Am I overweight?
This is a question that has bothered many people over the years. As a matter of fact, as you read this, there are at least 10,000 people in the US alone wondering if indeed, they are overweight.
Why this is a valid concern – and no one ought to allow themselves (either by action or inaction) to put on unwarranted fat, the growing concern for overweight is a deep cause for worry, especially when it is completely unwarranted/unjustified.
This article will treat this concern of yours in a most detailed and satisfactory manner. It is thus hoped that at the end of the article, you’ll have a more informed answer to the question: “Am I overweight?”
Am I Overweight? Getting to the Root of this Question
Weight – and the concept of both ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ has always been arbitrary, with society, the media and the general public setting the ‘rules’.
In the 1880s for instance, (according to Medical Daily) it was fashionable to be what we would call today, ‘obese’.
Women who were thin and skinny (in the manner we call ‘sexy’ today) were the object of ridicule and were seriously laughed at – with a ton of pressure to change their body sizes to something more ‘acceptable’.
As a matter of fact, Medical Daily further reports that, many women held that men would not as much as look at them when they were skinny (until they added weight and became plump).
The photos of the new ‘plump’ women however indicate what we would consider today as ‘overweight’ or outrightly ‘obese!’
The same went for men – though with more subtleties. The ideal man was a skinny (at best athletic) body type and not the near impossible, muscular variant we have today.
Things, clearly, have changed – all thanks to the media and public perception.
However, what should not change is the standard perception of yourself you have. This should be fixed – and constant and not reliant on some public opinion(s) or a clearly confused media.
So, to get to your initial question; Am I overweight, what should you actually be looking for/at (beyond society and the clearly confused media)?
Why Weight/Fat Alone is a Poor Indication of the Obesity/Overweight Question and What Question you Should be Asking Instead
As we have seen above, the concept of obesity and overweight is a societal construct – a make belief issue that changes with the times and tide.
Accordingly thus, you cannot validly say whether you are overweight or obese based on your weight alone or worse, how your body is, fat wise.
So, instead of asking if you are overweight, you should instead focusing on asking a more objective and easily verifiable question that the media cannot mess with: what is your BMI (Body Mass Index)?
Wikipedia defines BMI to be:
a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of an individual. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is universally expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres.
As you can thus see, you will know if you are overweight or not based on the results that come out from a smart BMI calculation – which factors (aside your height and weight), age and sex.
In conclusion thus, you should be more interested in your BMI than what the media thinks is the ideal body shape or size.
Recommended Reading: Best Bicycles for Overweight Men.
Keeping Fit
Irrespective of your current BMI, keeping fit is very important if you are to function at optimal performance and keep your body free from an unanticipated breakdown.
This means that, you need to eat smart, exercise on a regular basis and more importantly, make certain that your blood is flowing freely to all the areas of your body without any hindrance.
Once you have a healthy BMI (as indicated here), are eating smart and are keeping an active lifestyle, you have little reason to worry if you are overweight, even if the media and society in general thinks otherwise.
Remember, with your body and health, perception isn’t everything. What really matters are the figures that the medical community agrees with.
And, only you can get these figures straight!
Wrap Up on the Question: Am I Obese?
You may actually be obese at the moment or may be as least overweight 🙂
However, you would not know for sure unless you get your BMI straight and correctly interpret it. Till that happens, comparing yourself to super skinny models who are on special “skinny” diet and would rather die than add a kg is clearly not the smartest way to draw conclusions on your body.
Remember, the media also goes along with perception and sell whatever they believe will buy…don’t be that buyer of trash!