That BMI chart is a useful guide for average bods but shouldn't be taken more seriously than that. I think the US military have a system that measures shoulder width and other dimensions as they're more an indication of the frame of a person – ie, how big boned they are.

Pinch tests are also a much better indication of fatness. The Special K ads were right.

don't call realman short…. i'm 5'7"…..!

i like realman's style, though. very entertaining. and i'd agree with him that seriously fat people – and by fat i mean people you look at and say "fat!" – shouldn't be given lots of sympathy or allowances made so as to make their lives easier. by doing so there is no longer any encouragement to lose weight.

i was in the UK two weeks ago and was shocked/saddened to see so many fat people. here in germany there are lots of big people, but you wouldn't say they were fat, just big.

Its not the fault of fat people that their fat, its because the were born like that and are big boned, also its genetic and the steroids they take. They are all depressed and eat for comfort, so they can't help it, you should feel sorry for the fatties, and not be so fattest.

i like those bmi charts…….so so accurate.

Hey Ton, according to realman between the 2 of us we should make 3 'normal' people! 😆

It IS the fault of most fat people that they're fat, if they're over 18 years old and in charge of their own destiny. I drink too much and I'm in debt, both of which I am entirely responsible for.

That doesn't mean that it's easy for them, or me, to change our ways, but to say it's not their fault is taking away the burden of responsibility from people for their own actions.

And there are far, far more people with alcohol problems, debt or obesity than there were 50 years ago. It can't all be hormonal.

I would agree that there are more people with debt & obesity problems than 50yrs ago but alcohol?

Come on, alcohol has been a problem for centuries, we only need to look at a Hogarth woodcut to see that!

I think alpin has managed to say what I've been trying to say. I'm talking about fat people. I'm not talking about rugby players and such. I think being fat is less sociably acceptable then shooting up while drink driving in a 4 x 4 covered in swastikas. It is their fault. You see these people who are almost as wide as they are tall, and they don't even look human.

*Makes mental note to tell Ton he should be in a zoo next time he sees him.*

😉

Realman – you are a knob.

Drink driving, drug taking are illegal. being overweight is not.

Just caught up and watched the Fat Families during lunch on Sky anytime, OMG does being fat make you completley stupid, never heard so many pathetic excuses, do these people live in a bubble or what. Also they loose a few stone and at the end of the programme slap a bit of makeup on them and make out they look wonderful, what a crock of sh*t!

The fact that they let themselves get to that state in the first place is an utter disgrace, do they have one of those mirros from the faiground that makes you look slim FFS. That guy has to babysit the fat f*****s do get them to loose a couple of stone.

I think being fat is less sociably acceptable then shooting up while drink driving in a 4 x 4 covered in swastikas.

I think this is something we can all agree we disagree with you about. 😀

Drink driving, drug taking are illegal. being overweight is not.

That's a silly thing to say. Mcat isn't illegal, as are plenty of other drugs. And you can still be just under the limit and driving legally, although its not a very good thing to do. And anyway, I never mentioned laws. I was talking about what is socially acceptable.

Most people who are overweight are overweight because of their own fault. I don't understand however, how ridicule or bullying is going to help anyone.

I accept that some people in denial need to be told the harsh truth but chipping away at someone's already low self esteem is just gonna make the situation worse.

The fact that some people here are joking that fat people are as good as not human is quite terrifying. Dehumanising someone is one of the first steps towards treating that person like an object or an animal – and an attitude that can often lead to abuse.

Call me over-dramatic if you like, but it's not particularly pleasant 🙁

Here we go again. Easy dig's at the seriously obese. Let me tell you what I saw in the mirror when my BMI was 74. I saw a slightly chubby bloke. Nothing more. I knew I was seriously overweight though. I also knew how to diet – I lost weight – I regained weight. Most obese people also know how to diet. Problem is food addiction is not easy to overcome. So does that make me stupid. Obviusly it does according to some people.

Just because I was seriously obese what right does it give you to call me names and say that people like me are stupid, gross, ugly, should be in a zoo. Replace fat with yid, ****, spaz. No different.

Obese people do have a personal responsibility – I accept that as do most of the obese through a charity I work with. Most don't want to be that overwight, most have tried many different ways to lose weight. Most have been in the depth of depair that I have been.

(Oh – and just to clarify the BMI debate – a BMI of 18.1 – whatever BMI scale you use, that is underweight and that person does need to be aware of the strain that is putting on their body. It's much more of an indicator at the lower level than the overweight scale which can be affected by muscle mass.)

Just because I was seriously obese what right does it give you to call me names and say that people like me are stupid, gross, ugly, should be in a zoo. Replace fat with yid, ****, spaz. No different.

The crucial difference is that people (rightly or wrongly) don't view fatness and skin colour as being comparable. With the exception of MJ, no-one chooses to be white/black/a ginger kid etc.

