Do you think adults with a BMI far below 20 advising underaged girls with healthy weight to loose weight because they are fat, should get a warning?

[Climber]

Its already bad enough that magazines with anorexic models drive young girls into skinny creatures and even anorexic ones, so we don't need that kind of bad advices here I think.

Yes, they should get a warning anyway

Yes, they should get a warning if the asker is underaged

No, we don't filter answers here. Everybody is responsable for his/her own behaviour

Updates

+1 y

Since many asked, my question was triggered by this post.

www.girlsaskguys.com/.../q1533374-do-you-think-i-am-fat

[spuitkaas]

Since when is a bmi of 20 very skinny? I have a bmi of 20 and I could loose some.
Why is suddenly being overweight the norm? I've never seen people who are a healthy weight people saying she/he should loose weight. And then I mean a real healthy weight. Not bmi 25.
However, with people who are clearly overweight are being told that they're fine.
This whole witch hunting after people who are too skinny is ridiculous in a world where the majority of people is overweight.
Maybe people who are overweight should get a warning when they say an overweight person is fine. That's more realistic.

[Climber]

@spuitkaas: my reaction came from the fact that a young girl with BMI 20 was called fat and should follow a diet (see other post on this forum). This was said by her aunt to her mother. And as a result she felt very unsecure.

[tattooedhandfet]

I don't think anyone should be told that they are fat. I mean who does that?

[aforanon]

yeah but nowadays fat people don't mind it because they're trying to dismantle the negative connotation

[tattooedhandfet]

It's still a very abusive word in my book

[Climber]

@tattoedhandfet: that is a very absolute statement valid in all cases.

[tattooedhandfet]

Agreed👍

[tattooedhandfet]

Thanks for MHO 😊

[KidInk4]

"you're fat" is worse than saying "have you tried dieting" etc.. it's all about constructive criticism. How you say it, that matters

[Climber]

@KidInk4 You are correct, but read the origin of my question in the update. The girl shouldn't even have a diet.

[KidInk4]

Instead of calling her fat, just say "have you tried going on a diet"

[DodgersGM]

Well, BMI is an imperfect measure, but I generally agree with you that suggesting weight loss to young people can be dangerous. It's a critical point in their development, so hardcore calorie restriction should never be an aim.

For the most part, I think we should be responsible adults and tell them to consult with their doctors. Failing that, we should talk about eating whole foods and getting exercise vs. losing weight and calories blah blah blah. They're too young for that approach.

[Climber]

@DodgersGM Very well said

[DodgersGM]

Thank you. I appreciate what you're saying here because we do see poor advice wayyyyy too often.

[Jaydog666]

I dont with the rising obesity crisis somebody has to say something. Just seen three 14 year olds that live in the neighbourhood that have been raised on fast food and they look like there nine months pregnant. Another neighbour has a 11 year old child who is 13lbs. This is child abuse and their parents should be prosecuted and the kids taken into care snd given a healthier diet.

[Climber]

@Jaydog666 That is the opposite case of course, but the same applies there, but in the other way. You should never call those people healthy or just chubby.

[Nathan88]

Tbh BMI doesn't have anything to do with being healthy as it does not take into consideration with body fate percentage, bone density and lean muscle mass so if a person with a BMI lower than 20 is at a healthy body fat percentage than the BMI does not matter. Body fat% is the only thing that matters

[Climber]

@Nathan88 You are correct, but BMI is the first thing to use and easiest to calculate. If you are boundary case or out of limits, you can still go yto a gym or a sprt doctor and ask for a decent measurement.

[HikerDude]

Warning? For what, exactly? People can say what they like; that's the entire point of free expression. Just because some moron on the internet tells you you're fat doesn't mean you have to listen. And anyone who asks the internet at large for advice about their bodies is a moron who deserves whatever snark she gets.

[Climber]

@HikerDude You are correct, but my question was more about young influencable young girls on this forum. See another post here where a young girl with BMI 20 was called fat by her aunt and her mother told she should start following a strict diet. The girls was completely puzzled.

[HikerDude]

Well, when it comes to parents, shaming of any kind is obviously really harmful to a child's development. I thought you were talking about the comments that get post on this site and other places around the web.

[Mesonfielde]

Technically they are not against the rules, but if you see an answer like that, comment that the person is already thin and obviously doesn't need to lose weight. That is what I tend to do, anyways.

[Klaatu51]

my BMI's 18-18.5 but i never advise them 2 go under 18, and i tell em 2 avoid strict diets and fastings

do i sound like a hypocrite? LOL

[sjoes006]

BMI as low as 18.5 is healthy. Some people have smaller bones. I would not look healthy above 20.5

[Climber]

@sjoes006 you are right, but if you are bordeline, you can still ask the gym to do a body fat measurement to get more correct figures.

[Dandeus]

You can advise someone to lose weight to improve their health and quality of life in an encouraging and positive way.

[KidInk4]

BMI is not the best way to measure whether you're actually fat or not because supposedly it's inaccurate, so, why should it matter?

[Darknut123]

I think the BMI chart is ridiculous. Its set too low

[bubble_tea]

A warning from whom?

[Climber]

@bubble-tea There could be a "health" moderator on this site.

[bubble_tea]

Just comment under opinions whom you think are dangerous advice.