4 ms·
People here are exaggerating the fatness of the average American. Yes, obesity is an unsightly problem, but the man in that photo would still be a stand-out tod
by pw0ncakes 17y ago
People here are exaggerating the fatness of the average American. Yes, obesity is an unsightly problem, but the man in that photo would still be a stand-out today-- just less of one. Instead of being someone we'd only see in a circus, he's the noticeably obese fat guy in the line at McDonalds.
He's definitely not sideshow-freak material today, but he'd definitely be the fattest person on an average subway car. I'd eyeball him at 350-400 pounds.
Also, one thing to keep in mind regarding the rightward tail is that, once you cross into the 400+ pound range, you're at constant risk of weight-related death, regardless of age. We can now keep people at that weight alive into their 50s and 60s at 500+ pounds. A hundred years ago, most of them would have died long before getting to the "circus-worthy" range (700+) today.
- nandemo 17y agoHe's definitely not sideshow-freak material today, but he'd definitely be the fattest person on an average subway car. I don't get your point. He might be the fattest in a subway car, but the point is that there's another like him in just about every subway car. One hundred years ago the fat guy was (say) 1 in a 100_000; nowadays it is 1 in 100.
- smallblacksun 17y agoYou also have to remember that the guidelines for what is considered obese was changed in 1998. It changed 30 million people from being considered normal weight to obese. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/guideposts/fitness/optimal.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/guideposts/fitnes...
- ajscherer 17y agoThose 30 million people were reclassified from normal to overweight. People with BMIs between 30 and 31.9 would've been reclassified from overweight to obese, but I see no indication that there were 30 million of them.