she was told she was obese..?

Question

My daughter went to the doctors as she wasn't very well, and she was told her IBM score says she's obese..
She's 17 years old
10 stone 5 lbs
Perfect fit in size 14 clothes
5'4
and a 34 D chest.
Is there no such thing as healthy these days?
And what do you all think? Does she need to lose weight in your opinion.

Answer 1

you can check this body weight table, which will tell you the average for age/height:

http://www.halls.md/chart/height-weight.htm

Answer 2

Thats me, except Im an inch and a half taller (and 14s can be a bit tight depending on the make, but I fit in a 12 at Tesco) and a lot older!
I have wobbly bits, everyone says omg you dont youre so slim (but i just hold it in) I am no way obese. Im not even overweight according to any chart Ive seen.
What I need to do to get an stay in shape is give up junk food and excercise a little, so if she eats sensibly and dances a lot she should be ok without radical weight loss.

Answer 3

For her height she may be proportionally big.

But all she'd need to lose is maybe like 5 pounds to get down to 10 stone.
Size 14 is about a 32 inch waist which apparantly is bad because it's said women with waists more than 30 inches are at greater risk of heart disease or something...Get a second opnion, I'd say she's more likely to be overweight than obese, I reckon your doc has exaggerated abit there.
Ask her if she's happy with her size and whether she thinks her diet/lifestyle are healthy enough. If she's happy then that's fine but she should be careful to maintain this weight and not to get much heavier.

Answer 4

That's the problem with BMI, it only takes into account the relation between height and weight. It doesn't take into account the fact that muscles are heavier than fat so most athletes have the BMI of an obese person. Your girl sounds right and healthy to me and good for her. I'd give the doctor a ring and see what the fuss is about, though.

Answer 5

No it sounds about right the problem is that a BMI above 25 suggests obesity.. I work this one out to 26 ish. But the situation calls for things tobe taken as a whole body image. Doctors was rather stupid to suggest this to a young lady...... if she's upset by the consultation you have every right to complain, but techincally the doctors is correct.. just not to bright!

Answer 6

The problem with the BMI index is that it only takes into account height and weight. To get a true figure of obesity, they really need to look at body fat percentages as well as activity levels. One thing to remember, mussle is a lot denser than fat, and if you are very muscular, the BMI will be artificially higher. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

She is borderline healthy/overweight. I used this ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml ) just to double check and you can only choose 10st 3lb or 10st 7lbs, the first one gives a healthy result, the second gives an over weight result.

She isn't fat there is no doubt about that, but she might become overweight if she puts on any more weight, cutting back on a few bad snacks should sort that right out though.

Answer 8

Her BMI (body mass index) score is on the top end of allegedly normal weight range.

However many competing bodybuilders (men and women) have a high BMI also and they hardly have any fat!

She doesn't need to lose weight but doesn't need to gain any more either!

What is more important is her lifestyle. If her general health is ok does she eat a balanced diet generally? Does she get enough exercise?

Answer 9

i would say she is overweight, but not obese, however it wouldn't do her any harm to lose a stone or two, size 14 is rather large for a young person considering average sizes are 6 - 16. however i doubt very much her weight is causing any impact on her health. it's all about how comfortable she feels really.

Answer 10

I think the test you are referring to is call BMI or Body Mass Index. This is a generic formula to determine health risk based on height and weight. It does not take into account muscle weight or bone weight. It is just height divided by weight pass/fail.

Using that formula most professional athletes would fail esp. football players, baseball players, soccer players and hockey players. What is more important is clothing fit. Also as long as she maintains an active lifestyle she should be fine.

Keep in mind not all doctors understand fitness as much as they should. They understand health.

Answer 11

Hey i weigh the same. The doctor said that i need to lose weight but i am very athletic. DO not listen to what the doctor says. She is perfect if she is happy with her body.