LAURA SHAMMAH MS, RDN
WHEN IT COMES TO BEING HEALTHY, IT TRULY IS WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS. A PERSON WHO YOU MIGHT THINK IS HEALTHY BECAUSE THEY ARE THIN, MIGHT NOT BE. SOMETIMES EVEN THE SLIMMEST, HEALTHIEST LOOKING PEOPLE WE KNOW CAN HAVE AS MANY HEALTH ISSUES AS SOMEONE WHO IS OVERWEIGHT.
As crazy as this may seem, there is a health risk for people at a seemingly normal, healthy weight called “normal weight obesity.” This term is used when a person is at a healthy weight but can acquire the same health risks as someone who is overweight or obese. This happens if a person’s body fat is high enough—even if from the outside they look slim. In other words, how skinny fat you are boils down to your body composition. That is, how much of your weight is either fat or muscle.
Some of the risks of being normal weight obese or “skinny fat” include:
• High blood pressure
• Irregular cholesterol levels
• Diabetes
• Metabolic issues
High cholesterol does not discriminate against body type, and body weight does not determine if a person suffers from high cholesterol or high triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood).
The American Heart Association Trusted Source recommends that you start getting cholesterol tests every four to six years, starting when you’re 20 (even if you’re thin!). If high cholesterol runs in your family, you should start even earlier and get tested more often.
Up to 10% of the population may be normal weight obese. People believe that if their BMI (body mass index) is in the normal range, they are healthy.
However, your BMI does not include your body fat, only your weight. It is important to remember that obesity is determined by body fat, not necessarily how much you weigh.
If you are concerned that you are “skinny fat,” just start to focus on you inner body health and not just the outside. To decrease these risks, begin:
• Weight lifting
• Cardio
• High-intensity interval training
• Eating clean
Doing all this will turn your skinny fat into lean and strong muscle. You should never judge a book by its cover, because sometimes that cover does not reflect what is going on inside.
Laura Shammah MS, RDN has a masters degree in health and nutrition and is a registered dietitian. She has been operating her own private practice in both New York and NJ for over 20 years. She is happily married and has four children.
