Obesity vs. smoking: What's worse?

[siccjay]

Ok, I see your point. I just thought you were being a prick and I admit I didn't read the thread. My bad.

I will add I think they are both equally as bad in my eyes. Smoking is a bit worse maybe. It is disgusting and there is pretty much zero point in doing it.

[swingdoc]

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The obvious answer here is smoking, only because the term "obese" is so terribly defined. Anyone with a BMI of 30 or greater is obese.

Urlacher - 6'4" 258lbs - BMI = 31.4

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BMI doesnt apply to people with a lot of muscle mass. why do people pretend to debunk some complex principle when they inevitably state some example like this?

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*buzzer* Wrong! But thanks for playing. BMI applies to everyone, which is why I specifically pointed out that the definition of obese is rather useless, thus making the topic of this thread nonsensical. Did I claim to debunk anything or did I simply point out the obvious problem with the wording of this post? That doesn't even deal with the obvious problem of comparing an activity that is hazardous to one's health with the state of actually being in poor health (i'm changing the wording to smoking vs unacceptably high body fat %). Obviously the question would make more sense if we asked is smoking worse than overeating or is having an unacceptably high fat % worse than having COPD.

[duvalin]

it depends what kind of cigs you smoke.
smoke i the americaan spirits addidve free its no worse than pot
its the carcinogens that kill you from cigs

i smoke 3.5 packs a day for 10 years now and i breathe fine and look at me!

[Duke]

If all you ever ate were carrots you would be in terrible health, and would probably die sooner than a guy who smoked a carton a day or a guy who are nothing but meat and cheese.

There's a reason why people shoot for a balanced diet. The way you balance it is dependent on what you want to get out of it, but there's always some sort of balance.

[bwana devil]

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*buzzer* Wrong! But thanks for playing. BMI applies to everyone, which is why I specifically pointed out that the definition of obese is rather useless, thus making the topic of this thread nonsensical. Did I claim to debunk anything or did I simply point out the obvious problem with the wording of this post? That doesn't even deal with the obvious problem of comparing an activity that is hazardous to one's health with the state of actually being in poor health (i'm changing the wording to smoking vs unacceptably high body fat %). Obviously the question would make more sense if we asked is smoking worse than overeating or is having an unacceptably high fat % worse than having COPD.

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"BMI is a reliable indicator of total body fat, which is related to the risk of disease and death. The score is valid for both men and women but it does have some limits. The limits are:

-It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.

-It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass."

NIH

since people in their own home cant accurately compute body fat %, BMI is what we're left w/. BMI is a quick and easy measure for a person generally being able to tell how over weight the person is.

there are often posts on 2+2 that the person is 6', 250lb, hasnt been to the gym in years and then cites some example similar to yours where an athlete has the same height and weight as his and says "see BMI is worthless. think ill have another donut. what's the point?"

there are obvious limitations to the BMI scale but it is convenient and if used for non-muscleheads it can be helpful.

[Duke]

BMI can have some potential use and also be a pretty crappy and regularly incorrect way of determining fitness. The two options aren't mutually exclusive.

[swingdoc]

Bwana - thanks for the link that's probably at least 5 years old. Here's a slightly more recent one that's a little more up to date:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/555017

[bwana devil]

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Bwana - thanks for the link that's probably at least 5 years old. Here's a slightly more recent one that's a little more up to date:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/555017

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