Geez, being African sucks

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He's not severely underweight. I've swam with him many times. He's just a skinny guy. And no, he has no eating disorder. I mean, he eats... too much. It may seem like, because of the numbers, that I am thinking too much. I do have a little blubber. It's not SEVERE or obesity, but it's nothing to be proud of. Do you know what I'm saying? Also, I'm not some obsessive dude over my weight, I would just like to get rid of some of it and then work out. It's mainly fat; I have some muscle here and there (mostly shoulders and pecs). I've been 130 before, but that was when I was shorter, so that was probably the reason for it. I don't mind weighing this much, just as long as I look good. =D

yea your friend is underweight. Goto the doctor and they usually have a chart that tells what your weight is suppose to be based on your height, age, build(newer charts) at 115lbs i could almost curl your friend. I'm like 5'5-5'6 or something and at 145lbs Im just slightly underweight i think for my height.

ahh here are some height/weight/build charts to tell you the proper weight you should be and stuff. I'm not sure if these are the most current but they look pretty accurate to me.

http://www.weightchart.org/
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm

as you can see no male 5'2 or taller should even weigh less than 130lbs or so. Your friend who is 5'8 is severely underweight. He weighs less than what a person who is 5'2 should weigh. If you honestly think that looks healthy then you have a distorted view of what the proper weight should be and should probably seek professional help.

I guess it's not a matter of science or charts, then. My friend has a lot of energy, he is continuously active, he eats a lot, and he's happy. If he is underweight, he doesn't mind being it, and it certainly has no ill effects on him.

I repeat, a male who's 5'8" and weighs 115 lbs. is severely underweight. The idea that it's not is really crazy. Either he is mistaken about his height or weight, or he is a bag of bones. In any case, he is not OK, and his weight is nowhere near normal. If he's eating normally, then he probably has a thyroid problem and needs to see a doctor to get it checked out.Seriously, ask a dietician or medical person about it. If he really is that height and weight, and you think it's fine, then you have a seriously distorted idea of what is normal, which is worthy of investigation.

In reply to: In any case, he is not OK, and his weight is nowhere near normal. If he's eating normally, then he probably has a thyroid problem and needs to see a doctor to get it checked out Not always true. In High School I was 135 lbs at 6'2". I was just very active (Ran track and cross country). I also would eat ALL the time lol. My mother would get soo irritated because 15 minutes after eatting dinner I'd be snacking on something. Yes I was under weight but at the same time I was not unhealthy. By body got all the nutrition it needed to fuction properly.As the years went on I put on some weight, now I'm usually right around 165 at 6'2".Not saying they shouldn't check his thyroid, they did that with me as well just as a procautionary. But I certainly would not say "he's not Okay" because most likely he's fine. He might just be an active kid like I was.

because most likely he's fine.5'8" at 115 pounds? No way. Ask your employer.

Umm I was 6'2" at 135.. not much of a difference. And Actually I did just ask my employer and he said it depends on the situation. If he is otherwise healthy and eats properly he is fine. Agreed getting the thyroid check to be safe but if he eats properly and is otherwise healthy, it's nothing to stress over. Just something to keep an eye on as he gets older.

it depends on the situationI disagree that 115 pounds is an OK weight for a male under any circumstances. I suggest consulting with another expert.Someone that underweight certainly has little margin if he gets sick. Ask any oncolgist if that guy's weight is OK, and watch him turn white.In other words, I strongly disagree with you.

LOL as I assumed you would. I was always very healthy growing up. RARELY got sick and when I did my down time was minimal. And in comparison I was just as thin as the person in question.

Point is as long as the person is eatting properly, getting proper nutrition he's fine. Again might wann get the thyroid check as procaution, but saying he's "not okay" is alittle far fetched.

Yes there are guidelines one what people SHOULD weight at a given height.. but its not something set in stone as everyones build make up is different. What might be good for one person might not be the same for the next person.

For a male, he's below the BMI 5th percentile. While BMI may not be the the last word in proper weight, it is useful as a rough guide.How low a weight does your employer (I assume he's an M.D., otherwise we're wasting our time here) think it's OK to be, for a 5'8" male?

Ask your own Dr because anything I say you'll think you know better, even when the info is coming from a guy (my doc) who spent over 8 years in medical school.

I've dealt with a number of doctors on that very subject, and they would probably gently suggest that your doc has his head firmly up his behind. But these doctors (and nutritionists) are only employed by some of the finest and best-know hospitals in Boston, so they probably wouldn't really have any idea whet they're talking about. Hopefully the guy in question is just going through a phase of puberty, and his weight will eventually catch up to his growing body.

In reply to: Hopefully the guy in question is just going through a phase of puberty, and his weight will eventually catch up to his growing body. ROFL! WTH!! That's basically what I have been saying. You are so damned amazing how you double talk and still try and make yourself sound good.As for my doc having is Head up his ass, you have no room to talk. He spent 8 years in medical school, how many years you have in med school Steve? You cannot look at one diagram and use it to fix every person and every situation. It's not possible. We're not made of a cook cutter where we are all the same.

Buddy, I've met incompetent doctors. In fact, a relatively small number of them are respsonsible for the majority of lawsuits. I don't know much about your employer, but based on a few things you've mentioned on this forum, I'd hesitate to send my mom to him. What exactly is his specialty?You need to be able to keep two opposing ideas in your head without gettng a brain cramp. Being that guy's height and weight is not healthy for anyone. Hopefully he will grow out of it. Just because he will hopefully grow out of it does not make it OK.Never think about becoming a lawyer.

In reply to: Never think about becoming a lawyer. Don't worry, my ending degree will be in Sexology.My doc is a GP.. and he's a very good doc. All he was stating was if the person is otherwise healthy (including thyroid) than there isn't much to worry about. just because someones underweight (to a point) doens't make someone unhealthy. As I have stated with myself, I was very underweight but was also very healthy, I was just very active. You're impossible to even talk to about things like this because you're the type of person that no matter what you think you know more.. even when it's a doc who spent 8 years in medical school.

I've seen cancer patients like that. Not something the doctors take lightly.

reading the post

I wish I had a big BUTT! LOL Feel Blessed!

LMAO!