Ultimately, your average overweight bloke could probably eat less cake and go for the occasional jog.

Obviously it would be wrong to discriminate against them for this – discrimination is wrong no matter what the reason is.

Mariusz MMA fight Here is a guy who is 5 11" and 22 stone.
Just do a search for Mariusz Pudzianowski on google to see a few images of the guy.

Someone tell him he should belong in a zoo!

I think this really proves guys can be well over 20 stone and exceptional athletes
Mariusz Training[/url]

I'm too heavy cos I eat too much. 🙂
Wouldn't say I'm badly unfit though, slow down on climbs but holding a steady pace generally ok. I'm aware that my internals are having to work harder than they should, & that worries me.
Lost a load once, 5st almost. Then the mrs left, got depressed etc. I bet most with a bit of life experience have been there in some shape or form. Some drink. Some fight. Some eat. I ate. Before I knew it I was back where I started. All went back on. And pretty quickly, as quick as it came off in fact.
Trying to resist fad diets now, so just resigned to bit more exercise & bit less food this year. If I can shed half the above by the year end I'll be happy.

Realman…I know your expressing an opinion, albeit controversial (trolling maybe ?). I somehow doubt you'd be as vocal if this was a "real" room full of people. 😉

i like watching him in the strongman stuff.
never knew he was a mma fighter.
i would seriously think twice…………………..or five times before taking him on… 😉

Some drink. Some fight. Some eat. I ate

I ride my bike and take photos of women's arses 🙂

That was his first MMA fight in December. He is scheduled to have two more which I am looking forward to. Hope he goes back to strongman though.

isn't martin johnson 21 stone? he is fit and healthy

discrimination is wrong no matter what the reason is

i'd disagree with that…..

Mariusz Pudzianowski is 186cm tall so around 6'1" just gave it a check as I thought he was taller than me 🙂

Thing with losing weight, I used to do loads of cycling and racing when I was 17-19 and used to weight 76kg and still could eat anything I wanted as I trained 6 times a week with the club. But that was when I didn't have to work, pay the bills and study full time at the same time. Than I got lazy and managed to get to 116kg at my heaviest. I can only blame myself and caramel shortbreads (eat loads of sweets) 🙂 I'm working on it now and got down to 98.4kg already. I might not be the quickest on the bike but some of the race whippets would not stand a chance in the gym doing some weight training with me the same as I wouldn't stand a chance up hill with them (my OH brother is a racing snake and he just leaves me for death on the uphill sections, and in fact I can hardly keep up on the flat if not on the road bike, as his 65kg body and 10.8kg bike is too quick).

I don't think I'm very fat or fat as I try to stay active and commute on the bike + gym 3x a week. Only thing I would add is that I used to be on a diet and am on one now. It just feels so miserable and watching what You eat and when You eat, cutting out sweets (and I love sweets) etc. It will work and will bring results but if it wouldn't be for the thought of the final goal I would probably be a miserable git, but training does make me feel good 🙂

Don't understand all the aggressive comments about very fat people I know it's bad for their health, but it's just making it worse, live and let live. Only thing I don't understand is if I see a woman in a supermarket riding the electric shopping buggy, stuffing the basket with all sorts of multipack crisps and sweets than walks normally after paying. Why is she eating so much rubbish and don't even bother to walk around the store when clearly she can and it wouldn't cause any harm (probably over 20st). Some people probably just got used to it and don't really want/feel the need to change. I do eat when I'm stressed as well and think it's better than heavy drinking, smoking or taking drugs…

Only thing to encourage losing weight is that the first kilograms go away pretty quick, so You can see the results…

I did no exercise over Christmas and lost weight. My jeans keep falling down now.

5'11" and 11 stone-and-a-bit 😉

I'm 13 stone got up to 15 stone and decided I better do something about it as I was overweight for my height and build, so I ate sensibly and did more exercise, been depressed and ate more because of that, got into debt blah blah, still knew when I was over eating and drinking to much so I changed my lifestyle, its not hard to do you just need to be willing to do it. I would like to understand the thought process that makes people over eat and also do the same to the children. I don't think its bullying or discriminating by saying someone is fat when the clearly are, if you call them a fat Tw*t or other name to upset them then thats not nice, why pretend a fat person is not fat what else are you supposed to do feel sorry for them or ask why they have got so big, some after all say they like being fat and others find it sexually attractive. Having an opinion doesn't mean its bad even if you do say you don't like the look of fat people,, perhaps its self loathing that makes people loose sight of themselves, however being fat does not mean its a permanent way of life or being. The people in the tv programme knew what they were doing to themselves and just enjoyed eating, so no excuse IMO.

