How Skinny is too skinny?

floj123
floj123 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I am just curious as to what people believe is too skinny? I am 5"8 and wondered what peoples ideas of 'too skinny' was? thanks :)

Replies

  • Whyareyoumad
    Whyareyoumad Posts: 268 Member
    I think it all depends on the person, but as long as the person is healthy I see no issue. Now if we are talking about preference thats a whole different topic.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I am just curious as to what people believe is too skinny? I am 5"8 and wondered what peoples ideas of 'too skinny' was? thanks :)

    My idea of too skinny would be dangerously unhealthy.

    Same thing for too fat.

    I had a former coworker and friend who battled an E.D. and she was around 5'10", I have no idea of her weight but she wore a size four and she looked very lean but to look at her one wouldn't guess that she had the E.D. or drastic health concerns with her heart, electrolytes, etc. She was in and out of the hospital and I would say yes, too skinny. But she looked fine. Meanwhile some people who are perfectly healthy look "too skinny" to my eye because of jutting out bones like ribs, hipbones, etc. I don't judge them but just aesthetically, they would register as too thin to me.

    It's not about looks to me.
  • mikeykhan2003
    mikeykhan2003 Posts: 177
    I think it's all preference...

    personally I like a little dance in the pants.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    When a person is average to below average weight and has lost a noticeable amount of muscle mass, along with fat mass, which leads to a general lack of shape.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I am just curious as to what people believe is too skinny? I am 5"8 and wondered what peoples ideas of 'too skinny' was? thanks :)

    To skinny for me is being below a healthy bmi (under 18.5).
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    For someone who is 5'8, anything under 122 pounds would put you in the underweight margin of the BMI chart. As long as you are healthy and not damaging your health at your size, then you are ok. In terms of personal preference, that's a whole other story. I think thin and slender women are very attractive, but there is a point where they become ghastly looking. (My opinion only)
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
    Get your body fat % done professionally?
    We are all different. Im the same height as you and I look best around 180lbs. I have a large frame though. With my lean body mass, I will likely always be above my "ideal" BMI number so I look at my body fat % when setting goals.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    I am just curious as to what people believe is too skinny? I am 5"8 and wondered what peoples ideas of 'too skinny' was? thanks :)

    I am also 5'8". It really depends on your frame and body type when it comes to determing what is too skinny. I am referring to health. When it comes to appearance I think everyone has an opinion, and they are all different. I am at 130 lbs, which according to my frame and body type, is too low for me. I have trouble maintaining my weight due to food intolerances. Most people think I look fine at the size 3 I am now.. but my mother thinks I look too thin. Then again, she's my mom and prone to worry!
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
    Realistically, you have to feel good about yourself AND be within a healthy weight range for your body type. Not really sure this is a number, but I'd bet anything under 135 wouldn't be idea... but this is up to each person.

    At my lowest weight (recently), I was 160 and 5'6", far from unhealthy, and was called "a bag of bones". I wasn't obviously, but I just say this to illustrate that perception is everything. Since then, I've gained (probably partly due to the negative commentary), and am far away from that more healthy weight.
  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,641 Member
    Anything with a BMI in the "Underweight" category is too skinny
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    Completely depends on the person. I knew a girl in high school who was my height (5'8") and naturally very thin, she always had been since we met in elementary school. She looked perfectly healthy despite probably weighing no more than 120lbs. If I were her weight, I would look sickly because of my broader bone structure. My shoulders are larger and my hips are wider just due to genetics. I weigh 140lbs now and you can see the bottom of my rib cage but I still have 39" hips.
  • mojohowitz
    mojohowitz Posts: 900 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.

    That's exactly what is happening to me!!
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    No clue. For me, I went to a doctor and was told for my small frame 5'8" frame ,125 to 135 was an ideal weight range... and it has been easy to maintain at around 128 to 132.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.

    That's exactly what is happening to me!!

    :laugh: Of course, I should add, assuming that the question only addresses females.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    See your physician regularly and let him know what you're doing pertaining to your diet. He can help you find a safe range of weight.

    Personally, if I saw hip bones, I'd say too skinny.
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.

    That's exactly what is happening to me!!

    Me too!!

