So, It Turns Out I’m Obese

I know I could lose a few pounds, but come on!

Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

I received a text message this morning from my GP surgery asking me to provide them with some information.

It’s due to a few things. I’m on medication because of a condition I inherited from my dad. Nothing serious and entirely manageable, but I need to take a tablet every day for the rest of my life.

That brought me to the attention of my doctor, that and the fact that I’m 65, and they start to take a special interest when you reach your 60s in the UK.

All they were asking for was my height (6ft), my weight (16 stone or 224 pounds), and whether or not I smoke. I did, but not any more.

I was then asked to calculate my BMI (body mass index), and by a simple online calculation using the NHS website, it was concluded that I am obese.

Not fat.

Not a bit overweight.

Obese.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the word obese to me conjures up images of someone waddling along the street wearing XXXXL shirts and trousers with an enormous elasticated waistband.

And I am very much not in that category.

What the website didn’t ask was how much exercise I do or what that exercise is.

Nor did it enquire about anything else I do in my life, like how active I am, how much water I drink, or my diet.

As it turns out, I do three quite tough HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes a week, and I know for a fact that my body shape has changed since I began them.

Even after six months of doing the classes, I’d gained seven pounds. I’ve had to sell clothes because they no longer fit me. I can actually see shape and definition in my shoulders, biceps and thighs.

It’s a fact that muscle weighs more than fat, and I know I’ve put on muscle since I’ve been exercising.

I also know that I could do with losing a few pounds. Out of curiosity, I amended my weight for the BMI calculation to see what weight I needed to be to be determined as acceptable in the eyes of the NHS.

It turns out I’d have to be around 12 stone or 168 pounds!

That was an eye-opener. I haven't been that weight since I was in my 20s!! And I’m pretty sure I’m not going to starve myself and stop enjoying a glass of wine or two at the weekend just to fall into a lower category.

It would make a lot more sense if we were asked about our lifestyle, and not informed blandly based on two measurements, that we are either average, overweight or obese.

I know that completing the information will trigger lots of intervention from the NHS, all well-intentioned, of course, but I do get the feeling that the game is rigged so that more and more people with otherwise perfectly healthy lifestyles are falling unwittingly into the obese category and being expected to adjust their lifestyles or take tablets for ailments that may not even happen.

I understand that prevention is always better than cure, but come on. This is nothing short of scaremongering.

I am aware of my shortcomings in terms of my diet and my alcohol consumption, but for now, I think I’ll take my obese label and carry on doing exactly what I’m doing.

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