Doctor told my wife to gain weight

[Nemo2]

DW, at 5' 1", has 'ballooned' up to 103 lbs - no swimming, (pool closed), but walks, and workouts on our vibration platform.

68 in October, she's still a young person.

 

[braumeister]

60 yrs old is not elderly!

If you looked at the study I linked to, it involved those over 70.

I know, I know ...

But "old farts" is less PC.

 

[Amethyst]

Well, yeah, who wants to be compared to flatulence? But I don't see anything wrong with "old person." And I'm in the camp that says 60+ is old. How old I am is irrelevant to how I see that. I'm old now, and will be old until I'm dead.

I think we should take back the honest word, "Old," and use it, instead of treating it like an insult to be avoided and concealed. Trying to disguise it with silly euphemisms such as "senior" never works, any more than wrinkle creams do.

But "old farts" is less PC.

 

[Winemaker]

What are wrinkle creams?

 

[Nemo2]

What are wrinkle creams?

Waste of money - I have wrinkles naturally, why would I spend cash to get more?

 

[tmm99]

I'm 5'5" and weigh around 128-130lbs. I looked up my BMI and it's 21.3 - 21.6. I thought I was slightly heavy, but maybe not...

As many of you, I've heard that being slightly overweight helps with longevity. I was watching Chris Cuomo talk about his experience with COVID-19 and he said he lost 13lbs in 3 days, and when I heard that, I thought to myself I would be OK if I lost 13lbs, but probably not much more than that.

 

[Amethyst]

Like calling an old person a "senior," wrinkle cream is futile attempt to cover up something of which no one should be ashamed.

There's a meme making the rounds which shows a group of appalled-looking 70-something women. The caption is "The moment you're all worrying about The Elderly - and realize you ARE The Elderly."

Waste of money - I have wrinkles naturally, why would I spend cash to get more?

 

[Aerides]

And for women, there's that old expression: At a certain point you have to choose between your ass, and your face.

 

[friar1610]

I think we should take back the honest word, "Old," and use it, instead of treating it like an insult to be avoided and concealed. Trying to disguise it with silly euphemisms such as "senior" never works, any more than wrinkle creams do.

I agree. When I'm someplace that might offer a "senior" discount I generally ask if they have an "old peoples' discount". The (typically young) clerk normally does a double-take and then we have a chuckle over it. From older clerks I get a knowing glance.

(75 in 2 weeks)

 

[athena53]

Last month I was trying to get the heck out of Bolivia. We (4 women from my tour group and I) were booked on the only nonstop from Bolivia to the US and the day after that all flights in and out of Bolivia were shut down. We were in La Paz and the flight took off from Santa Cruz. Left the hotel at 3:30 AM, giant long line at the airport and our guide, bless him, walked up to the "special needs" desk and told them he had 2 women over 80 in the group (true although I was only 67). We waltzed right up to the short line. I was never so happy to play the Old Lady card. (I realized as I got up there that the line was actually for 60+ anyway.)

But... on the OT, yes, I read about Chris Cuomo's weight loss, too, and realized that I'd really be hurting if I developed something that resulted in substantial weight loss. I'm just going to be careful and hope it doesn't happen.

 

[RetMD21]

My wife (60yrs old) went in for a checkup today. Very healthy, and always has been. She has lost between 10 and 15 lbs recently, deliberately. The doc suggested she shouldn't lose anymore, even said she should gain a few lbs. Her BMI right now is 24.8.

25.0 is considered overweight. I thought this curious.

It doesn't make any sense to me. Unintentional weight loss is of course a concern

 

[Time2]

If your wife is 103lbs, she must be quite short to have a BMI of almost 25.
BMI isn't the be all and end all it used to be anyway, as it doesn't take muscle and other factors properly into account.

She is short, 4'6" [-]tall[/-] short, but normally proportioned, she is Asian.
She is a type A, that runs at least 3 miles a day and then does an exercise
video with lots of movement. Then, her yard and garden work begin.
It makes no difference to me whether she gains or loses weight, but no one would look at her and say she is skinny. When we married she was under 90 lbs and not skinny then.

I was the skinny one, as a kid.


Sorry I was slow to respond, we were out of town.

