I saw the evening news tonight and it stated that we have 59 million obese Americans now. Obese means being 20% over an ideal weight for your height (a BMI of 30 or more). I went to the website www.knowyourbmi.com and figured it out for my stats. I would have to get down to 190 to not be obese. So that is a target weight for me to aim for. How about you-what is your "I am no longer an obese person weight?"

laura
313/252/190 (for a bmi=29)

The statistic is truly shocking. Such a high amount of people, and yet overweight people are so often stigmatised in society yet 59m are obese, it doesn't make sense. Overweight people should have a stronger base in public opinion and setting of policies, rather than being so often disregarded. it is up for every single person to deal with their weight issues, if we don't focus on weight loss at least for health sakes, forget appearance etc, then the countries of the western worlds will have a huge epidemic and tremendous strain on public health services, it's horrible to think of what will happen, if we don't try hard.

My not-obese-anymore goal is 188. I have to be under that weight (shoes and all in the middle of the day at my doctor's) in order to adopt a child with the program we've chosen. So, this is an important goal!

I thought it was an arbitrary number (20% overweight), but apparently the doctor at this agency is going for non-obese parents.

It seems like if I had known the "obese" distinction, I might have paid more attention on my way UP the scale. Maybe not - I wasn't always weighing. . .

Angi

my "N O B" weight would be 180 for a BMI of 29, but I'm shooting for 167 (bmi 27). Hey, if I'm gonna dream, I'm gonna dream BIG

How did you figure that out?

I am 5'7". Following a weight chart from the dr, one way to figure out your "ideal weight" was: 100# for your first five feet, add 5# for every inch over 5 feet. This was back in like 1985. Then they changed it so that it's considering everyone's body type. The highest weight I could be w/o being "obese" according to that chart (which apeared in SHAPE Magazine a few years ago) is 160. Which would be an ok goal, but @ 150, my BMI is below 25, and my birth control pills work like they're supposed to.

According to this website, I'd still be at risk for stuff if I make my goal.
That made me mad, but the site overall is fantastic.

My "not obese anymore" goal? I dunno--how did you guys figure that out???? HELP!?!?!?!?!?

Basically if your BMI is over 30 then your considered obese. so me, being 5'6" it said that at 180 my BMI would be 29, which is less than 30. Get it?

Yeah. Then 188 is the highest weight I could be w/o being considered obese.

Thank you!

No Prob! Anytime......

My "no longer an obese person" weight is 200. That would put my BMI right at 29. That's a GREAT goal to work for.

My long-term goal is to weigh 165, which would be a BMI of 24. I'm dreaming big, too, Dyan!

I am sick of seeing lately all this stuff on being obese in the paper and tv and this is why I posted it. I figured it could help us focus on something other than our "ultimate" dream goal. I re checked mine and actually 194 is no longer obese=29. I was only going by 200, then 195, then 190. By the way, my height is 5'8. I remember a long time ago weighing 200 and wearing a size 16. It's hard to believe that a size large is obese! So until I get to 194 that will be my goal-just not being the "O" word anymore! Then I can work on 160!

Anji-wow! I cant believe they can actually deny you adoption because of your weight. Thats unbelievable to me. I truly wish you luck.

Dougie-I totally agree with you. If half the adults in the US are overweight or obese, why do we allow ourserlves to be ridiculed, ignored, etc... like we dont exist?? I do agree that we need to do all we can to get to a healthy weight. I think in the future taking care of all these people with all these health problems will be a major strain to our medical systems. Obesity is considered as bad as being a smoker now since it causes so many health problems.

thanks everyone for responding and to everyone else who does!
laura

ouch... I need to be 150 lbs to have a BMI of 29. I have a long way to go. I remember Jennifer talking (a little ways back) about different levels of obese. I think you are called something different if you are 40 or over. Does anyone remember this ?

Dana

Hi, guys. I'm a long-time lurker and occasional poster

One of the best sites I've found for explaining the different levels of the BMI values is http://www.homanmd.com/bmi_pounds.htm. I'm not planning on having weight loss surgery; I just found the site through a search engine. Right now, I'm in the Obesity Class III, so I have a long way to go to normal. I just wanted to tell you all that you're such an inspiration to me. And it's nice to know that others deal with some of the same issues that I have.

TTYL,
Jo
350+/289/130?

I believe that if your BMI is over 40 you are considered "morbidly" obese. Isn't that nice?

Jo.. thanks for that web site - it was an eye opener