Am I Skinny Fat?

Do you eat an unhealthy diet?

Do you have (excess of) fat around the middle (“muffin top”)?

Are there health problems running in your family?

Do you have difficulties doing one push-up?

Do you avoid exercising?

Are you in an at-risk population?

Is your waist circumference high?

Based on your answers, it’s unlikely that you are skinny fat, which is of course positive news! But what does it actually mean to be “skinny fat”? Someone who looks great in swim wear or has a body-mass index (BMI) in the normal range, but that does not take care of his or her health, may be a skinny fat person. This person could be just as unhealthy as an obese person. This means that the mirror and scale do not tell the whole story. Regardless of how you look, it’s highly important to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid health complications later in life.

Based on your answers, you are displaying some signs related to being skinny fat. This means that you may look good and healthy, but if you would do a health check, you would probably have high levels of body fat and inflammation. You will be at high risk for cardiovascular problems, but this is not noticeable from your appearance. The mirror and the scale only tell a part of the story. Getting your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels checked is the only way to know whether you are really healthy or not. It may be important to talk to your doctor about how you can get fit, both inside and out!

Unfortunately, you are displaying the symptoms typically seen among individuals who are skinny fat. People who are “skinny fat” are often at risk of developing the same health problems as if they were in obese categories. The difference is that they don’t look unhealthy from the outside. So, their body mass index may be in the normal range, but their body fat is higher than what has been deemed healthy. It may be very important to talk to your doctor about how you can get fit, both inside and out!