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Anyone have statistics on what % of those overweight adults are actually healthy, or at least have an acceptable body fat %? Many athletes and weightlifters wou

Anyone have statistics on what % of those overweight adults are actually healthy, or at least have an acceptable body fat %? Many athletes and weightlifters would be considered overweight by BMI due to muscle mass. And according to the "Adults" PDF, that's the metric they're using. It's probably not a large percentage but I get ticked off a bit to know that you can be in the "overweight" BMI category and have clearly defined abs. I've also noticed that the muscle-building culture is much, much smaller in the rest of the world than America. So while I'm sure we have a lot more fat people, we also have a lot more buff people, both of which are contributing to this percentage.

toasterlovin 9y ago
I fall into the group you mention. BMI of 34, which makes me obese, but not, you now, actually obese. That being said, serious weight lifters and large athletes are not a meaningful % of population.
deleted 9y ago
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stevekemp 9y ago
"Healthy" is such a nebulous term it is hard to reply in a serious fashion. Many HAES-advocates, for example, would claim they're extremely healthy despite weighing 300lbs+. Any poor effects are just coincidental, and the weight is not a cause. The best way of discovering how healthy somebody is? Perform an autopsy. Beyond reporting on aches, pains, lumps, worn out joints, the simple fact is people can appear very healthy right until they drop dead. Blood tests, CT-scans, etc, can be used to look at very narrow metrics, but they don't tell give a useful "healthy vs. non-healthy" response.
- LinuxBender 9y ago
  What is the deepest most complete diagnostics we can run on humans without them having to be dead? I would be interested in such a lab exercise even if it cost a lot.
jriot 9y ago
I would fall into this category. I am 5'11", weighing 220lbs, which equates to a BMI of 30.7. My hobby is powerlifting, 1,300 lbs total. I have a clean diet, but do eat a heavy animal fat diet. Though all my meat comes from a local small farm e.g., I was able to watch the pig grow from a baby to right before it was slaughtered. I saw them feed the pigs (6 in total) 15 gallons of goats milk etc... The beef I got was done a similar matter but a slightly larger farm - which was grass finished. While I eat a meat heavy diet, I feel great, the best I have in my entire life (I am 32 years old). I also tested my cardio recently via swimming and I was able to swim 500 yards in 11 minutes. Not breaking records but felt good enough. Though I did notice swimming is more form and I basically muscle my way through the water i.e., I don't have good swim form. Could I loose some weight? I am certain I could and probably be a little healthier. However, the feeling of being strong is incredible and I don't wish to give that up.
nradov 9y ago
Very few athletes are actually overweight. The Olympics are on TV right now. How many of the competitors look overweight to you? Even in America only a tiny fraction of the population is really "buff"; they have a negligible impact on the overall percentage.
- nicolashahn 9y ago
  My point is that those competitors ARE classified as overweight by BMI. Don't forget that muscle is denser than fat - a flabby 169lb is going to have more body volume than a fit 169lb. Any muscular sprinting/non-endurance athlete is probably going to be classified as overweight. Here's something to think about: spindly Usain Bolt is 6'4" and 207lbs - which puts him at just over edge of "overweight" which is 25 BMI. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_tbl.pdf https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi...
  - nradov 9y ago
    No the vast majority of Olympians really aren't classified as overweight. Check your data again. It's really only in a few sports which require short bursts of high power where you frequently see athletes muscular enough to technically fall into the "overweight" category.

toasterlovin 9y ago

I fall into the group you mention. BMI of 34, which makes me obese, but not, you now, actually obese. That being said, serious weight lifters and large athletes are not a meaningful % of population.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

stevekemp 9y ago

"Healthy" is such a nebulous term it is hard to reply in a serious fashion. Many HAES-advocates, for example, would claim they're extremely healthy despite weighing 300lbs+. Any poor effects are just coincidental, and the weight is not a cause. The best way of discovering how healthy somebody is? Perform an autopsy. Beyond reporting on aches, pains, lumps, worn out joints, the simple fact is people can appear very healthy right until they drop dead. Blood tests, CT-scans, etc, can be used to look at very narrow metrics, but they don't tell give a useful "healthy vs. non-healthy" response.

LinuxBender 9y ago
What is the deepest most complete diagnostics we can run on humans without them having to be dead? I would be interested in such a lab exercise even if it cost a lot.

jriot 9y ago

I would fall into this category. I am 5'11", weighing 220lbs, which equates to a BMI of 30.7. My hobby is powerlifting, 1,300 lbs total. I have a clean diet, but do eat a heavy animal fat diet. Though all my meat comes from a local small farm e.g., I was able to watch the pig grow from a baby to right before it was slaughtered. I saw them feed the pigs (6 in total) 15 gallons of goats milk etc... The beef I got was done a similar matter but a slightly larger farm - which was grass finished. While I eat a meat heavy diet, I feel great, the best I have in my entire life (I am 32 years old). I also tested my cardio recently via swimming and I was able to swim 500 yards in 11 minutes. Not breaking records but felt good enough. Though I did notice swimming is more form and I basically muscle my way through the water i.e., I don't have good swim form. Could I loose some weight? I am certain I could and probably be a little healthier. However, the feeling of being strong is incredible and I don't wish to give that up.

nradov 9y ago

Very few athletes are actually overweight. The Olympics are on TV right now. How many of the competitors look overweight to you? Even in America only a tiny fraction of the population is really "buff"; they have a negligible impact on the overall percentage.

nicolashahn 9y ago
My point is that those competitors ARE classified as overweight by BMI. Don't forget that muscle is denser than fat - a flabby 169lb is going to have more body volume than a fit 169lb. Any muscular sprinting/non-endurance athlete is probably going to be classified as overweight. Here's something to think about: spindly Usain Bolt is 6'4" and 207lbs - which puts him at just over edge of "overweight" which is 25 BMI. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_tbl.pdf https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi...
- nradov 9y ago
  No the vast majority of Olympians really aren't classified as overweight. Check your data again. It's really only in a few sports which require short bursts of high power where you frequently see athletes muscular enough to technically fall into the "overweight" category.