Fat vegans - Page 4

 

There are many studies that show that increased weight leads to a number of diseases. Being normal sized doesn't guarantee you'll be healthy, but being overweight puts you in an immediate hole.

 

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/PDFs/hlthrisks1104.pdf

I don't have any health issues related to my weight. When I had my last blood test my GP said it was the best results he had seen in a long time.

Well, we're talking increased risks here, not immediate results.

 

But whatever....

There are junk food vegans just as there are (in much greater quantities) junk food meat-eaters.

I'm a little overweight- not clinically overweight, but I have some extra lbs on me. I have a hard time saying I'm vegan because of this too, but I'm also getting more into raw, stand for health and whole foods, and am active. So, yeah, I'm vegan, but I also drink green juice as meals, eat tons of salads and fruits, and work out most days of the week. Plus, I have an acne problem.

All of that makes me uncomfortable telling people. Here I am, so health-conscious, but it just doesn't reflect in my body. 

But things are changing for me. I am the way I am right now from binging after losing weight way too quickly and obsessively. The more raw I eat, the better my acne gets, and I've lost 4 lbs so far- though it's been a struggle... but I'm getting there.

 

I live in the States, so being fat is much more accepted in our society, so it may not be much to you to say that whenever I DO tell others I'm vegan, I always get a response along the lines of, "Oh, I could never do that" or "I could never give up meat/cheese". Nobody gives me a puzzled look...

 

This is such an insanely reductive and simplistic way of looking at. Losing weight in and of itself doesn't make you healthier. You can lose weight in any number of terribly unhealthy ways. Exercising more makes you healthier; eating a wider variety of foods and lots of fruits and vegetables makes you healthier; but those activities will make you healthier whether or not you lose weight, and everyone would benefit from them, whether or not they're overweight.

I'm the only one in my immediate family (all omni) that doesn't have high or raised cholesterol and I think it is to do with eating a plant based diet.

 

 

Very true!

 

No, losing weight can improve health by it self.

I absolutely agree that being overweight is inherently detrimental to health and longevity, though there will always be exceptions to the rule (Charles Durning for example). 

I think whether your telling some one who's a size 8 that they're overweight or telling someone who's obese to just "accept their body" both are equally dangerous in my opinion. No one is meant to be fat.  I saw an ad the other day that said "accept all body shapes" and one of the woman looked to weigh at least 250 lbs. I couldn't help but think "you honestly think people were meant to look like that?" You may not be meant to be a size 2-4, but you sure as heck aren't meant to be in the double digits(size 12 and beyond), regardless of bone structure or metabolic rate, being fat is never ideal for anyone in terms of health.

Edited by Jorjor - 5/25/12 at 10:52am

Yes, no question about it, for an overweight person. Just a 10% loss can make a big difference healthwise.

^ I think what is annoying me Ledboots is that people are talking about overweight people and I am a healthy overweight person. My blood pressure is (I think) 110/80 and my cholesterol is fine, I don't have diabetes and the people in my family that have had heart attacks have all been relatively slim. I could definitely do with more exercise as I have been more sedentary since I had knee surgery but generally I'm fine, maybe I'm an anomaly but I think it is possible to be healthy on a plant based diet even if you are carrying a little extra weight. My brother is eight years younger than me, slim and just ran the London marathon but he has high cholesterol and I think it is because he loves cheese and meat too much! (ETA and he has never smoked and I smoked on and off for 20 years.)
Edited by Pixie - 5/25/12 at 11:46am

Well I think there are lots of variables involved, and of course there are even smokers who live to ripe old ages without any major diseases, but that's not to say that smoking is healthy.

 

Yeah, I meant that if out of the two of us I should have high cholesterol as I smoked.

I wasn't saying all overweight people are unhealthy, just that extra weight does carry health risks, especially abdominal fat. Quitting smoking and eating veg are amazingly healthy things.

That's pretty inaccurate, saying no one is meant be in the double digits. I know someone who is size 12 who has less body fat than I do and I'm a couple sizes smaller. The amount of fat on you isn't the only thing determining your pant/dress size. Height and muscle mass play a big roll.
Not to mention, someone short could have little muscle and be more than 10/20/30lbs overweight for their frame and still fit in jeans under size 10.