Only thing I don't understand is if I see a woman in a supermarket riding the electric shopping buggy, stuffing the basket with all sorts of multipack crisps and sweets than walks normally after paying. Why is she eating so much rubbish and don't even bother to walk around the store when clearly she can and it wouldn't cause any harm

i think that is what realman was getting at when he says socially acceptable. by providing an alternative means for fat people to get around means they are many times more unlikely to take the initiative themselves.

matlockmeat:

Mariusz MMA fight Here is a guy who is 5 11" and 22 stone.
Just do a search for Mariusz Pudzianowski on google to see a few images of the guy.

I never usually agree with Youtube video comments, but this:

Pudzianowski? vs Emelianenko PLEAAASEEE

…needs to happen!

Pudz would lose against Emelianenko, his fighting skill simply isn't good enough. If he wants to have a chance at MMA he is going to need to lose some weight.

You are, of course, right matlockmeat. It would just be funny….not as funny if Fedor went up against one of the UFC lumps like Brock Lesnar tho.

i dont have much sympathy for very over weight people, I mean very.. unless they have a medical condition.. other than that if it is pure binge eating then they need better will power, only they did it, however being rude, mocking, slagging them off makes you 10 times worse as it will only make things worse for them

telling obese people that they 'should just eat less' is like telling clinically depressed people that they should 'just be happier' or people with anorexia that they should just 'eat more'.

some stunning ignorance on this thread.

telling obese people that they 'should just eat less' is like telling clinically depressed people that they should 'just be happier' or people with anorexia that they should just 'eat more'.

Fundamentally, the problem.

It's like all those frikkin cyclists, who all jump red lights and ride on the pavement all the time without ever paying road tax.

A minor observation. When film-makers want to produce some compelling telly, they can always find a very, very unappealling person to build a freak-show around. A morbidly obese person who is physically pretty repulsive and who stridently blames everyone and everything but their own eating habits is a brilliant example of a freak who will keep people watching the freak-show. They will watch it despite the fact that they aren't really interested and know they aren't watching anything which contributes much to their general knowledge of the world.

I'm quite happy to believe that the people in this programme were pretty ghastly and rather pathetic. But what is true of some freak on the telly is not true of all people remotely like them.

A tv programme in which BigSteve or takisawa2 explained sensibly why they were a bit on the hefty side and talked candidly about how and why that happened, how they felt about it and why it was harder to sort out than one might imagine would actually be interesting, but it would not be a good freak-show and would not get watched.

(And personally, while not being very keen on harassment of large people I think outfits like the International Size Acceptance Association, National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance etc are utterly wrong-headed).

There's fat, and there is FAT – my guide for the difference is when one of my kids stares…

For me 6'2" and 12 1/2 stone. I feel fat when I hit 13 stone, but at 24 (44 now) only weighed 10 stone. But my riding buddy is a couple of inches shorter and a couple of stone heavier – but certainly not fat, although the chart says otherwise. And since we can get into the same size clothes (well shirt/jacket etc), I'm guessing a proper analysis would suggest I'm too light, as opposed to him too heavy?

Who put the Tags in?

Whatever you think about personal responsibility for being over weight yourself you have got to point the finger when it comes to overweight kids. A study showed that the clearest indicator for kids becoming overweight was coming from an overweight family. I don't think genes can take the whole blame. I used to be a teacher once and was appalled at what some kids were given for their packed lunches despite the endless publicity about healthy eating. And it's not just about being poor, synthetic shite is often just as expensive as healthy stuff. Having said that the healthy eating push from govt. is only about saving the NHS money, they don't actually give a toss about anybody out there except bankers.

Not one person has talked about THIS fat.
It's no point banging on about BMI when you're hugely muscular.
It's a tool that manages to satisfy must people in the community, but not all.
If you're 25-29.9 you're clinically fat
If you're 30+ you're obese.
But so what?

It's going to cost our nation an ever increasing NHS bill, puts people in hospitals for a mirriad of health conditions, one of which is type 2 diabetes.

Most ignorant of the facts

Or is it fitness we need to focus upon?

Dr Susan Jebb takes a look through nearly fifty years of amazing BBC archive of mankind's relationship with what we eat, charting the shift from the malnutrition of the past to today's obesity epidemic.

Something that hasnt been mentioned is food costs, when i try to buy the fresh, healthy option, more fruit, veg, etc it always costs more than if i buy the high fat content, low fibre, high frutose content foods and chocalate is often buy one get one free but never apples or other fruit

It disgusts me when I see fat parents with fat kids. The fact is VERY few overweight people ever loose the weight and keep it off. Parents who shovel sh*t into their kids are guilty of abuse. "Oh but Johnny only likes pizza he won't eat anything else" We can talk 'till the cows come home about the underlying causes, the food industry, social welfare, poor education etc etc but imo there is simply no excuse for allowing your kids to become so massively overweight, and by all accounts it will only get worse.