Week one: what is this thing called fat? In which I explore this fascinating concept...and try to get real with myself

There are a lot of euphemisms for fat, especially as they relate to women. Here are a few: plump, round, chubby, ample, big-boned, voluptuous, buxom, womanly, curvy, big , full-figured and Rubenesque. Rubens painted women in all their glory - dimples, fold, mounds of flesh, unashamed. Our present-day society's view on what women should look like has moved from Rubens to Picasso in many ways - we eschew those curvy wobbly bits, and it's all about angles and sharp pointy bits in the guise of flat stomachs, and stick limbs, and size zeros. When I look around me I see more Rubens ladies than Picasso girls walking about.

We have all these polite words for "FAT" don't we, but there are plenty of unkind ones as well. Think lard arse, porky, beached whale, humungous, blimp, heifer, boombah, fatty boom-sticks and so on. What's fat then? and why is it "bad"?

According to the Australian Bureau of Stats, way more than half (62%) of Australian adults are either overweight or obese. This has increased from 20-odd years ago when 38% of adults were regarded as being overweight or obese (in 1989-90). A recent Australian survey shows 25% of persons aged 18 years and over to be obese, 37% overweight, 37% normal weight and 2% underweight. When compared with measured results from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (NNS), the proportion of persons aged 18 years and over who were classified as overweight or obese has increased dramatically. (I am not making this up - see http://www.abs,gov.au/ !)

Alright then, but what does this mean for me? How do I know if I really am fat?(apart from the fact that my clothes don't fit me, and I have more folds and wobbly bits than a Ruben's masterpiece?)

Some tech talk: The body mass index (BMI) equals a person's weight in kilograms (kg) divided by their height in metres (m) squared. Since BMI describes body weight relative to height, it is strongly correlated with total body fat content in adults.
What is overweight? (cuddly, big-boned, curvy, voluptuous or fat?)

"Overweight" is defined as a body mass index (BMI) value of 27.3 or more for women and 27.8 or more for men. These definitions of overweight are based on an analysis of BMI relative to the risks of disease and death.

Well then, how is obesity different to "overweight"? (lard-arse, beached whale, etc)
"Obesity" is defined as a BMI of 30 and above.

Oh. Right then. I see...

Last week I knew I was fat, and had been gaining steadily for a year. I didn't know how fat was too fat. So I jumped on a few web sites, and did a few quizzes, measured my BMI. And guess what? I am fat. I am not one of the 37%, certainly not the 2%. I am one of those people in the 25% category. According to the ABS and their handy health surveys, I am obese.

My BMI is 30.1.

oh...my...god