This was a big question when the company was first formed back in 2012. Mannequin or manikin? Which should we use? Obviously, manikin was easier to spell. However, we felt that the spelling of mannequin had more class and sophistication to it. This better portrayed our aim to produce a better, quality product. But should we go with manikin anyway?
Still unsure whether to use mannequin or manikin, we consulted the experts, the dictionaries.
Many definitions of both manikin and mannequin were identical, such as:
However, when it came to manikin, there were a couple of definitions which definitely would not suit our product:
A man who is short in stature
(now rare) A little man; dwarf.
We could never describe our Barry or Benny as short or small. One of the characteristics of our mannequins is their actual large size. There’s no point training on lightweight options when practicing moving and handling people living with obesity. We designed Bariquins mannequins to offer real-world expectations when dealing with people living with obesity. Why use make-do pretences that lead to underestimating the care required? So, we chose mannequin.
You may have noticed the reference to people living with obesity above. You might see people living with obesity described using other phrases or words. Such as plus-size people, obese people or bariatric people. The latter two phrases tend to stigmatise people and which is why we try our best to use people living with obesity foremost.
We sometimes use people who are plus-size as this may not offend people living with obesity and is also a term that people living with obesity use to describe themselves. However, that’s not universal and plus-size people can also be offensive to some people living with obesity. And obese person, well that just focusses on the person’s obesity, not the fact that they’re actually an individual. We tend to use obese or obesity to describe populations or epidemics, things which are not so personal.
The word bariatric itself comes from a medical definition meaning of or relating to the causes, prevention or treatment of obesity. If you’re interested, it’s derived from the Greek word baros meaning weight. (So, using the term bariatric person to describe a person living with obesity is rather like using the term paediatric person to describe a child.) Bariatric has, however, become a word used beyond the sphere of medicine which involves people living with obesity. Emergency services, for example, may term an extrication involving a person living with obesity as a bariatric rescue.
In the United Kingdom, NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) defines different weight classes according to their distinct BMI values:
Classifications of obesity differ around the world. For instance, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in the US, categorize obesity as follows:
If you’re calculating a person’s body mass index or BMI, you need to divide their weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres. (Here’s a link to an online calculator for you at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/ )
However, be careful when interpreting BMI in very muscular adults (such as those who play certain sports) and also in people with atrophy, as it is a less accurate measure of adiposity in these groups.
