never heard the term "skinny fat" before joining this forum

skyline2055

at first i thought people were talking about women who are skinny but with thick thighs or arms.

then i see pictures of what people are considering "skinny fat", and it's pretty much skinny people who don't have that beach body.

stop being insecure, people. any person who is fat or obese would kill to be "skinny fat"

LiftAllThePizzas

http://lmgtfy.com/?q="skinny+fat"

Mokey41

It means someone who is thin but still has a high percentage of body fat which is still unhealthy. Usually people who have dieted without any exercise to build lean muscle mass.

marci1027

at first i thought people were talking about women who are skinny but with thick thighs or arms.

then i see pictures of what people are considering "skinny fat", and it's pretty much skinny people who don't have that beach body.

stop being insecure, people. any person who is fat or obese would kill to be "skinny fat"

this is SO true. i actually have a gird friend who just tonight referred to herself as skinny fat after i called her a toothpick. so annoying, lol

skyline2055

...

hedwardsb

I had a trainer at a gym I was joining call me skinny fat when he was trying to sell me training sessions. I was 5'5", and less than 125 pounds.

Bumbeen

I was skinny fat when I started my journey into this stuff. I couldn't squat the barbell as a 26 year old male, 6'1 and 175lbs...... very weak. I probably had 120lbs of lean body mass and 55lbs of fat on me!!

That's 31% body fat, classified as OBESE. OBESE as a 6'1 175lb man. That is skinny fat right there.

binknbaby

The first time I heard it was from my fmr. trainer, and the way she used it was talking about people who are thin but they eat poorly and therefore have the clinical problems that many obese people have, such as T2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. I didn't realize it could also refer to someone who simply wasn't "toned" until I came here and used the term myself (in reference to the way my trainer said it) and got jumped for it. LOL

MoreBean13

It refers to an actual body composition, where people have a healthy bodyweight per BMI scales but a disproportionately high and/or unhealthy level of body fat (which correlates to low muscle mass and/or low bone density).

But I do agree that it's often used inappropriately as a dig here on the forums. But, it is an actual thing. Also called "Normal weight obesity."

Also, it wasn't invented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fem1iucqnE

LiftAllThePizzas

Also, it wasn't invented here

Yeah that was the (probably obscure) point of the second post in the thread.

TheRealParisLove

I had 29% body fat but had a BMI of 24 when I started. Obese is over 30% body fat. Skinny fat is used to describe someone who looks to be of normal weight but is carrying way too much body fat and not enough lean body mass.

I've lost only 15 pounds, but I've gone from a size 12 jeans down to a size 2.

That is what is meant by skinny fat--normal sized but still dangerously unhealthy.

BinaryPulsar

I had never heard of it before MFP either. I thought it was encouraging people to have ED's and starve themselves till they had no fat at all, what-so-ever. Or I thought it was an insult that people used to make themselves feel better.

But, with time people that are "skinny fat" explained to me that they were skinny fat and that it means being at a "normal" weight, but having excess fat or flab (not just the normal smooth layer over top the muscles on the curvier parts of the body such as the booty.

People do completely misunderstand it and overuse it, though. And that was why I misunderstood it initially because it was being used incorrectly (and the same people using it incorrectly seemed to think they had scientific data to back up their absurdity).

Mustang_Susie

Interesting...

rainbowbow

I had 29% body fat but had a BMI of 24 when I started. Obese is over 30% body fat. Skinny fat is used to describe someone who looks to be of normal weight but is carrying way too much body fat and not enough lean body mass.

I've lost only 15 pounds, but I've gone from a size 12 jeans down to a size 2.

That is what is meant by skinny fat--normal sized but still dangerously unhealthy.

This. And it's all the joys of looking okay in clothes ( NOT naked) and all the health effects of being obese.

It is a term widely used, and not just for people without "beach bodies". I was 32% body fat. I was deficit in vitamin D, B, A, iron, folate, and had difficulty sleeping, breathing, walking up stairs, and high blood pressure.

I was told I was skinny fat by my DOCTOR.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

I got that way after chemo and it has taken a year and a half so far to try to change my body composition. It's a lot of work, and I definitely qualified at 34% bf and 132 lbs. at 5'7"

AntWrig

at first i thought people were talking about women who are skinny but with thick thighs or arms.

then i see pictures of what people are considering "skinny fat", and it's pretty much skinny people who don't have that beach body.

stop being insecure, people. any person who is fat or obese would kill to be "skinny fat"

This term has been around far longer than MFP. And you're wrong on your definition by way.

jenilla1

I've been called "skinny fat" by people who just wanted to hurt my feelings. The truth is I'm "skinny toned." I am thin and athletic, with a BMI of 20 and body fat at 22%, which is in the bottom half of the healthy female range. I think jealous and/or mean people like to come up with nasty names they can call people who aren't like themselves. It doesn't hurt my feelings, because I know I'm right where I want to be, but it does make me think poorly of them. It's pathetic really. Like that whole real women have curves garbage...all women are real women.

ETA: Skinny fat is a real thing, it just gets misused ALL the damn time.

jenilla1

I was skinny fat when I started my journey into this stuff. I couldn't squat the barbell as a 26 year old male, 6'1 and 175lbs...... very weak. I probably had 120lbs of lean body mass and 55lbs of fat on me!!

That's 31% body fat, classified as OBESE. OBESE as a 6'1 175lb man. That is skinny fat right there.

Isn't that crazy how you can be at a "healthy" weight but still be obese?!

The American Council on Exercise provides the following ranges for body-fat percentage:


Essential fat
Women10-12%
Men 2-4%

Athletes
Women 14-20%
Men 6-13%

Fitness
Women 21-24%
Men 14-17%

Acceptable
Women 25-31%
Men 18-25%

Obese
Women 32% plus
Men 26% plus

Bumbeen

I was skinny fat when I started my journey into this stuff. I couldn't squat the barbell as a 26 year old male, 6'1 and 175lbs...... very weak. I probably had 120lbs of lean body mass and 55lbs of fat on me!!

That's 31% body fat, classified as OBESE. OBESE as a 6'1 175lb man. That is skinny fat right there.

Isn't that crazy how you can be at a "healthy" weight but still be obese?!

The American Council on Exercise provides the following ranges for body-fat percentage:


Essential fat
Women10-12%
Men 2-4%

Athletes
Women 14-20%
Men 6-13%

Fitness
Women 21-24%
Men 14-17%

Acceptable
Women 25-31%
Men 18-25%

Obese
Women 32% plus
Men 26% plus

I am around 14-15% BF now with ~150lbs of LBM.. I consider this a little better than the average individual, but not by much. It took me 2 years of learning and gyming and eating properly to get to this from my previous sad state. I hope the next 2 years I get to 175lb LBM.....

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

if that is what those people want, good on them. That is not what I want. No, not for you or him or her or them, but for me. I'm happy I gained weight and lost body fat, personally. For me, it has nothing to do with insecurity. For me, its more "look good, feel good..."

umachanxo

You do realize that you can be very thin and extremely unhealthy, right?
You do realize that just because someone is thin doesn't mean they're muscle, right?
You do realize that if they don't have muscle, they have a higher percentage of body fat, right?
Hence, skinny fat.