What is Skinny Fat?
Are you wondering if you’re skinny fat and how you got this way? You’re in the right place!
The number on the scale won’t tell you the whole story and just because you’re skinny at a normal weight doesn’t mean you’re healthy. This is why the scale is so deceptive.
Here, I'll cover the signs of being "skinny fat," the health risks that come with it, and the five common factors that contribute to this condition.
What is Skinny Fat?
A person is considered skinny fat if they are at a normal weight or below normal weight but are carrying higher than optimal body fat.
They have a normal body mass index (BMI) but an overweight or obese percentage of body fat.
Bodyfat percentage chart.
They have the same health risks that are associated with people who are overweight or obese even though they look healthy and skinny on the outside.
In the medical field, people who are skinny fat are known as normal-weight obese.
Signs and Health Risks Associated With Being Skinny Fat
A healthy BMI doesn’t mean you’re metabolically healthy because BMI doesn’t take into account gender, age, or body fat.
Being skinny doesn’t automatically mean you’re healthy.
Someone who is skinny fat looks healthy and skinny in their clothes but with their clothes off they tend to carry belly fat and have little to no muscle definition making them look soft.
Skinny fat individuals carry high levels of visceral body fat.
Visceral fat is fat that surrounds our internal organs and arteries which cannot be seen or noticed, unlike subcutaneous fat which is fat under the skin. When visceral fat is wrapped up in the organs, it makes it hard to believe how skinny fat individuals can have an obese level of body fat.
Visceral fat can be more damaging compared to subcutaneous fat because it can create long-term inflammation that can lead to heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
Individuals who are skinny fat are also more likely to be insulin resistant. This means their bodies need to secrete higher levels of insulin to absorb glucose putting them at risk for developing type-2 diabetes.
Even if you look skinny on the outside, being skinny fat puts you in the same category for health risks as someone who is overweight and obese.
What Are the Causes of Skinny Fat?
There are many reasons why someone becomes skinny fat.
It can be a combination of factors but the good news is that skinny fat can be reversed and fixed with healthier habits and lifestyle changes.
Below are 5 common reasons why someone becomes skinny fat,
1. Eating a diet full of processed foods and sugar
Processed foods are calorically dense and not very filling because they’re high in carbs, sugars, and fat but low in protein.
Lean protein helps to keep you full with fewer calories compared to a diet without it.
A diet full of processed foods can make it easy to eat too many calories leading to excessive body fat. This is because processed foods have no nutritional value, are highly palatable, and can be addictive in nature.
The same thing can be said about a diet high in sugar which can be fattening.
Foods high in sugar also tend to be low on protein and less filling causing you to eat more throughout the day and bumping up your daily calorie intake.
You’re also likely to be missing important nutrients to stay healthy because eating sugar in excess increases your desire for processed foods and other highly palatable foods which are low on nutrients.
A sugary diet can create insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar levels, and type 2 diabetes all of which lead to weight gain and increased body fat.
2. Excessive dieting and calorie restrictions
Improper dieting and calorie restrictions can lead to higher body fat levels.
Randomly reducing calories to lose weight or body fat without understanding that there isn’t one right answer for everyone often leads to the eventual breakdown of muscle tissue to fuel the body’s needs.
Not using a calorie calculator and making extreme calorie reductions doesn’t lead to a healthier body or even losing body fat.
Because when you’re done dieting, you’ll bounce back to eating the same amount of calories or even more because your metabolism is fighting back on the extreme restrictions and you’re starving.
Over time your body fat percentage goes up and you end up with more body fat than before you started.
Repeat this cycle a few more times and you’ll see a definite increase in body fat making you skinny fat.
3. Skipping weightlifting
Often times weightlifting can be an intimidating type of exercise to get into. It’s easier to get on the treadmill or go for a run instead of hitting the weights. But weightlifting is what helps you retain and grow your muscle mass.
When you have more muscle mass your overall metabolism increases and you burn more calories reducing your risk of putting on body fat and gaining weight.
Weightlifting also helps your body use carbs more efficiently and allows you to have a diet higher in carbs without negatively impacting your body fat levels.
The reason for this is that your body stores carbs in three places: your liver, your bloodstream, and your muscles.
The majority of your carbs are stored in your muscles and if in the event all three storage places are full then you’ll convert the excess carbs into triglycerides and store them in fat cells.
If your current supply of fat cells is full then you’ll make more fat cells.
With weightlifting, you’ll increase your muscle mass and have more storage for carbs.
4. Sedentary lifestyle
Naturally over time, muscle mass decreases and body fat goes up as we age but it happens much faster if we live a sedentary lifestyle and do not exercise.
Our body fat increases when we eat more calories than we burn and daily movement and exercise can help you burn calories to shed excess fat.
Many studies have shown that increased sitting times are directly correlated with how much body fat we put on, especially around our organs and torso area.
This connection is stronger for people who do not follow the public health recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week.
Although regular exercise is not a guarantee that you’ll reduce body fat it may offer some protection against the negative effects of prolonged sedentary time.
5. Chronically elevated levels of stress
Living with long-term stress can negatively impact your health and increase your body fat.
When you’re stressed your body initiates flight-or-fight mode and secretes a hormone called cortisol in response to prepare you for survival.
This elevated level of cortisol causes your body to bump up its fat and carbohydrate metabolism to release energy into the bloodstream.
Bottom Line
Skinny fat is a preventable condition that can be reversed and fixed with a healthier lifestyle. |
By understanding how you got here, you can start making small changes and create better habits.
Candace is the owner of Rhodes To Strength. She provides weight loss and mindset coaching services to women around the world to create sustainable habits that work for their lifestyle.
You can find her rollerskating, hiking, and bird watching in her spare time.