MovieChat Forums > Supersize vs Superskinny (2008) Discussion > harsher on skinny than fat!

harsher on skinny than fat!

posted 12 years ago by pig_pal
11 replies | jump to latest

I find this show is harsher on the skinny people than the obese people. They seem to spend more time reiterating how skinny and unhealthy the thin contestants are more so than the obese ones. They do the picture gallery and specific dangers of being too skinny but they DON'T do the same for the obese. I find they focus way more on how dangerous being skinny is and less on how harmful obesity is. They should be more balanced and focus equally on the dangers of obesity.

[–] yumicho 12 years ago

I actually find it the opposite, and in some series, it's more blatant than others. I mean, they fly the obese to America, and it's not like they've thought of a way to do the same for the underweight participants.

And it's actually much more of a health risk to be underweight than overweight. We just don't have many underweight people in most areas of the modern world.

[–] Rinec 11 years ago

And it's actually much more of a health risk to be underweight than overweight. We just don't have many underweight people in most areas of the modern world.

Are you serious!? Whilst being anorexic may be very bad for your health, being a little underweight is not an issue. So long as your BMI is in the 20-25 range, then you are not unhealthy. I suppose many people would consider Mo Farah to be skinny. Are you seriously telling me he's much more unhealthy than a 25 stone fast food junkie?!

Take a look at all the people you know who are in their 80s and 90s. Most of them are lean. Ever wonder why this is!? And another issue. The world is rapidly running out of resources. Why is it fat people think they have the right to eat 2-3 more than their fair share, just because they feel depressed at being fat?

[–] yumicho 11 years ago

Rather than anectodal "evidence" drawn from your own life, you should actually read the studies. This isn't the first, and it probably won't be the last that actually shows that the risk of being underweight is higher than that of being obese:

http://gizmodo.com/5924696/being-obese-is-better-than-being-underweight

The causes of obesity isn't just about depression either. Nice try though.

[–] Rinec 11 years ago

Shouldn't that read 'anecdotal'?

And maybe you should read some studies from credible sources rather than cherry picking the ones that fit in with your (unhealthy and overweight?) lifestyle.

Actually, the survey you refer to states:-

"In the six-year study following almost 51,000 Americans of all ages, researchers discovered that those with an extremely low BMI (under 18.5) had a risk of death that was twice as high as those with a normal BMI (18.5 to 24.9). Whilst participants with BMIs that classified them as severely obese (30 or higher) were only 1.26 times as likely to die as those with normal BMIs"

To have a BMI of under 18.5, you'd have to be incredibly thin. Many boxers and sportspeople have BMIs in the low 20s, well within the normal range, yet many would consider them thin (as in my previous post Mo Farah). You appear to suggest that all lean people are unhealthy, and 25+ stone slobs that can barely walk are much more healthy, which is plain ridiculous.

In actuality, the survey you refer to is very dubious, and has been torn apart by several credible sources

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20889381

The gist:-

"A study which suggests being overweight can lead to a longer life has caused controversy among obesity experts.

One labelled the findings a "pile of rubbish" while another said it was a "horrific message" to put out.

Huge pieces of evidence go against this, countless other studies point in the other direction.

Dr Walter Willett, from the Harvard School of Public Health said: "This is an even greater pile of rubbish" than a study conducted by the same group in 2005."

Being obese isn't a good thing. Unless of course you want type 2 diabetes, heart problems, increased cancer rates, etc, etc. Nice try though suggesting we'd all be better off fat.

[–] yumicho 11 years ago

Sorry, where did I imply all lean people were unhealthy? I suggest you actually reread my original post. I didn't imply that people in the healthy range of BMI were more unhealthy than the morbidly obese. The "super skinny" participants rarely if ever fall into the normal BMI category.

I also do not cherry pick the studies. This is not the first study that has put into question the assumptions about BMI and mortality. It's no huge surprise that this information is still controversial. More people are overweight than underweight in the UK and most of the developed world so it is considered a bigger health issue. I can see where this causes confusion with being a bigger threat to an individual. Google "cognitive dissonance" to understand what you and others are having problems with. Well the others anyway. I think you have a good case of seeing and reading what you want to read and see.

BMI in itself is imperfect as athletes are often classified as obese or above. Nor did I say being obese is a good thing. It's just not quite as bad for you than being chronically malnourished.

And finally, I never said anything about my own physical condition, but expressed an opinion and stated what is supported in most studies about BMI. This is a sad, lazy, formulaic show that I refuse to watch any longer. I can't see what appeal it holds to someone who hates fat people as much as your posts make you out to. I am guessing it's one of the few things that make you feel good about yourself. Pity.

[–] Rinec 11 years ago

It's obvious from your overly defensive response that you have issues with criticism and admitting when you are wrong. Google 'borderline personality disorder' and 'histrionic personality disorder'. The study you quote as 'proof' that being fat is fine smacks me as just another divisive study from the USA. I've seen studies that prove Global Warming is all a hoax, incidentally funded by Exxon and its subsidiaries all to safeguard a $1billion a day revenue. The tobacco industry did the same thing in the 60s and 70s to protect their profits, with unbelievable contempt for the health of its customers.

