@dawn16 I'm not Asian, but African American. 4'11" @ 153 lbs and 32F. I'm obese for my height and my bf% is well over 35%. It is not healthy and getting that handled in a healthy way to prevent disease and eating/working out based on our physical conditions matter. Health and quality of life declines fast if you're not at a healthier weight/bf % for one's height.
Why Asians are overweight/obese at lower BMIs
- Thread starter godisveryreal
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- petite fitness
@godisveryreal Look at the diabetes rate in Thailand and China and you will get the point.
dikaioumenoi
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@godisveryreal Also Asians have lower bone density which is another factor why we have lower bmi cutoffs!
bubblegum2021
New member
@godisveryreal OP was also underaged and, afaik, for teenagers/children percentiles rather than BMI is used. Also, people body shaming her for a 23" waist were disgusting.
@bubblegum2021 It did make me feel a little bit self conscious because after reading all of the comments, I thought that maybe I have slimmed down too much or that 23 inches was not healthy anymore but i’m glad that I am still in the healthy range 
bubblegum2021
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marylouise
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@bubblegum2021 I see what you’re trying to say, but waist to hip ratio is actually pretty well accepted (and hopefully moving toward favored) way of assessing women’s health risk status.
@bubblegum2021 If OP's doctor was concerned about the development of diabetes (which is probably the primary concern of Asians since it has such a high prevalence in our ethnicity due to diet and genetic background), then oftentimes they look at both BMI and waist circumference to assess the risk factor since a high waist circumference is associated with a higher level of visceral fat which is associated with a higher risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Granted, there are structural changes that happen with age and hormonal changes, childbirth, etc. which affect our waist circumference, so there shouldn't be a hard and fast number to hit or a race to the bottom, but it's not completely unfounded to use it as a combined metric with BMI when talking about health.
bubblegum2021
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@bubblegum2021 I agree with you and you shouldn’t be so downvoted. It goes both directions—people shouldn’t have gone so hard on OP for her first post, nor should they be whipsawing so far back in the other direction. 16 year olds are still growing and should consult medical professionals about diet and weight concerns. I grew an inch in college. Seems like OP got some feedback from her doctor so I hope she has all the resources she needs.
It is on forums like this one that people develop EDs. 16 is very early to be engaging with the content on this sub—a not insignificant portion of which is genuinely dysmorphic and harmful
It is on forums like this one that people develop EDs. 16 is very early to be engaging with the content on this sub—a not insignificant portion of which is genuinely dysmorphic and harmful
@bubblegum2021 Yes I already have 
She said that I am much healthier and fit than before!
She said that I am much healthier and fit than before!@wt15 Doctors are deeply fatphobic and mistreat fat people all the time. Literally, they won't even diagnose them when they have real issues. So, do what makes you happy. A waist number number doesn't define health, you can be thin and unhealthy. Also, weight fluctuates over a lifetime, what I weighed 3 years ago I don't weigh today. And what I weigh today I might not weight next year. Or next month! To attach weight to health isn't accurate.
Just remember: "healthy" is a huge scale depending on a dozens of factors including genetics, weight, gender, race, culture and so much more. Where people land on that scale varies wildly. I promise, if your waist changes to 27 inches someday you will still be healthy!
Just remember: "healthy" is a huge scale depending on a dozens of factors including genetics, weight, gender, race, culture and so much more. Where people land on that scale varies wildly. I promise, if your waist changes to 27 inches someday you will still be healthy!
@seraph159 If a person eats a shit diet and gains weight to a number that is someone else’s goal, it doesn’t change the fact that their unhealthy diet led them to gain weight that they wouldn’t have otherwise. For some, yes, a larger waist measurement can very much mean they are less healthy than a smaller waist measurement. A bigger waist measurement on the same person is mostly from increased fat tissue in the midsection- that is a warning sign of many increased health risks.
Doctors see the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle all the time. Of course they are fat phobic- some of the most frequent issues they see are related to lifestyle and increased weight- diabetes and the effects of atherosclerosis.
Take me, for example…I am a little over 5’2” and weigh 105. Perhaps many here would say that is too low. I am middle aged and very fit, low body fat, etc. I assure you, I am not unhealthy or disordered. At 100lbs before pregnancy, I had a 9+lb baby. Over the shutdown I did actually put on a few lbs to a weight that I have never been outside of pregnancy ~10lbs and I was definitely less healthy! My blood pressure was creeping up and for the first time in my life my cholesterol was high. Many here would say 115 is ‘healthier’ than 105. It isn’t for me. I returned to my healthier lifestyle and my weight went back to normal.
I also realize that for many, 105 is completely unrealistic and not attainable or healthy. We are all different. Yes there are definitely disordered posts that show up here, but don’t make the reverse mistake that many make- a higher or lower weight may be healthier for one and not for another.