Huh?!



The middle one is a size 12! (Left one is a size 8 and right is size 14.) Yes the photo has been edited but the size 12 is definitely what a toned size 12 body roughly looks like.
I really don't think you should be going around saying that perfectly acceptable and healthy women who are the same size as her are fat.

Also, here are a collection of people who say their pant size is 12 (NSFW): http://www.mybodygallery.com/search.html?height=any&weight=any&pant=12&shirt=any&zphoto=Large&new=1

^ In that case I think theirs been a bit of a number mixup, size 14 was the number I was looking for in that case. I guess somehow I envisioned size 12 looking like a size 14, 

Edited by Jorjor - 5/25/12 at 3:35pm

So much fat shaming going on in here it isn't even funny. *quietly leaves thread, a little more disappointed in the vegan world*

 

Can't agree with you there.

Am I the only one who thinks the size 14 girl in that pic is a hottie?

 

Not really.

She is adorable. And Idk if those sizes are US or UK. A store my daughter shops at has lots of Australian things, and Australian size 8 equals US size 4.

 

I don't care for the one on the left, 'cause her face reminds me of satan, for some reason. Middle one is built like my wife, but far right is good too.

 

It appears you're not familiar with any of Dr. McDougall's work. Please read his program for maximum weight loss, THEN comment on how healthy/unhealthy you think it is.

I wouldn't consider anyone in the teen sizes to be at risk for health problems caused by excess body fat. Maybe once you get into size 20 and up, but expecting everyone to stay under size 12 to 14 would probably lead to disordered eating for many people.

 

I laughed at that!

To me, they are all beautiful.

 

For heaven's sake, why don't they put men in campaign ads like this??? Women are so scrutinized in the media for the way they look. 

What are you talking about? You've really never seen a mens underwear ad with completely unrealistic male models?

Let's all put on our logic hats, please.

 

Excess weight is generally a symptom of ill health, not necessarily the cause of ill health. In fact, at the range of "overweight" (rather than obese or mobidly obese) some studies have shown excess weight to be protective: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/health/26weight.html

 

Granted, excess weight is associated with poor health and is generally a marker for a disease, but not always. And it's not merely that some people can be large without ill effects (as in the analogy to smoking) the reality is that some people are actually healthier large than they are slim. They are the minority and if you're overweight, obese, or mobidly obese it's unlikely you are one of those people. However, many people are healthier at a weight that they can maintain with healthy habits than a lower weight they are only able to maintain through unhealthy habits.

 

Let's not forget the importance of exercise. In a study described at TIME magazine, fitness loss was much more strongly associated with early death than weight gain: http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/06/fit-versus-fat-which-matters-more-for-longevity/

I recently read that people who have lost 30 pounds and kept it off for 5 years or more regularly exercise and follow a healthy diet ( http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/01.htm ). The yo-yo dieters don't exercise. Or they don't exercise enough. So since fitness is more protective than weight loss and since successful long term weight loss tends to necessitate fitness, the question is... why advocate weight loss when it's healthier - and possibly just as or more successful at causing weight loss - to advocate diet and exercise!?

 

Then, of course, there are the flawed methods to measure "excess weight." There's BMI and waist circumference. Waist to height ratio may be better ( http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20050606/waist-height-ratio-may-show-heart-disease-risk ) but any measurement developed thus far has some flaws because there are so many causes of weight gain and weight loss that it's very tricky to use weight itself as a measure of health. You can't just say "lose weight" and it will improve your health because there are so many unhealthy ways to lose weight. For example, chemotherapy will cause weight loss but unless you're battling cancer, undergoing chemo is a terrible idea! Likewise, any serious substance abuse tends to cause weight loss. Purging and anoexia cause weight loss. Weight loss can be a symptom of poor health too! For example, many people with AIDS lose weight.

 

All the above are reasons why it's not accurate to say "being overweight is inherently detrimental to health and longevity".

Edited by ElaineV - 5/26/12 at 8:29am