No, this isn't an @actifit post but perhaps it should be going on the results, not that BMI is a good indicator of much really.

While my weight has been pretty steady the last two years, once upon a time I had a body fat percentage of just under 10 and weighed 68 kilos. The recommendation according to my BMI at the time was to lose 12 kilos. It really isn't a good indicator...

However, if average, it is not altogether bad either and when over 60% of Americans are overweight with over 20% obese by BMI, it isn't because they have thrown the scales off by spending their time building muscle mass.

I dislike the use of averages as indicators of health because the average person is far from the picture of good condition and to use the excuse "but, I am average" is poor. But, to each their own.

Yesterday, I was browsing the shops with my daughter and tried to find something for my wife but, there was literally nothing in her size range. While she use to be an XS, about 5 years ago she became an XXS and now, her size doesn't exist. Vanity sizing has pushed her out of the market.

If you don't know what vanity sizing is, it is where clothing companies relabel sizes to make consumers feel better about themselves. I have friends who have put on 10 to 15 kilos and still wear the "same size" clothes they did a decade ago. This likely happens more for women's than men's clothes perhaps. It is funny how easily gamed the ego is.

My wife has noticed the change a lot over the years as she has been the same size since she stopped growing as a teen. Even after our daughter was born she returned to her baseline, the speed aided by the dietary restrictions while feeding. Now, she can't buy a winter jacket that isn't from the children's department and forget trying to find professional clothes for the workplace, they just don't exist in Finland.

The scourge of averaging populations of course lowers production costs for the conglomerates as they will only supply what is in high demand which are the averages and, they are climbing.

I know people who talk about the impossible body images represented in magazines and I can understand the Photoshop and the like but, looking around at the general levels on the streets and I see many average bodies that not too long ago would have been considered outliers in the population, not average at all.

I am average for my height but, not for my age. While far from being in great condition, at 40 I am likely in better condition than most 40 year olds but the saddest part is that I am likely in better condition than most 20 year olds these days too. I am not talking about those that actually look after themselves, I am talking of the averages.

For those around my age and older, you might understand the drop off as one gets older and just think about when those current average 20 somethings turn 40. How will they feel in their skin and will they be comforted by the fact that they are average? Looks may not matter but often one's own self value is derived from how one feels and if constantly feeling worn-out and suffering various ills, it doesn't make for a comfortable daily life, at least for most - on average.

These days, beating the average conditions of health is relatively easy as there are just do many people in poor condition and struggling to make it up a flight of stairs. While the pharmaceutical industry provides relief and support at a price, few people tend to take care of themselves habitually from a young age. In my opinion, this is partly down to miseducation at both the official and parental level.

Sure, people talk of having no time and I know how little I have but, how much time and resources are eaten by ill health across a life? How much potential activity and perhaps more importantly, how much affected thought process is lost to poor condition? Hard to say but I would predict that on average, a lot.

I think these days there is not only vanity sizing for clothes but also for quality of thought and idea too. People over-rewarded for providing average but then, the average are the largest consumers and that means, supply meets demand.

Very rare is it these days to that we set up our lives in a way or society asks for the best of us.

Mediocre is the norm.

At what point do we start looking for more from ourselves and investigating our real capabilities?

The unexamined life.... Is the average.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
_{(posted from phone from daughter's bedside)}