Doctors see the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle all the time. Of course they are fat phobic- some of the most frequent issues they see are related to lifestyle and increased weight- diabetes and the effects of atherosclerosis.
Take me, for example…I am a little over 5’2” and weigh 105. Perhaps many here would say that is too low. I am middle aged and very fit, low body fat, etc. I assure you, I am not unhealthy or disordered. At 100lbs before pregnancy, I had a 9+lb baby. Over the shutdown I did actually put on a few lbs to a weight that I have never been outside of pregnancy ~10lbs and I was definitely less healthy! My blood pressure was creeping up and for the first time in my life my cholesterol was high. Many here would say 115 is ‘healthier’ than 105. It isn’t for me. I returned to my healthier lifestyle and my weight went back to normal.
I also realize that for many, 105 is completely unrealistic and not attainable or healthy. We are all different. Yes there are definitely disordered posts that show up here, but don’t make the reverse mistake that many make- a higher or lower weight may be healthier for one and not for another.
hungry_hungry_hippo
New member
@hungry_hungry_hippo With me I believe it’s just my build/genetics at play. I dont have to really watch what I eat or anything and when I’m full, I can’t eat another bite. I have a young adult son that has struggled for the past 5 years to get past 130, because he wants to be bigger. My dad was very slender as well and I’m built very much like him.
I gained the pandemic weight from a big drop in my activity level with no diet adjustment. I blame the pandemic less, it had more to do with chronic migraines and mild depression and maybe hormonal changes. When my cholesterol went up, I knew I had to get back to better ways and things fell back into place.
I do love good food so my eating is not picture perfect. I have been this weight my entire adult life minus pregnancy and last year. I’m a few years away from 50. This is the weight my body likes to be.
Edited to add…the weight that your body comes to when you eat healthy (what you are eating and how much) and are active/workout probably IS the weight your body wants to be. If a weight is difficult to maintain, then it probably isn’t right for you. Focusing on body composition might be a strategy to change that weight but even that takes some real effort- weight training and dietary tweaking.
I gained the pandemic weight from a big drop in my activity level with no diet adjustment. I blame the pandemic less, it had more to do with chronic migraines and mild depression and maybe hormonal changes. When my cholesterol went up, I knew I had to get back to better ways and things fell back into place.
I do love good food so my eating is not picture perfect. I have been this weight my entire adult life minus pregnancy and last year. I’m a few years away from 50. This is the weight my body likes to be.
Edited to add…the weight that your body comes to when you eat healthy (what you are eating and how much) and are active/workout probably IS the weight your body wants to be. If a weight is difficult to maintain, then it probably isn’t right for you. Focusing on body composition might be a strategy to change that weight but even that takes some real effort- weight training and dietary tweaking.
@seraph159 Telling someone to get a handle of their weight isn’t fatphobic, it’s reality. Waist size is an indicator of health and health risks especially in women. Having a bigger waist is a sign of heart disease, lower fertility, diabetes, and other issues. And yes, women’s weight does fluctuate, but it shouldn’t be any more than 10lbs, not going from 120 to 160 or more in a year. Where do you get off thinking you know more than doctors? TikTok? You’re going to get a lot of young girls messed up with this insane indoctrination.
I am a very petite Latina/ Irish mixed with a bit of Asian and ancestry and at 5’1.5, 130-140, I looked huge, felt miserable and had a higher BF% compared to other women. I was told my BMI was too low for many weight loss programs. I used to wonder why I was fat still compared to other women my height and weight. Even now at 120-110, I have to get down even further to 95-105 for me to have a lower BF. I wore a size xs, 2-4, 26-27 at 130-140 and still had fat. My family has a history of cancers, diabetes and heart issues.
Don’t do what makes you happy, do what makes you healthy. Smoking crack will make you happy too, but damn sure wont make you healthy
I am a very petite Latina/ Irish mixed with a bit of Asian and ancestry and at 5’1.5, 130-140, I looked huge, felt miserable and had a higher BF% compared to other women. I was told my BMI was too low for many weight loss programs. I used to wonder why I was fat still compared to other women my height and weight. Even now at 120-110, I have to get down even further to 95-105 for me to have a lower BF. I wore a size xs, 2-4, 26-27 at 130-140 and still had fat. My family has a history of cancers, diabetes and heart issues.
Don’t do what makes you happy, do what makes you healthy. Smoking crack will make you happy too, but damn sure wont make you healthy
@seraph159 While I agree with you I don't think it's up to internet users who don't know her to tell her what is and isn't healthy and that doctors are wrong.
kjbbeliever
New member
@bubblegum2021 I think she was 5”. So 23inch waist is completely possible.
bubblegum2021
New member
@kjbbeliever Did I say it wasn't? It's possible and plausible and nothing outrageous. Just some people were acting like it's so out of the ordinary.
kjbbeliever
New member
@bubblegum2021 When did I disagree to you…..