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snarkhunter
2009-08-04 04:46 pm UTC (link)

That's the ideal weight for a 5'4" woman? Huh. For some reason I thought it was slightly less than that. (Hence my railing on "ideal weight" and what a crock of shit it is.)

But not all smallish women are weak!! I'm about that size, and you bet your ass I can lift a 40lb box--and more. I'm proud of being far stronger than I look.

I might look delicate, but that doesn't mean I AM.

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quartz
2009-08-04 05:19 pm UTC (link)

Yup, 135lbs which is two lbs more than perfect. Complete with ribs and hip bones showing in the case of my friend. It is a total pile of manure because she's starting to suffer from massive health problems that she wouldn't be encountering if she had any fat reserves. As is right now she can't go more than an hour without eating something because her body has no supply of fat to go get when there's no food in her system. When she's around I carry emergency chocolate just because of that.

Ah, not all smallish women are delicate little flowers, but the height-weight proportions laid out on the chart in my doctor's office makes no allowance for women who are small in dimensions to have any muscle weight at all. So women who're trying to meet that chart tend not to have any muscles. If they do have muscles oftentimes it leads to such a low body fat percentage (fat weight being replaced by muscle weight) that they end up with severe bone loss and hormonal issues. Gymnasts are a good example of being tiny and strong (and usually fairly healthy), but they have a whole lot of health issues that they have to watch for, which is why they have such a huge medical support base of nutritionists, doctors, and other professionals to make sure they don't fall apart.

If you don't mind me asking, does your doctor ever tell you that you're overweight and should lose so many pounds in order to be healthy regardless of blood pressure, cholesterol, or BMI? I'm shocked at the number of doctors in my experience who, when speaking to patients, equate pure weight with state of health irregardless of other factors and I'm trying to get a better idea of if it's a pervasive medical system idea or just the doctors in my area/health group.

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snarkhunter
2009-08-04 05:33 pm UTC (link)

TBH, I haven't had a non-gyno physical in about 8 years--and 8 years ago, I weighed about 15-20lbs less than I do now. (I was 22, and my metabolism was...speedy.)

So I'm not sure what a doctor would tell me. When I go in for other stuff, my blood pressure is perfect, but my BMI, depending on whether they put my height down as 5'3" or 5'3.5", is either right on the edge of "normal" or is "overweight." I also don't look like I weigh as much as I do--either b/c my weight is in the "right" places (I've got boobs and an ass) or because I have more muscles than I should (more than I should b/c oh, how I hate exercise. HATES it), so the nurses have been taken aback a bit when they weight me, but they don't say much.

All of that said, I don't think it's just in your area. From what I've heard second-hand, it's a pretty pervasive problem.

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mael
2009-08-04 10:26 pm UTC (link)

TBH, I'm 5'7" and I'm 137 pounds. It's more than my ideal weight, I should really be around 130 lbs when I'm healthy and exercising. And I can lift way more than 40 lbs. Also, my ribs would show even if I weighed 20 more pounds, as all my fat ends up on my hips. But my hip bones would still stick out, because my hips are damn wide. Also, I'm always hungry, but that's got nothing to do with my fat reserves and everything to do with my metabolism. So.

That is to say, I get annoyed when people make assumptions about my body and my weight and what that means about me as a person. I know what my body needs. And it's nothing that can be quantified by a single set of numbers.

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	frau_eva 2009-08-05 05:56 am UTC (link)
	I've heard stories in the fat blogopshere about doctors ignoring the actual problem they came in for and got tested in(in one case, PNEUMONIA) in favor of talking to them about "what we're going to do about your weight problem." Certainly not just in your area; just depends on how much a particular doctor gives in to the idea. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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