    ETA: If you are concerned, speak with your Doctor. But, as others have said, as long as you are in a healthy BF% and don't have other health issues due to low weight, it is personal preference.
  • rachelakai2
    rachelakai2 Posts: 51 Member
    I am 5'8 and weigh 130 lbs. I have a BMI of 19. Anything below 18.5 is unhealthy and considered "too skinny"
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    karlieF-640x413.jpg

    Whatever you see on magazines, photoshoots and articles is generally too skinny. Find a weight you are comfortable with and can function on a day to day level reasonably well, eg you aren't hungry all day etc and stick with it.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I agree with others that a person is "too skinny" if they are experiencing potential health problems. I think that people should talk to their doctors about this, and continue the conversation throughout their life. Or if there is muscle loss or other visual cues. As for BMI, there isn't a set number that determines "too skinny", it depends on the person and their frame size. It has more to do with how you look and feel, and how your health stacks up, and your personal and genetic history, than it does with a set of numbers. For some people (petite and very small framed) with a BMI of 18 or 18.4, they are not too skinny. But, for someone else a BMI much higher could be too skinny for them and result in muscle loss.
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    Too skinny according to the people who feel the need to comment to me is defined as 'when someone is thinner than the person doing the judging'
    I think provided you do not have body issues you get to decide for yourself!
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
    Too skinny according to the people who feel the need to comment to me is defined as 'when someone is thinner than the person doing the judging'
    I think provided you do not have body issues you get to decide for yourself!

    Well, isn't that a pessimistic, narcissistic, and short-sighted way to look at what might be simply an expression of concern?

    If someone has insight into how you've obtained your "too skinny" body and it's not in a healthy manner and requires drastic measures to maintain it then they are likely to say you're "too skinny" and I'd say they're probably right. Too skinny is any weight that requires extreme measures to maintain and a constant "fight" with your body--doesn't matter if it's technically "healthy" or not.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.

    That's exactly what is happening to me!!
    Oh boy, that must've been difficult! :bigsmile: :laugh:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    If you have no period and your hair is falling out, you are probably too skinny.

    That's exactly what is happening to me!!

    Me too!!

    ETA: If you are concerned, speak with your Doctor.
    :laugh: Love it!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Too skinny according to the people who feel the need to comment to me is defined as 'when someone is thinner than the person doing the judging'
    I think provided you do not have body issues you get to decide for yourself!

    Well, isn't that a pessimistic, narcissistic, and short-sighted way to look at what might be simply an expression of concern?

    If someone has insight into how you've obtained your "too skinny" body and it's not in a healthy manner and requires drastic measures to maintain it then they are likely to say you're "too skinny" and I'd say they're probably right. Too skinny is any weight that requires extreme measures to maintain and a constant "fight" with your body--doesn't matter if it's technically "healthy" or not.
    I think you might have misunderstood what this poster was saying due to lack of punctuation in her reply. I think what she's basically saying is that's she's experienced people often judging 'too skinny" by their own standards, often their own body weight.

    I think this is often true.

    My thin friends tell me i look fine but suggest not to lose anymore weight due to my frame size.

    My overweight friends tell me I am way too skinny and need to gain some back.

    Other people tell me I look fantastic.

    OP, what it comes down to is how you feel about yourself. If that is you in your profile picture, you are tall and appear to have a lean build. To me, you look fantastic, but that's just going off a photo.

    For me, too skinny is when you start showing some bones, such as the photograph that is posted upstream in this thread. In the second photos, she looks like she's lean, and maybe pretty thin, but the first one she looks dangerously thin due to bones showing.

    It's true, also, that what you see in magazines is generally too skinny, but that's what they get paid for.
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    Too skinny according to the people who feel the need to comment to me is defined as 'when someone is thinner than the person doing the judging'
    I think provided you do not have body issues you get to decide for yourself!

    Well, isn't that a pessimistic, narcissistic, and short-sighted way to look at what might be simply an expression of concern?

    If someone has insight into how you've obtained your "too skinny" body and it's not in a healthy manner and requires drastic measures to maintain it then they are likely to say you're "too skinny" and I'd say they're probably right. Too skinny is any weight that requires extreme measures to maintain and a constant "fight" with your body--doesn't matter if it's technically "healthy" or not.

    Trust me, it's not concern.
    I can see how the statement could have been interpreted that way. It's vicious, and incessant and comes from a negative place.
    I must remember not to be flippant here.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It depends on any particular individual who is looking at you. I, for example, am not into "skinny" at all so any skinny is too skinny. I prefer the athletic body type. I personally don't like seeing bones and what not, there needs to be more meat for my tastes.

    From a health standpoint, if you are underweight then you are too skinny for your own health...

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