Anti athlete/fitness sentiment

Triathlon Forum
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I’ve noticed recently that there has been a significant amount of backlash against people achieving ideal body weight and fitness. An article about this mom

http://abcnews.go.com/...ng/story?id=21098748

(granted this woman is a shameless self promoter who stands to gain financially from this, I wish people would do this kind of thing without a hidden agenda)

Also the “real woman” campaigns and blogs such as this

http://fatandhappygirl.blogspot.com/

Whats happening is that there is a distortion of what a healthy body weight or fat percentage is… There is a new “normal” that is being created fueling complacency in the masses.

In “Racing Weight” by Matt Fitzgerald he states

"There is evidence that as people become heavier and heavier, their perceived ideal body weight also inflates. In other words while there are people today who wish they were lighter than they are, as a population we no longer dream of being as light as we used to dream of being’

On a related topic are these studies people have been posting here on ST showing that certain types of exercise is harmful.  While this research may have some value, it seems as though is being taken literally and out of context at times

What can be done to change the direction of this?

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I guess I’m wondering…if you were able to change sentiment to how you see it, would that really make any difference at all?

Meaning, we are always going to have people across the spectrum fat to fit. Diet and health data isn’t stopping the obesity rage from growing. People know smoking is bad, fast food is poison and sedentary lifestyles are killers. Yet people are doing more and more of it every single day.

Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I don’t really care much what others think about my diet/health or much of anything else. I do what’s right for me. Trying to convince them ‘I’m right’ is akin to nailing jello on a tree IMO.

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I’ve noticed recently that there has been a significant amount of backlash against people achieving ideal body weight and fitness. An article about this mom

http://abcnews.go.com/...ng/story?id=21098748

(granted this woman is a shameless self promoter who stands to gain financially from this, I wish people would do this kind of thing without a hidden agenda)

Also the “real woman” campaigns and blogs such as this

http://fatandhappygirl.blogspot.com/

Whats happening is that there is a distortion of what a healthy body weight or fat percentage is… There is a new “normal” that is being created fueling complacency in the masses.

In “Racing Weight” by Matt Fitzgerald he states

"There is evidence that as people become heavier and heavier, their perceived ideal body weight also inflates. In other words while there are people today who wish they were lighter than they are, as a population we no longer dream of being as light as we used to dream of being’

On a related topic are these studies people have been posting here on ST showing that certain types of exercise is harmful.  While this research may have some value, it seems as though it being taken literally and out of context at times

What can be done to change the direction of this?

I was just thinking about this today.

I work at Ft. Bragg. It’s not uncommon to see soldiers that are obviously overweight. The military allows for up to 20% body fat for males, and I believe up to 25% for females…or is it 30%? Anways, I started to wonder that if current trends continue, will the military be forced to re-evaluate their body composition standards so that they fall more in line with national trends.

I agree that the norm has changed. Most ppl look at me and my 10-11% body fat and think that I could stand to gain a few (dozen) pounds.

What’s that cartoon in which they show pictures of how a pilot (and humanity) changes over the course of time? Wall-E? It just becomes normal.

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I read in Sunday’s paper this past weekend that the fatest three nations in the world based on BMI are:

  1. United States
  2. Mexico
  3. New Zealand

The last one surprised me! I’m not sure what can be done other than to not join the masses stuffing their faces with cheetos and fat-laden coffees.

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What’s happening is that overweight, unhealthy people are trying to make excuses for themselves and how they look. It makes them feel better to hate on those that actually sweat and try to avoid obesity and heart disease.
Sorry, normal to me will never be a spare tire and “diet coke with a side of fries”.

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It’s ok to make snarky comments about someone who is fit and/or thin.

It’s not ok to do the same with fat people. I’m not sure why that is.

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It’s ok to make snarky comments about someone who is fit and/or thin.

It’s not ok to do the same with fat people. I’m not sure why that is.

It’s not, and I think I may act on that the next time it happens at work…it’s offensive and I am being discriminated against :wink:

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It’s ok to make snarky comments about someone who is fit and/or thin.

It’s not ok to do the same with fat people. I’m not sure why that is.

It’s ok for both as long as you don’t subscribe to silly PC speech. I absolutely get giddy when PC sensitive people get their undies in a wad and I give them the ‘I’m sorry I don’t understand what do you mean ‘not PC’, I don’t know what that means? Is that really a thing?’

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Firstly, ideal bodyweight is subjective… like beauty. Call me shallow, but I do not want to be ideal by tri standards. Way too skinny/scrawny for me. Everybody is different.

As for backlash, I’ve never seen it. Then again, I’ve never cared much for what other people think or feel about me. All I know is that I enjoy life, and I’ve never felt my body type or training habits have been a hindrance in my relationships with other people of all sizes and physical dispositions.

