what does "skinny fat" mean?

BlueJean4114
BlueJean4114 Posts: 594 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.

Replies

  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
    I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

    How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

    THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.
    It's an insult thrown about by people who lift weight, aimed at people who do not lift weights.
    or have "A physique, while not overweight (and possibly underweight), but lacks any visible lean, striated tissue(muscle)
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    It is somebody who, although they are slender/skinny, have a high body fat percentage. They generally don't look physically fit, just skinny and "soft", with little or no muscular definition. Google "skinny fat" and look at the accompanying images to get an idea.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    People who look thin but are flabby. They have pot belly, moobs (for guys), saggy arms, cellulite on their thighs & jiggle abnormally in a way that isn't expected to a thin person.

    In short, they are your average people you see everywhere in the street.
  • smaschin
    smaschin Posts: 91
    skinny with fat
  • SueGeer
    SueGeer Posts: 1,169 Member
    Me :laugh:
  • porffor
    porffor Posts: 1,210 Member
    For me skinny fat is where someone loses weight but doesn't keep fit. So they are not fit in any terms, not just muscle.

    Also though, I do think some people are naturally skinny and it doesn't seem to matter how much or what they eat - often when they're young adults.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    It's an oxymoron
  • epmck11
    epmck11 Posts: 159 Member
    A few years ago, I became fat for the first time in my life. Not just a bit overweight, but actually an unpleasant looking fat. So I started eating 'healthier' (avoiding processed foods) and doing a lot of cardio. I lost a lot of weight, and was left with a skinny fat frame. Sure, I looked skinny with my shirt on, but I had no muscle definition and some lingering flab. Since then I put on some muscle and then eventually some more fat and became slightly fat, maybe still a bit of skinny fat. Lately I've lost a lot of weight again but maintained my muscle, and I think I'm finally close to beating the skinny fat stigma. It's tough because gaining muscle and losing fat are both difficult and nearly impossible to do together. Lifting weights is crucial though and people who neglect serious weight training while losing weight are doing themselves a disservice.
  • epmck11
    epmck11 Posts: 159 Member
    It's an oxymoron

    No, it's not. One can be "skinny" but still have a lot of extra fat.
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
    I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

    How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

    THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.

    The precise definition is someone who has a normal/healthy weight according to BMI charts while their body fat percentage is in the obese range (30%+ for women, not sure what the % is for men). The medical term is "normal weight obesity"

    It's abused as a term though, often used to refer to anyone who's thin but doesn't have good muscle definition, or to people who are thin but don't exercise. While eating rubbish and not exercising but remaining thin by not eating very much rubbish makes you skinny fat(e.g. skipping meals then eating junk when you do eat), not everyone who does this is actually skinny fat. Only the scale and the skinfold callipers (or other way to measure body fat percentage) can say if someone's actually skinny-fat as opposed to unfit and a bit squishy.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I have a cousin who runs every day and does marathons and such. She is beautiful and has a great physique, but she got called skinny fat one time because her body fat is is 25%. I think it's supposed to mean people who don't look fat, but who aren't fit, but it is thrown around way too casually, imo.

    ETA: Most of her family is obese, so it's pretty hilarious that she got called fat when she is in much better shape that most people.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,177 Member
    I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

    How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

    THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.
    It's an insult thrown about by people who lift weight, aimed at people who do not lift weights.
    or have "A physique, while not overweight (and possibly underweight), but lacks any visible lean, striated tissue(muscle)


    I take it you don't lift.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
    I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

    How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

    THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.
    It's an insult thrown about by people who lift weight, aimed at people who do not lift weights.
    or have "A physique, while not overweight (and possibly underweight), but lacks any visible lean, striated tissue(muscle)


    I take it you don't lift.
    No I don't lift (at the moment I just cycle and swim), but there again, it doesn't apply to me, I fat fat..
  • Determinednoob
    Determinednoob Posts: 2,001 Member
    I am new here. What does the term "skinny fat" mean?

    How can you tell if someone is "skinny fat"?

    THANK YOU to anyone who can explain this to me, or link me to a thread on it that i should read, thanks.
    It's an insult thrown about by people who lift weight, aimed at people who do not lift weights.
    or have "A physique, while not overweight (and possibly underweight), but lacks any visible lean, striated tissue(muscle)



    I take it you don't lift.

    What you meant was "Do you even lift?"
  • BlueJean4114
    BlueJean4114 Posts: 594 Member
    to all who replied

    9b6rp.jpg
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Low BMI (skinny), high body fat percentage (fat).

    You end up LOOKING like someone who is skinny, but have many of the same health risks of someone who is fat. Bdy fat percentage is actually a far more accurate measure of overall health - it's just harder to measure and very hard to see.

    I'd sorta struggling with this right now. Most of my workouts have been cardio. My BMI will be normal in another few pounds, but my body fat percentage is a touch high for an older guy like me (currently around 23%). I changed my bicycle route to work to one that is a lot more hilly to add some leg resistance training, but I need to add some upper-body and core strengthening exercise (squats, planks, etc) to round that out and preserve upper-body and core muscle better.

    I'm not quite skinny, but I'm fatter than I look.

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