women= 100lbs for the first 5' (or 60 inches) + 5lbs for each additional inch over 5 feet with a range of +/- 10%"

Where did that come from?

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Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!

One of the hundreds of nutrition books I have acquired throughout my 3 Nutrition degrees. If you want me to dig up which one it could take some time. This is also the formula that we use at the hospital that I work at.

One of the hundreds of nutrition books I have acquired throughout my 3 Nutrition degrees. If you want me to dig up which one it could take some time.

Not necessary. I was just wondering if there was any science behind it.

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Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!

Okay, I have the official answer on where I acquired this definition. Its from the American Dietetic Association itself.

"ADA Pocket Guide to Nutrition Assessment" Authors: Pamela Charney, MS, RD and Ainsley Malone, MS, RD.

Hope that answers your question sufficiently.

"IBW for men= 106 lbs for the first 5' (or 60 inches) + 6lbs for each additional inch over 5 feet with a range of +/- 10%"

It is interesting because the ideal weight for me would be 163 and that is right where I am when I race my best. When I'm 10% over ~180, I feel fat and bloated - when I go much under I feel emaciated and weak.

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Don

Tri-ing to have fun. Anything else is just a bonus!

Everything in this book is referenced by a research study or another authoritative reference book. Unfortunately it doesn't list which studies go with which pieces of information but I tend to feel the best at my ideal body weight according to the formula as well. At the high end, I feel like the most unathletic person ever or as you put it "bloated" and don't even like to get up off the couch. I don't feel as bad on the low end thankfully but have to try hard not to hit the upper range during the winter.

I'm not fat...there's just more of me to love :)

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Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone

I hear you Martin. I grew up with two parents that smoked like chimneys. I HATED it and would leave the room when they'd light up. My mom eventually quit and my dad died from smoking. I am hypersensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke. I absolutely HATE it and can detect the smallest whiff of it. Thank GOD here in California smoking is not allowed in any restaurant/bar, etc.

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My business-eBodyboarding.com

It was the shock of my life moving to the midwest from the bay area. Seems like everyone here is fat and smokes. Just don't understand it.

Ric

"Shocking.... "

Shocking, but not surprsing. This is the end result when:

1. Food choices are unhealthy.

2. Portions become massive.

3. Physical activity for just about all North Americans has dropped to zero

4. The lay-out of our urban and sub-urban living settings is such that you have to get in your car to drive to do anything, which leads to #3.

5. Our kids no longer go out and play, and are bussed and driven everywhere.

6. Companies that sell the most un-healthy foods also win the yearly advertising dollar spend.

The strange thing is the solutions are clear and straight-forward:

A) There is always a healthy choice of food to eat

B) Keep the portion size under control

C) Get active, and no you don't have to become a fitness freak like we all are, just get out and do something, anything

D) I know this sounds extreme, but move to an area that allows for a more active lifestyle - walking to stores, school, church etc . . . You don't HAVE TO buy that home in the sub-divsion in the middle of no-where

C) Let the kids PLAY

D) Mandate some form of tax/tariff on companies that sell unhealthy foods and channel that money back into fitness and rec programs.

It's not like we are trying to find the cure for Cancer here. It's all right there. The bizarre thing is that NO ONE, people, politicions, communities, municipalities, goverments etc . . want to do anything about it.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I found this powerpoint presentation at the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/..._trends_2005.ppt#395
25 or so slides, and it shows how things have changed, like you said. It's probably the one used in those videos, but I'm not sure (sorry, I didn't have the patience to watch all of that and check). It uses BMI too.

Obviously there's a problem, but I wonder how much muscle or stature has skewed the results since in calculations of BMI, one pound of lean muscle is equivalent to one pound of fat.

I think lifting weights is probably more popular than it was 15 years ago. Maybe not. Are people more muscular in general? Also, in my limited travels overseas, I've noticed that Americans ARE fatter, but also that, less obviously, a lot of Americans are also muscular compared to other countries. So is this an anomaly? Beyond that, what about bone density increase as a result of excercise?

I'm sure it doesn't account for much, but I think a reasonable BMI should account for a waistline measurement at the very least. So maybe, instead of weight in kgs over square of height in meters, you could multiply it by a person's waistline and compare it to a similar standard for obesity. It would be reasonable to do this and require no special equiptment. Certainly it would be imperfect, but it would be better than the standard BMI as an indicator of obesity, I think.

Before I get flamed for asking, I want to emphasize that I DO THINK OBESITY IS A PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE US. However, I wonder what confounding factors there are in American culture or popular culture.

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Alright, when I say your name, you say 'here.' And we will assume 'here' is short for 'here I am...rock you like a hurricane.
~Ignignokt