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Most ppl look at me and my 10-11% body fat and think that I could stand to gain a few (dozen) pounds

that is exactly the sentiment. You are probably often considered too skinny or not a healthy weight. In reality, medical reality, you’re healthy

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Both of your examples are women. Did anyone else notice this?

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It is subjective within a range of appearance. However, body fat percentage is very objective (within it’s accuracy, which is high with current methods). Objectively in that above a certain level it causes serious health risks. Why all this relativism, and apathy, Tigerpaws. This whole “I do what i need to and you shouldn’t worry about what other people do”. I do worry, since when is there this disconnect. We are a united nation, and what effects others effects us, directly or indirectly, and I’m sure many of us have family or friends we care about that this effects.

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We fatties are jealous.

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It is subjective within a range of appearance. However, body fat percentage is very objective (within it’s accuracy, which is high with current methods). Objectively in that above a certain level it causes serious health risks. Why all this relativism, and apathy, Tigerpaws. This whole “I do what i need to and you shouldn’t worry about what other people do”. I do worry, since when is there this disconnect. We are a united nation, and what effects others effects us, directly or indirectly, and I’m sure many of us have family or friends we care about that this effects.

So is this thread about about backlash against athletic people or about the dangers of obesity? I thought it was the former. Guess I was wrong. Yes, being obese is a health hazard… Thread over now? :slight_smile:

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It is subjective within a range of appearance. However, body fat percentage is very objective (within it’s accuracy, which is high with current methods). Objectively in that above a certain level it causes serious health risks. Why all this relativism, and apathy, Tigerpaws. This whole “I do what i need to and you shouldn’t worry about what other people do”. I do worry, since when is there this disconnect. We are a united nation, and what effects others effects us, directly or indirectly, and I’m sure many of us have family or friends we care about that this effects.

Oh I get that I do. You can care a lot! I’m just trying to impress upon you that attempting to change the lazy nature of human beings is going to be a really disappointing adventure for you. The information is out there to be had, but very few do anything with it b/c they are just plain too lazy. I don’t think any amount of study will find the perfect regimen…ever. Even if it did we’d still have tens of millions of obese lining up at Krispy Kreme every morning while smoking a Marlboro.

At the end of the day humans do what is best for them. If it helps you to understand my perspective I spent 15 years in the health care industry watching doctors tell patients what they needed to do to get healthy. Maybe 5% do it. The rest keep on committing suicide slowly every day. People…are…lazy. There are few things more impressive than watching someone who just had triple bypass wearing an O2 mask pull it off to take a toke from a cig. Dedication.

Don’t think I don’t want people to change. I just took a $4,700 annual hit in premium increases on my new ACA compliant policy to help pay for people who don’t care about themselves.

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Most ppl look at me and my 10-11% body fat and think that I could stand to gain a few (dozen) pounds

that is exactly the sentiment. You are probably often considered too skinny or not a healthy weight. In reality, medical reality, you’re healthy

You can be 10-11% body fat and in realty, medical reality, be unhealthy…

There have been points in my life that if I had 0% BF by BMI I would still have been overweight and therefore medically unhealthy. There are people who are 10% BF and by BMI underweight and medically unhealthy.

Just knowing BF% doesn’t tell anywhere near the whole picture just as weight alone doesn’t.

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Agreed. It definitely has an impact on others. Think about your health care premiums and other associated costs. The amount we pay for healthcare is not dropping anytime in the near future and part of that can be attributed to the unhealthy lifestyles that many in our society live. I don’t think everyone needs to be an endurance athlete, but when I pay the same amount to Excellus every month as the 350 pound coworker down the hall, their health is impacting me.

We can’t be apathetic because if we are things will never change. It is difficult for people to want to make healthy changes. It can be a lot of work for some people. If we, as generally healthy people with good exercise and eating habits, can lend advice or encouragement, why shouldn’t we? At my work I started a wellness group that provides opportunities and information via a newsletter about things people can do to try to make healthy changes. It requires a bit of work and time on my part, but hopefully it helps some people begin to value their health a bit more.

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Stop subsidizing corn.

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mrtopher1980
You can be 10-11% body fat and in realty, medical reality, be unhealthy…

There have been points in my life that if I had 0% BF by BMI I would still have been overweight and therefore medically unhealthy. There are people who are 10% BF and by BMI underweight and medically unhealthy.

Just knowing BF% doesn’t tell anywhere near the whole picture just as weight alone doesn’t.

You are referencing the BMI is which a grossly overvalued number that simply takes population averages and does not account for athletic, muscular or other non average body types

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It works this way because some are rich in health and others are rich in finances. It is cool to beat up on both, largely because those doing the beating up don’t want to do the hard work that it takes to achieve either, so it is much easier to beat up on those willing to work than do the work yourself…sure some people inherit beautiful genetics or a pile of cash, but they are largely in the minority. The bulk of those rich in either category got there through a lot of sweat and toil and tough daily decisions that aggregate to a positive outcome.

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