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

FitBeto

Hot dog = skinny but full of fat

pineygirl

I'm what's classified as skinny fat. I appear to be thin, at 5'0-ish and 118lbs. But I am pretty unhealthy. I have 24-25% body fat and only about 89lbs of LBM. I have hypertension and have the early warning signs of type II diabetes (reactive hypoglycemia). I have some of the health problems obese people have, yet I have a normal BMI of 22.7.

lgstone

I get this too. Some years ago, through jogging and diet, I got down to about 170-175 pounds and had a 34" waist. I looked good in clothes, but other than jogging muscles, I was really undeveloped; no muscle. Fast forward--today, I'm overweight at 225 pounds, but through a healthy life of a lot of physical work outside, exercise, etc. I might actually be more healthy than I was at 175. I want to lose the excess weight, but I want to watch the body fat percentage along the way. If I end up more like 180-190, but have a good, low body fat ratio, I'll be more than happy.

In fact, my real goal isn't a weight, but a combination of body fat percentage and performance fitness standards. I've set a weight I think approximates that, but if I hit the right percentage and performance, I will go with whatever weight that ends up being.

bcattoes

It means someone who is thin but still has a high percentage of body fat which is still unhealthy.

Sometimes it means skinny people who have a BF% in the healthy range, but have no visible muscle. I once saw it described in these forums as "someone who is skinny but has a super high BF% of like 23". (in a discussion about women)

RunHardBeStrong

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).

This. And I had heard of the term way before MFP, which is why I never jumped on the 1200 calorie band wagon.

bcattoes

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.

How exactly would having too much fat cause nutrient deficiencies? Surely that was due to poor diet and/or malabsorption issues. Either of which could exist regardless of your BF%.

bcattoes

This. And I had heard of the term way before MFP, which is why I never jumped on the 1200 calorie band wagon.

I had heard it before, though never used the way it's used here. I work in health care and I'd only heard it to describe people who have too much internal (visceral) fat around their organs, but their overall BF% was not high.

neandermagnon

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.

^^^^ this

skinny fat = normal weight obesity = body fat percentage above 30% even though the weight is in the healthy range for BMI

it's not a healthy thing to be, because the person is carrying too much fat and also is likely to have low bone density and muscle mass (because they're not heavy and if they're carrying a lot of fat, then the rest of them would be underweight), which is associated with a greater risk of problems like osteoporosis.

a lot of people overuse the term "skinny fat" e.g. using it to mean any thin person who does not have muscle definition. That's not correct and someone can be thin and healthy and not have muscle definition. A woman who has 20-25% body fat won't usually have much muscle definition but she also won't be skinny-fat as she's carrying a healthy amount of fat.

Qskim

I think it's crap the way it's used on here ..no I'm not skinny fat and I hate having to say that actually like I have to defend myself...it's yet another term that is thrown predominately at women to make them feel less than..once again suggesting failure if you don't conform to a prevailing attitude. It's a ridiculous demeaning put down.

Aviva92

I think it's crap the way it's used on here ..no I'm not skinny fat and I hate having to say that actually like I have to defend myself...it's yet another term that is thrown predominately at women to make them feel less than..once again suggesting failure if you don't conform to a prevailing attitude. It's a ridiculous demeaning put down.

yup it's crap. women naturally do have some fat on them. it's like the term skinny fat is thrown around to make women feel less than human if they don't have a muscular build. it's thrown at women, but it seems like other women are the worst offenders with it's usage or maybe it just seems that way because this forum is made up of predominantly women.

Aviva92

It means someone who is thin but still has a high percentage of body fat which is still unhealthy.

Sometimes it means skinny people who have a BF% in the healthy range, but have no visible muscle. I once saw it described in these forums as "someone who is skinny but has a super high BF% of like 23". (in a discussion about women)

I saw that thread. 23% body fat is not super high. It's normal. It seems like the view of normal is completely skewed on this site.

Aviva92

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.

uh, just because someone doesn't have muscle doesn't mean they are unhealthy. the women shaming on this forum is unreal. i'm on another forum comprised mostly of men and i thought it was bad on there, but this forum is 10 times worse.

Rawr1978

sure, there's such a thing as "skinny fat". I used to see them in the gym- they'd kill themselves on cardio machines, ignore the strength training section, and their *kitten* were thin, but pretty much hung to the backs of their knees. Zero muscle tone.

Rawr1978

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.

uh, just because someone doesn't have muscle doesn't mean they are unhealthy. the women shaming on this forum is unreal. i'm on another forum comprised mostly of men and i thought it was bad on there, but this forum is 10 times worse.

wait around a bit, it gets even worse.

djshari

I hadn't really heard of it but I get it. I think it is used because many people think that skinny = healthy and that really isn't the case, there are a lot of factors and like people said above someone at a normal weight can still have a high body fat percentage and have a higher risk of obesity related problems.

I don't know why anyone would get offended.

Rawr1978

People get offended over EVERYTHING lol
Skinny is by no means "healthy". I've never been skinny, but I've been a lot healthier and in shape than a lot of "thin" people i know.
I don't want to be skinny, thin, skinny-fat, chunky, fat, obese. Being proportional would be amazing.

baotzu

I think it's crap the way it's used on here ..no I'm not skinny fat and I hate having to say that actually like I have to defend myself...it's yet another term that is thrown predominately at women to make them feel less than..once again suggesting failure if you don't conform to a prevailing attitude. It's a ridiculous demeaning put down.

It's not always used correctly here on MFP because, as with a lot of topics here, most people are horrifically uninformed.

It's very simple.. if you have a "normal" weight, but a high body fat %.. congrats, you're skinnyfat. That's it. Also, this isn't something that ails one gender more than another.

Sometimes it means skinny people who have a BF% in the healthy range, but have no visible muscle.

Not when the term is used correctly it isn't.

langsyne

The term skinny fat has been around for a long time, maybe even prior to internet. I first heard the term about 15 years ago.
It is ok when used in proper context - normal BMI, but fat % considered overweight or obese.

bcattoes

sure, there's such a thing as "skinny fat". I used to see them in the gym- they'd kill themselves on cardio machines, ignore the strength training section, and their *kitten* were thin, but pretty much hung to the backs of their knees. Zero muscle tone.

Weird. What kind of cardio were they doing that didn't use their glutes??

Andrew_peter

Handy chart here for these terms:

http://oi53.tinypic.com/35mh9fo.jpg