The study you quote cynically skews facts in an attempt to make out that fat people are actually healthy people, and therefore it's fine for them to continue gorging themselves on fast food. As I said before, to have a BMI below 18.5, you'd have to be painfully thin. Shock horror! Obese people are less likely to die in the next few years than those who are starving! This survey is purposely misleading, and actually falls to pieces once one delves into the detail. It wouldn't surprise me if it was funded by a conglomeration of fast food chains in an attempt to protect their trade. Cognitive dissonance, eh? It appears to me that you are far more guilty of this schism than I, since you have used a deeply flawed and dubious study in an attempt to prove a your point. May I remind you:-

"Dr Walter Willett, from the Harvard School of Public Health said: "This is an even greater pile of rubbish" than a study conducted by the same group in 2005."

It appears that the people behind this farce have been at it before and alludes to a commercially funded agenda to deceive.

On two points I do agree with you. BMI is a glove that fits most people but degrades when applied to many sports people (most rugby players would be classified as obese!). And this program is lazy and formulaic; just another attempt to shock by CH4, a channel that has degraded beyond belief over the past few years.

I actually have several friends who are technically obese. That doesn't mean to say I don't find their overindulgence to be selfish, especially considering there are still hundreds of millions of people on this planet going hungry every day.

[–] yumicho 11 years ago

So you can't show where I said being obese is healthy or healthier than normal weight? Of course you can't because I didn't. All your posts show is you're sound and fury trying to hide major reading comprehension problems.

[–] Rinec 11 years ago

The entire premise and rhetoric of the article you quoted to support your untenable position was misleading, to the point of showing utter contempt for the health of the people it was attempting to appease.

You appear to be completely unable to admit when you are wrong or endure any type of criticism. Borderline personality disorder then!

I tire of you, since you will argue forever to defend your position, even when it has been proven to be baseless.

[–] yumicho 11 years ago

No, you claimed I was saying that being obese was healthier than a normal weight before I posted that article. And no, the article did not claim that either. The article said that being underweight has a higher risk of death than being overweight. It doesn't say that being obese is healthy. The hand wringing answer by the people who claim that the research is wrong made a strawman because they can't refute the study implied that people would walk away from reading this research with the idea that being obese was okay. More on that later.

Not all the risks of obesity have to do with mortality. Social isolation, mobility issues, arthritis, Type II diabetes, and an array of non-fatal health problems are associated with excess weight. What is becoming more evident, especially with the advent of bariatric surgery and the speed at which these ailments are relived even before patients lose much of their excess weight shows that with some of these illnesses, it is correlation not causation.

It's not just people who undergo gastric bypass either. Many people who cut out things like sugar, industrially created fats, and processed foods see a reduction in illness even before they lose significant amounts of weight. Instead, it is probably more helpful to look at it along the lines of what makes us sick also makes us fat. And of course, fat people eat more food, so they are more likely to develop some of the issues that can disable or kill them. But don't think that these diseases aren't in those of a normal weight. And I am in no way claiming that obese people just need to lay off the sugar dish and ready meals, and they will be fine. They would be healthier if they did, and so would everyone else in the Western world.

If you want to disprove a study, you don't quote a bunch of people with their pants in a bunch about possible misinterpretations. You read the study. Yes, who funds studies sometimes influence what they say, but to assume that a study is wrong merely because of who funds it is a logical fallacy. You do understand that only a fraction of science is publicly funded, right? And some of the studies that began showing these findings were done by the CDC in the US?

You assuming that because there are predominantly thin people in nursing homes that only thin people live to old age is also a result of faulty reasoning. Gillian Keith would love us to think that, but an ageing obese population is one of the biggest challenges facing the NHS. And the reason why so many thin people are living in nursing homes today? Obesity wasn't an issue for Britain until the 1980s. In the early 1970s, less than 5% of the population was obese.

And regarding the BPD diagnosis, I will let my GP know that some brilliant internet psychologist suggested I am a sufferer based on a couple of internet postings, and she should refer me to counselling. And we will laugh. Then I will point out that you very astutely found the root of world hunger. It's all the fat people. We should just lock the obese into closed wards and put the overweight on notice. We will solve world hunger, eliminate the looming problem of dealing with obesity related illness, and award Rinec the Nobel Prize. Someone call Stockholm.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Chihuahua-tership_Down 10 years ago

It's been a while since I watched any episodes, but I don't recall it being like that.

It could be that there is already a LOT of awareness about the dangers of obesity out there, but being very thin is not very often seen as a health concern, people go out of their way sometimes to be underweight, it's a coveted look. You can't say the same for obesity unless you're referring to people with fetishes, and that's unhealthy too.

You don't choose the soy sauce, the soy sauce chooses you.