Uh, no, she didn't. You people need to have your internal BMI calculators readjusted.

The CDC conveniently provides a teen BMI calculated. So, an 18-year-old woman, 5 feet tall, weighing 115 pounds has a BMI of 22.5. While not overweight (that's a BMI of 25 to 30, 30+ is obese), she's in the 63rd percentile, which means that 63% of people with her height and gender, and age, weight LESS than her. Let me repeat, 5 feet 0 inches tall, and 115 lbs, is HEAVIER than average.

See here:

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Result.aspx?&dob=1/1/1988&dom=1/1/2006&age=216&ht=60&wt=115&gender=2&method=0&inchtext=0&wttext=0

At 100 lbs, she was in the 26th percentile, meaning that 74% of people weigh MORE than her. Below the 20th percentile is underweight. Also, please keep in mind these are AMERICAN standards.

So, no, please spare us thin people the "you could stand to gain a few pounds" or "you probably need to gain a little weight anyway, yuck yuck."

No, i don't want to. And i don't see why we need to celebrate weight gain that increases risk of cancer.

LeCastor:

I think you "thin people" should lighten up. A 5-foot, 115-pound woman can be plump (or not, depending on how much lean muscle she's carrying) and absolutely beautiful and healthy. I can almost see her round little figure bounding around campus with classic lit in one hand and a cheese sandwich in the other.

Anybody want a cookie?

-- elizabeth watson

Um, okay. So only "plump" people read classic lit?

Whatever.

HEre's some more data for you regarding BMI:

Below 18.5 Underweight

18.5–24.9 Normal

25.0–29.9 Overweight

30.0 and Above Obese

5'0" & 115 lbs = BMI 22.5

5'1" & 119 lbs = BMI 22.5

5'2" & 123 lbs = BMI 22.5

5'3" & 127 lbs = BMI 22.5

5'4" & 131 lbs = BMI 22.5

5'5" & 135 lbs = BMI 22.5

and so on. And i know this may sound harsh, but these are the measurements of American women in college. Perhaps even ones on the slightly thinner side. And when you see women with these measurements in other countries... you know they are american. and when you come back from extended stays in other countries, these women suddenly don't seem "normal-sized" anymore.

There's the difference. I'm not trying to tell anyone that smoking is good for them, that it should be celebrated. Don't start. It's bad. But at least i own up to it, instead of trying to paint something obviously unhealthy as a good thing.

I believe that people should be free to smoke and be overweight and obese. And free to say whatever they want too. But i think it's strange and dishonest to argue that gaining extra weight, being overweight, or obese, or to smoke is a positive choice that should be lauded.

PS In patricia schwartzs' defense, i personally think that marijuana smoking is much less bad than cigarettes.

PSS Don't even start on alcohol. Yeah, hard liquor is bad for you (though not nearly as bad in moderation as smoking or extra weight), but wine has some very good qualities.

Pyrian,

The numbers i posted are straight from the CDC website, not some French health agency, or a pro-thiness website. So, take it up with them :)

As for college students being adults, i think they are.

Re: BC

How many women start birth control pills in college? I know that plopped 10 pounds on me right from the get-go.

I am so sick of this fallacy. There have been plenty of studies showing that BC (except for Depo) does not cause weight gain. It does not slow down your metabolism, aging does. You didn't put those pills in your mouth and have fat magically appear on your ass, you also needed to put more food in it than energy you take out of it. Almost everyone, men and women, gains some weight when they start college, and they are certainly not all on hormonal birth control.

-- Anonymous

Actually, it's not a fallacy at all. I know lots of women who gained weight on the pill, including myself. Very quickly, too. And then when we stopped taking the pill, the extra 5-15 pounds just melted away with no effort. I'm so serious.