Poll: are you a fat gamer?

Maybe the CDC is really onto something here. Maybe gamers really are fat. Maybe we really do need to rest our thumbs and get out to play more. Sounds like an opportunity for a quick survey.

This is a two-part process. First, take this BMI test. It'll give you a general sense of just how svelte or stout you really are. After completing the test, reward yourself with a cheeseburger for completing that grueling ordeal. You'll need the energy for the next part of the challenge.

Feeling rested? Good. Here's the a poll question. Do your best to read it and respond to it before fatigue overwhelms you. I had to take like five naps and several two-liter sodas just to be able to finish this post.

Technical mumbo jumbo: this is not a scientific or rigorous poll and is only intended to capture the general consensus of Joystiq readers. Results will be posted approximately one week after the poll is opened for votes. Sure, you probably could hack this poll if you worked at it, but it’s more fun for everyone if poll results accurately reflect the opinions of all readers, so please refrain from tampering with poll results.

Reader Comments (62)

First off I'd like to say that the link to the BMI scale you have is a UK site, and well the BMI scale is a lousy American invention.

Secondly the BMI doesn't take into consideration the fact that human beings retain quite a bit of water and some actually have these things called muscles that help generally move your body. I dunno, really strange concept of muscles, don't know if I buy the fact that we have those and that they are denser than fat. I have personally been involved in sports until I was 3 and all year around football/weights and conditioning and on the power lifting team until last semester, which marked the end of all of that for me. I weighed about 195 min to 215 max during my peak or prime physical shape and I'm only 5 foot 8. I only had 17 percent body fat at that time. Since then I've been running a little, have dropped to 180-185, lost some muscle mass and gained about 7-8 percent more body fat, yet the BMI scale says I'm less obese.

Check out this site, it's hilarious and provides some simple insight into what the BMI scale really is and how wrong it can be. http://www.bmiscale.com/

You know the reason why the U.S. is considered to be the most obese country on earth? It's because we're the only country who's government measures with the BMI scale and forces a false food guide pyramid upon us.

Furthermore health and body fat percentage have very little effect on one another. I know an anorexiant girl who is considered obese by the body fat percentage test because all she does is sit on her ass and eat little to nothing, which is all converted into fat for storage because her body is tricked into thinking it won't get anymore food for a long time. She's the kind of girl who could fall through a crack and quite tall. I also have an uncle, a seemingly very plump man who rides his bike from the westbank to uptown everyday(basically across the city of New Orleans) and he's as healthy as a teenage athlete with an acceptable BMI and BF% rating. And since when has the public's image, or stereotype, changed on gaming and internet. Stereotypically speaking your average gamer/internet addict is slim and sickly. Unlike comic books they can absorb all of your time and make it difficult to eat or remember to eat at the same time. This kind of false viewpoint on what a gamer is, as being an obese, diabetic, heart disease having, no day of light seeing loser is a big reason why there is a lack of new gamers.

I say be happy and ignore what these people and the BS they spout out. Kill yourself the way you want to, that's all we are doing, just picking the way we are going to die. I know when my physical shape is detrimental to my health, any sane person can tell without the aid of a flawed scale.

Anticrawl

Let's see - 6'2", 250 pounds. According to the idiot chart, I'm obese. According to my family doctor, I need to drop about 10 pounds and he'll be happy with that. One reason - I weighed 220 in high school when I was a football linebacker. The only time since I was 13 years old that I've weighed less than 190 was when I was in basic training with the army - and at 170, I was WAY too thin for my frame.

But hey - that's why, if you're serious about this, you should talk to a doctor instead of just reading things on the internet. That, and realize that generalizations are just that - general comments that may not apply to your specific metabolism or body style. According to the height and weight charts, almost all NBA and NFL players are obese. Don't think so.

Very funny and factual article about CDC here if you haven't read it yet.

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/article_detail.cfm/article/161

Anticrawl

One last thing. Come on, think logically here. How can children being far more active now than years past and having less free time(free time which we could be spending eating and sitting on our arse) be the cause of this so called "childhood obesity epidemic". That's what CDC is using as a fact to back up their argument... being more active makes you fat... yep yep. Top of the line organization we have here, believe everything they say, pure genius. Brilliant!

I for one have noticed a rapid decline of the amount of "fat kids" in school as I've grown older, just as a side note.

Anticrawl

I fall under the "other" category -
I am 5'6" and 150 lbs, which puts my BMI at 24.2.

The chart lists (for under 18-34):
Healthy: 19-24
Overweight: 25-30

I fall right in-between Healthy and Overweight, since the chart is based on ints and the result they give you is a float.

I consider myself pretty healthy, though.