 

[Ally]

My doctor gave me this chart, which shows over 65 a bit higher acceptable weight. I am about 24.9 BMI and was told not to lose weight. I have chronic kidney disease and this was my kidney doctor telling me this. He said several studies show that it’s healthier for an over 65 to have a few extra lbs and to have moderate exercise. Sorry for the double post, I can’t get it off.

 

[tmm99]

My doctor gave me this chart, which shows over 65 a bit higher acceptable weight. I am about 24.9 BMI and was told not to lose weight. I have chronic kidney disease and this was my kidney doctor telling me this. He said several studies show that it’s healthier for an over 65 to have a few extra lbs and to have moderate exercise. Sorry for the double post, I can’t get it off.

View attachment 34833

It looks like I will have to gain several pounds in the next few years...

 

[Chuckanut]

So the doctor tells your wife to gain weight.

Did he also tell you how to answer the Question of Terror, "Honey, do these jeans make me look fat?"

 

[RetMD21]

My doctor gave me this chart, which shows over 65 a bit higher acceptable weight. I am about 24.9 BMI and was told not to lose weight. I have chronic kidney disease and this was my kidney doctor telling me this. He said several studies show that it’s healthier for an over 65 to have a few extra lbs and to have moderate exercise. Sorry for the double post, I can’t get it off.

View attachment 34833

These are guidelines for when your doctor must address issues to avoid penalty for low quality not really guidelines for what is best. That is why they have the diagnosis codes included.

 

[Helen]

Well, I like being thin. I am not going to put on weight when I reach 65.

These are guidelines for when your doctor must address issues to avoid penalty for low quality not really guidelines for what is best. That is why they have the diagnosis codes included.

What does it mean to avoid penalty for low quality? TIA

 

[Amethyst]

I'll bet it's got to do with the Dr. being able to document that Protocol has been followed, i.e. Patient has been advised that medical guidelines indicate such-and-such.
Sort of like the way our new doctor gave us both a little talk on diet and exercise, even though we're thin. It's just something that has to be done with every patient.

What does it mean to avoid penalty for low quality? TIA

 

[Animorph]

I hope our doctors don't use that chart. We're both well below those BMI's. Any added weight just hangs out front for me, so I'd have to start lifting weights to gain weight reasonably. DW has always been skinny and is not willing to gain weight, except during pregnancies. Never really been an issue so far with our doctors. I can see a little extra weight to add robustness through illnesses, but adding fat just to hit a typical BMI is nuts.

 

[Winemaker]

^ You don't necessarily have to add fat.

 

[Joylush]

I wouldn’t worry about it. I completely agree with you. Sounds like she’s at a perfectly healthy weight. And the BMI certainly doesn’t indicate underweight. Not to mention she’s only about ten pounds more than she was when she was a younger adult. Sounds perfectly normal and healthy.

Ignore that advice. Not to mention it’s hard to maintain a weight loss so she may creep back up again naturally anyway.

 

[MichaelB]

^ You don't necessarily have to add fat.

Yes. I bet weight is used becasue it’s easy to measure, but what matters is muscle, and they fear is low weight equates to frailty.

 

[RetMD21]

Medicare quality payment program https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Payment-Program/Quality-Payment-Program

 

[P.S.]

Here is a typical study, and you can find many others:
Overweight Older People Live Longer

I think the original studies were in ICU patients, the conclusion being that the extra weight was a depot of nutrition.
An ICU patient is usually too sick to feed themself or even tolerate nutrition put down through a thin tube in the nose. The digestive tract is not optimally functioning, so sometimes feeding needs to happen through an IV. IV is a very not ideal way to get nutrition for a number of different reasons. And the time to get set up for alternative nutrition (IV or tube), takes time too. All of which to say, if you’re elderly, these studies suggest you’re better off having a few pounds of calories packed away on your body in case you end up in an ICU.
On the other hand, younger folks are better off being trim and of ideal weight, to minimize diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
Can be confusing.

 

[Amethyst]

"When do I need to start gaining weight (even though I'd rather not) so I won't die from starvation in the ICU?"

Sounds about like the question that we debate from time to time..."How do I know when I'm just demented enough that I should commit suicide, before I get too demented to know what I'm doing?"

Aging. Sheesh. Bleagh.

All of which to say, if you’re elderly, these studies suggest you’re better off having a few pounds of calories packed away on your body in case you end up in an ICU.
On the other hand, younger folks are better off being trim and of ideal weight, to minimize diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
Can be confusing.