Skinny Fat vs. Overweight and Malnourished
Seems counterintuitive, right? What an obtusely acute title to dig right into! Oxymorons are simply the best use of the English language!
What does “skinny fat” or “overweight and malnourished” mean though?
Why don’t we break down one so we can compare to the other and understand the implications our innate prejudices have towards people’s physical appearance.
Skinny Fat
This is a term that was introduced to me a few years back. I was quite confused as the title implies and didn’t truly understand the meaning behind it.
Quite simply- a person may look skinny by their physical appearance, however, they may have tremendous amounts of visceral fat lining their organs that impede their functionality. Of course, we wouldn't know that simply by looking at them because they “look” healthy, just because they are skinny.
Picture this, an individual who looks like the average joe, but eats nothing but take out, refined carbs and excess trans fats. For the time being, they may be skinny, however, I can assure you without a doubt that their insides are slowly dying a painful death.
When there is visceral fat, that is almost like the end of the game. Not to say that small amounts of visceral fats aren’t normal, because they are, but excess amounts increase overall mortality and morbidity rates.
Visceral fats play an integral part in limiting the functional capabilities of our heart, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.
We also praise a skinny person in our society because we have the preconceived notion that because they are skinny, they must be in tip-top health.
Couldn’t be farther from the truth. We love to place our own prejudices on others strictly from their physical appearances. Then we are SHOCKED when that “skinny” person dies early at the age of 42 from a heart attack.
What does that tell us? What can we learn from that?
It tells us that we aren’t all created equal and that we have an obligation to ourselves to make informed decisions about what we put in our bodies.
We are all unique. We are highly individualized. One weight loss strategy doesn’t work for everyone. This is why there are so many dietary fads out there to try and “biohack” our genetic components and offer something for everyone.
One person’s metabolism is completely different than another. When I say metabolism, I am focusing on BMR (basal metabolic rate). This gives us a good estimate of the calories you burn just by being you. It tries to account for activity level, gender, age, and height.
Like I said, not highly accurate, but it gives us a ballpark.
Just because someone can eat donuts every day and potato chips and still look skinny, DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE HEALTHY.
Their bones will become porous and brittle, their hormones will become out of whack, mental fatigue sets in, generalized muscle weakness, shortness of breath, metabolism slows to a crawl, they become vitamin deficient….the list goes on and on.
This is NOT a healthy way to live their life, despite the fact that they “look” how they want, but they feel like they are 90 years old.
Overweight and Malnourished
Conversely, this is another stereotype we think is highly counterintuitive based on our prejudices and lack of pathophysiology and biology.
Looking at an overweight individual, we automatically assume they should just stop eating and that would fix all their imbalances. Or we think they can starve and just lose weight and they will be healthy.
Both of those very common misconceptions are BIG myths that can prove hazardously dangerous to the individual.
Just because someone is overweight, does not mean they are metabolically sound. Same as a “skinny fat” person.
The overweight individual can eat the same types of foods as the “skinny” person, but based on their metabolic rate, they digest and process the foods differently.
As a result, the overweight person ends up being malnourished, much like the “skinny” person where they experience vitamin deficiencies, muscle weakness, unbalanced hormones, mental and physical fatigue, and so on.
And yes, an overweight individual will have significant visceral fat surrounding their organs, much like the “skinny” person.
The bottom line, they are both metabolically and physically different, however, their internal organs are fighting the same battle.
Fixing Skinny Sally and Overweight Oliver to be a Healthy Harold
So how can we all become healthy on the inside and outside? Another simple solution.
Eat. Real. Food.
Stop chasing the hedonic urges for refined carbs to satisfy something that will only bring you short term satisfaction.
Chase the long term results that provide stability, sustainability, health, longevity, and happiness.
We do not need to have our diets consist of feel-good urges. Food is NOT an emotional stabilizer. It is a hormonal destabilizer and ruins metabolic currency.
Food should be ONLY treated as fuel. Nothing more and nothing less.
If there is a moment in time where you want a treat, by all means, splurge on that one meal. Have some self-control. It’s okay to have self-discipline and recognize it’s a one-time event for that week.
It is NOT okay for that to be breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Be honest with yourself because the only person it is harming is you.
We, as a society, harbor our feelings in food. We, as a whole, need to have better coping mechanisms with stress, anxiety, and depression instead of seeking immediate pleasure from foods.
Learn to meditate. Learn to use a different outlet for your stress like riding a bike, taking the dogs for a walk, write down your feelings on paper, or enjoying a book. There are so many options, but we always look for the easy way out.
Remember, you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap and highly processed foods, expect to have a short life of high medical bills, prescriptions, and chronic diseases.
Whereas, if you invest in yourself and learn what you should be putting in your body, along with being emotionally and physically sound, you can live a long fruitful life full of opportunities while feeling at your best!
The tools are in abundance, the answers are there. We must come to terms with our inner demons before we move forward with ourselves.
No one is alone in this battle.
Be strong. Be brave.
