Skinny Fat

hsnider29
hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you think the term skinny fat is overused or misused? I know it isn't medical terminology but I always interpreted being skinny fat as being in a normal weight range but having a high body fat percentage.

I have seen pictures of women that claim to be skinny fat and in their after picture they do appear more muscular or slightly thinner. My point is that they do not appear to have a high body fat percentage in their before picture.

I applaud anyone for being successful and don't want to detract from that at all but it is a term that seems overused like "starvation mode".

Replies

  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    I think it is overused or misused. I have very toned legs and arms, back and most of middle section. I lost 45 pounds last year, this year it seems like the added activity and maintaining the same weight is helping to tone up what seemed to be a bit of slack in my midsection.

    I think you can be very unfit in a healthy weight range and feel like crap if you don't eat right.
  • kluaneb
    kluaneb Posts: 13
    Someone used this term to describe me one time and I just about fell out of my chair laughing. I am NOT skinny fat - my body hids my fat well, but I am still considered obese on the BMI scale and overweight, and...and...and...

    Yeah, it's overused....
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I'd never heard it until coming to these boards and then I've only ever seen it used in discussions on whether or not the term is overused or not. For me, it's ironic.
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    I've been lurking the boards for awhile and haven't seen this topic come up often. If it has, I've missed it.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Do you think the term skinny fat is overused or misused? I know it isn't medical terminology but I always interpreted being skinny fat as being in a normal weight range but having a high body fat percentage.

    I have seen pictures of women that claim to be skinny fat and in their after picture they do appear more muscular or slightly thinner. My point is that they do not appear to have a high body fat percentage in their before picture.

    I applaud anyone for being successful and don't want to detract from that at all but it is a term that seems overused like "starvation mode".

    Hmm... I have never misused the term skinny fat although I personally was like the poster child for "skinny fat". At 125 and 32% body fat.

    As below (may not be SFW?)

    http://imagecdn.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2012/05/13/52252611/progresspic/NpFjxswxesKqKzpIvGRNoahXzXiFtFZUqwbo.jpg

    Me on the left is skinny fat. Wore a size 6, okay weight for my height (just under 5'4), extremely high bodt fat and jigglyness vs 18% body fat next to it at 112.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    On another thread it came up that a lot of people seem to think skinny fat means that you look fit but eat junk. I've never actually heard it used that way, but apparently they have.

    I interpret it the way you do-- higher body fat percentage despite being skinny.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
    Well, here on MFP I believe it's used incorrectly, in other areas what it refers to is visceral obesity. http://discovermagazine.com/2007/feb/visceral-fat#.UQsifo7FUy4

    Although, the pear shape vs. apple for health has been debunked, many times - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1930-739X/accepted
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I always thought it meant you had crummy labs. High cholesterol and LDL, poor triglycerides, and low HDL. Your weight says your normal or underweight BMI, but you labs say otherwise.
  • dkk1953
    dkk1953 Posts: 24
    I belong to a pre-diabetes prevention class and this phrase came up this week as to why thin people can become type II diabetic. This is what it was referred to....

    "That's because there's a growing trend of people who suffer from skinny-fat syndrome – they may look thin, but have a high percentage of body fat. That number on the scale, even if it's in a normal or slightly underweight range, doesn't tell if you have excess body fat.

    Many skinny-fat people wreak havoc on their bodies by not watching what they eat or not exercising, or both. With skinny-fat people, fat tends to hide around vital organs, especially in the abdominal area. This visceral fat is responsible for diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and other major health issues."
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    Wow, I didn't realize there were some mani interpretations of the term.
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    Do you think the term skinny fat is overused or misused? I know it isn't medical terminology but I always interpreted being skinny fat as being in a normal weight range but having a high body fat percentage.

    I have seen pictures of women that claim to be skinny fat and in their after picture they do appear more muscular or slightly thinner. My point is that they do not appear to have a high body fat percentage in their before picture.

    I applaud anyone for being successful and don't want to detract from that at all but it is a term that seems overused like "starvation mode".

    Hmm... I have never misused the term skinny fat although I personally was like the poster child for "skinny fat". At 125 and 32% body fat.

    As below (may not be SFW?)

    http://imagecdn.bodybuilding.com/img/user_images/growable/2012/05/13/52252611/progresspic/NpFjxswxesKqKzpIvGRNoahXzXiFtFZUqwbo.jpg

    Me on the left is skinny fat. Wore a size 6, okay weight for my height (just under 5'4), extremely high bodt fat and jigglyness vs 18% body fat next to it at 112.

    Great job!! I can definitely see a big difference in your body composition. I would never guess that you were 32% body fat.
  • casy84
    casy84 Posts: 290 Member
    In my mind it's: look good dressed and bad naked
  • watergallagher
    watergallagher Posts: 232 Member
    Im disguating :(




































    J/k


    :)
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Well, here on MFP I believe it's used incorrectly, in other areas what it refers to is visceral obesity. http://discovermagazine.com/2007/feb/visceral-fat#.UQsifo7FUy4

    This is what I always thought it to mean (AKA TOFI - thin outside, fat inside) before coming to MFP and seeing so many other interpretations.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    "That's because there's a growing trend of people who suffer from skinny-fat syndrome – they may look thin, but have a high percentage of body fat. That number on the scale, even if it's in a normal or slightly underweight range, doesn't tell if you have excess body fat.

    Many skinny-fat people wreak havoc on their bodies by not watching what they eat or not exercising, or both. With skinny-fat people, fat tends to hide around vital organs, especially in the abdominal area. This visceral fat is responsible for diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and other major health issues."

    this is a pretty good explanation of what i thought it was!

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