Look out for the Fat Germs!

Sarah just posted her thoughts on the lasted research to come out of The Framingham Heart Study. I have to admit, when I heard the related story on Morning Edition, my first thought was "no shit, Sherlock." It doesn't take a genius (or a group of MDs) to figure out that if your friends don't pressure you to stay thin and aren't thin themselves you will probably not be too upset if you, too, are not thin. It is not however a disease to be overweight! There are health risks associated with excess weight, but it is not, in it self, a contagious disease. At least NPR also noted that the study found that one is more likely to lose weight if one's friends lose weight and/or are thinner. (RLY?)

Genetics and life style affect one's weight. I can accept that if one's friends encourage one to be active and eat healthily, then one will be healthier, and possibly weigh less, than is one's friends encourage one to be sedentary and eat junk food. But fat isn't catching.

Here are my measurements:
Height - 5'11"
Weight - 210 (approximate, I didn't pay attention at last Dr's visit)
BMI - 29.3, "overweight", obese starts at 30.0 (weight[lbs]/(height[in]^2)*703 or mass[kg]/height[cm]^2**)
Hip:Waist ratio - 1.23
Shoulders - 18" (across back)
Sleeve - 29" (from mid neck to wrist, arm bent approximately 90 deg.)
Chest - 39" (just below bust)
Bust - 43" (widest part, horizontal)
Torso - 70" (from top of shoulder, under crotch, and back to shoulder)
Waist - 39" (narrowest point, approximately at belly button)
Hips - 48" (widest point, approx. 8-10" below waist)
Inside leg - 33"-35" (depends on cut of pant and whether they are meant to be worn with high heels)
Outside leg - 40.5" (from waist to ankle bone)
Shirt size - 14-20/XL-2X
Pant size - 16-18/1X
Shoe size - Wm's 11US

Don't like 'em? Tough! Do I wish I looked like a Victoria Secret model? Yes. Do I wish I looked like a Lane Bryant* model? YES, even the ones who wear a bigger size than I do and it is just as likely. I don't do much to my appearance. Guys don't give me second looks very often but they didn't when I was a size 12, either. I have acne (make-up, when I wear it, can only hide so much), freckles and moles all over my arms, flat hair, and no one to retouch my photos. Am I less healthy than I was when I wore a size 12? I don't know. (I am mentally healthier, but that has nothing to do with dress size and everything to do with the anti-depressant.)

I am at work and so can't look up the original paper or read all the press...but here are some people who did One the Whole, Junkfood Science, and Shapely Prose.

Oh, and by the way, for several months I carefully recorded what I ate and what I did. I was conservative with my calorie output numbers (actual cal/min from Fitness Jumpsite) and generous with my calorie intake numbers (when in doubt, I used Calorie King). I showed a net negative calorie balance and my pants fit the same at the end as they did in the beginning. I finally gave up because it was a pain to write everything down. Ironically, some of the biggest negative calorie days were the Saturdays and Sundays I slept most of the day because I can't eat while asleep.

*I love shopping there, not only can I find clothes that fit (except bras) but I feel skinny. I'm actually buying the smaller sizes on the rack! I do not,however, like their new jean sizing system because their website is wrong about my size (I tried a pair on that size, they almost fell off of me) and now will have to go in and try on multiple pairs of different cuts to find the ones that fit best. Luckily I don't need jeans right now.

** Even the damn CDC gets it wrong kilograms are not units of weight; it is MASS!