Fatness

[JBR]

There is no such thing as being big boned or heavy set.

Oh yes there is. Medically, bodies can be classified as endomorphic, mesomorphic and ectomorphic, and everybody falls into one of those classifications (I reckon I'm endomorphic).

However, whichever one, you are quite right that you can put on weight and lose it (although the extra weight could be fat or muscle), by eating more/less and by expending/conserving energy.

I meant skeletal wise. All human skeletons are pretty much the same. I agree re muscle mass though.

Yes, but skeletons come in different shapes too - some wider than others, some taller than others, and so on.

 

[EddieM]

That is maybe true but in a normal healthy person bone density and bone thickness are very similar. Have you ever seen a thin or fat sketeton (I haven't!!)

 

[securespark]

A la great Spike, I am determined to have something witty put on my gravestone.

I want my skeletal remains weighed*, then, "I told you I was big-boned!" chiselled into my tombstone.

*Preferably post-mortem....

 

[JBR]

That is maybe true but in a normal healthy person bone density and bone thickness are very similar. Have you ever seen a thin or fat sketeton (I haven't!!)

I don't want to argue my point, but look at this:

http://thesebonesofmine.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/skeletal-series-part-1-bone-variation-biomechanics/

For example:

Variation 3: Idiosyncractic Differences

The idiosyncratic (or individual) differences found in skeletons are simply natural variations, in the understanding that every body is different, and rarely are people exactly the same (identical twins excluded). Idiosyncratic differences in bone affect the size and shape of the bone, and the topography of the bone surface. Again, such variation is very common in human skeletal remains (White & Folkens 2005: 32).

and

Biomechanic Basics

So these are the four main variations we should be aware of when we are looking and studying individual skeletons or a series of a population. By considering these four main variations we can study the persons life pathway alongside other lines of investigation. What we must also take into account next are the basics of biomechanics. Biomechanics is the application of engineering principles to biological materials, whilst remembering that bone can remodel and change according to pressures put upon the bone. As Larsen states that ‘the density of bone tissue differs within the skeleton and within individual bones in response to the varying mechanical demands’ (1997: 197). It must be remembered that the response of human bone to ‘increased loading is in the distribution of bone (geometric) rather than density or any other intrinsic material property of bone’ (Larsen 1997: 197).

Sorry. I'm not trying to start an argument. I just want to avoid looking a fool!

 

[EddieM]

Hmmmm!!! No.. I'll leave it!!

 

[JulianP]

A work colleague of mine has a wife who is one of those emergency doctors that does Cesarean sections at hospitals. She has the record of getting a baby out in about 25 seconds (or something like that) He tells me tales of how she has big meat-hook/anchor like devices at her disposal to hook and hold back the masses of belly blubber on some of the women that end up in A&E.

 

[JulianP]

I meant skeletal wise. All human skeletons are pretty much the same. I agree re muscle mass though.

More or less. Blacks have denser bones on average, that's the reason blacks cannot set any swimming records.

 

[EddieM]

I meant skeletal wise. All human skeletons are pretty much the same. I agree re muscle mass though.

More or less. Blacks have denser bones on average, that's the reason blacks cannot set any swimming records.

You mean denser muscle.

 

[JulianP]

You mean denser muscle.

I thought that was the reason they did better on the track than whites?

 

[EddieM]

You mean denser muscle.

I thought that was the reason they did better on the track than whites?

Yes, afro-carribeans find swimming more difficult because they have denser muscles and are hence less buoyant.

 

[HerrNigred]

In the case of Afro-carribeans, (what I'm going to say applies to other races/ethnicities also), you are forgetting the cultural influence.
For instance, Eastern Europeans tend to excel at gymnastics, not because they have a propensity to excel, but because they have role models, coaches, tradition and access to facilities.
The same applies to other ethnicities.

For instance, how many aboriginies have you seen excelling in sport?

There was one famous female aboriginal swimmer (I think), who was disgraced by the Australian media, by questioning her gender, etc. It was out and out prejudice. Why would they bother again?
I would agree that there are two different type of muscle, that used for acceleration and speed, and that used for endurance.
Women have a propensity for endurance.
We all remember Eddie the Eagle, who managed to enter the Olympics, despite minimal acces to facilites.
How many Western Europeans excel at ice hockey, etc?

I suggest that cultural influences play a much bigger part than any muscle/bone density propensity.

 

[JulianP]

I suggest that cultural influences play a much bigger part than any muscle/bone density propensity.

Not really. There's (for instance) plenty of black Americans that lead the same lives as white Americans and enjoy the same chances in life and thus scoop up plenty of medals and achieve records in the sporting world. But hardly ever have they achieved success on the world stage in the swimming pool.

The issue is physical in this instance.

 

[EddieM]

Cultures, tradition apart. You will never see a white man win a 100m olympic gold. You will never see a afro-carribean win a swimming medal. It's not racist or meant as any type of slur. Merely there are differences that make this a simple phyical fact.

That said and getting ba k to the original point... many many studies have been done on fat/obese people and the conclusion is always the same. Fat people eat too much and take too little exercise. .... and trust me I am in no position to preach.

 

[HerrNigred]

Not really. ......................The issue is physical in this instance.

I believe that nurture is more important.
You believe that nature is more important.
Shall we agree to differ?

 

[JulianP]

[I believe that nurture is more important.
You believe that nature is more important.
Shall we agree to differ?

So long as you realise that your opinion is out of step with facts, statistics and professional opinion.

We know the internet tends towards 50% twaddle on occasions, but do a little research on google and the overwhelming body of opinion points to the physical differences being the significant factor.