Underweight





My friend

health would have been a good idea for her at that point (although, ahem, her doctor wouldn't have known that, since most doctors would never think to hassle someone with a BMI of 22 about her eating and exercise habits).



But back then, Mindy wasn't really thinking about her health, frankly. What she was thinking was, I am too fat . So she went on a diet.



She ended up here:





Mindy is naturally very thin (as you'll see in the "normal" picture below). But even she fell victim to the pressure to be thinner. For a while, she was depressed, overeating, and not exercising. She ended up at 5'8" and 145 lbs., BMI of 22 -- well within the "normal" range. (That's what happens when a naturally thin person acts like a stereotype of a fat person, y'all. BMI of freakin' 22.) Changing her eating and exercise habits for herwould have been a good idea for her at that point (although, ahem, her doctor wouldn't have known that, since most doctors would never think to hassle someone with a BMI of 22 about her eating and exercise habits).But back then, Mindy wasn't really thinking about her health, frankly. What she was thinking was,. So she went on a diet.She ended up here:

Normal





But this is the category we are all supposed to aspire to

naturally thin

that

that

These are the first 5 brave souls who agreed to participate in this project -- all friends of mine, so it's not like I had to go looking very far or bust out the professional athletes to provide good examples of why BMI is a crock.5'8", 114 lbs., BMI 17.4.Please note that although Mindy's thinking and behavior were somewhat disordered (like, uh, practically every western woman's), she was not anorectic. She was just on a regular old diet, like millions and millions of regular women.Please also note that according to the National Eating Disorders Association, the average top fashion model's BMI is 16.3. Mindy would have had to lose another 7 pounds to fit in with them.The good news is, looking at that very photo made Mindy realize she'd gone too far. She knocked off the dieting, gained a whopping 11 lbs., and is now also our poster girl for the "normal" category.Here's Mindy again at 5'8", 125 lbs., BMI 19: That, my friends, is "normal."Now, don't get me wrong -- for Mindy, it IS normal. She's healthy and beautiful at that weight, and it would be hard for her to get very much fatter if she wanted to. She's got beanpole genes going back a long way.. And how manypeople do you know who arethin?Well, you're saying, Mindy's close to the bottom of the "normal" category. Surely, no one's suggesting I have to bethin to be healthy?So let's look at the bottom of the "overweight" category.