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Refining our knowledge of heath issues is a good thing.

Roccus, where I work in the Bronx, obesity is rampant. And the medical costs to deal with the associated disease and disability in the future will be staggering...

...We could by a lot of military firepower in our ongoing war with radical Islam for that kind of money.

I agree. I'm just saying that the Gov't standards have gone to the ridiculous and for a reason. If not already the case, soon obesity will be valid grounds for SSI payments. Just as so many children get diagnosed with ADD. It increases Fed. funding for Special Ed. It' ALWAYS about the $$$$$! My sister was a compliance officer for a home health care company. It's amazing what Fed (read your's and my) money pays for. But then, you probably already know. The great statistical increase in obesity is mostly because of the change in Gov't. standards. The actual increase in obesity is mainly caused by poor diet and lack of exercise. Though not the only reason, being on the dole often exacerbates this situation.

Aligncare -

You are correct that there are many obese people, and in fact, we've known for a generation that most are out of shape.

HOWEVER...

The BMI is horribly flawed. It is like trying to tell the condition of a car by looking at the tired. While some info might be gained, there are so many variables that the BMI is useless.

First, It seeks to measure body fat percentages using height-weight charts. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the BMI that the patient is a weight lifter, or a bicyclist, etc. So, we've got the problem that most athletes are overweight or obese according to BMI.

Second, it was developed by people who stand to gain financially by finding the greatest number of people to be obese / overweight. The CDC is certainly in there, as are various insurance companies, not to mention the multitudes of weight loss companies.

So here I am... 6 feet tall, 210 pounds. According to the BMI I'm damned near obese. However, I rode 92 miles on my bike a few days ago (800 for the season so far) and run regularly. My abs are flat.

Dubya is overweight according to the BMI, as is Lance Armstrong. Tom Cruise in his prime was obese, as was Barry Sanders.

Let's just do everyone a favor and kill the BMI.....