If you’re thin and fairly careful about what you eat, you probably consider yourself pretty healthy.
But in reality you may have a much higher percentage of body fat than you think.
And doctors say even if you appear slim, that elevated body fat to lean mass ratio could put you at higher risk for a whole range of debilitating conditions.
Dr. Jennifer Lindstrom, a Clinical Nutritionist with Albany Med said, “When we’re screening people for their weight status we use Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is a calculation of your weight divided by your height, and there’s clear guidelines of what’s considered a healthy BMI versus overweight versus obese. You can have a BMI in the healthy range which is 18 and a half to 25, but have excess adiposity, or excess fat. The problem with that is that fat cells can interfere with things like your cholesterol your blood sugar, it can actually affect your blood pressure as well.”
The moral of the story? Being thin and looking slim are not necessarily indicators of good health.
In fact, Dr. Lindstrom says many people who fall well within 'normal', nationally recognized height-weight guidelines can be at similar risk for conditions commonly suffered by people classified as obese.
Back in April, one such person was Leanna Murphy.
Leanna is a busy, 23-year-old nursing student at Maria College, a self admitted ice cream addict, and a woman who typically succeeds at whatever she tries.
She’s naturally thin, except for a slightly elevated cholesterol level, Leanna had always considered herself quite healthy, that is, until she found out her body fat percentage was 27 percent and her BMI was 24.
Personal trainer Shaina Clark said, “You can feel thin, and look thin, and the number on the scale says you're thin, but you need to make sure that you're making healthy choices.”
But Leanna admits that for the past few years she hasn’t been making ‘healthy choices.’ And even though her body fat percentage and BMI were only slightly above what’s considered the ‘healthy’ range, those statistics did put Leanna in the low end of the 'overweight' category.
So despite her slight appearance, the 130-pound, 5’3” nursing student was officially 'skinny fat,’ and she was determined to do something about it.
Leanna said, “I didn't realize it was that high when Shaina told me, so it was surprising. But it did make me want to work hard to fix it.”
Leanna is talking about Shaina Clark. She’s a certified personal trainer and friend that Leanna found at Gold's Gym in Guilderland, to help get her back on track.
“She was never obviously overweight, but she was in the overweight range for her height,” Shaina said.
“So, I ended up coming here just looking for something to make me feel better about myself,” Leanna said.
Shaina says it’s not uncommon for clients to come into Gold’s thinking they’re in “awesome shape,” but once they see their statistics, they realize their body fat percentage is much higher than they had expected.
“We get ‘em on there and their body fat is high, and I think immediately ‘we need to be doing different kinds of training, we need to be doing weights, we need to get you onto a good diet.’ Diet has a lot to do with it to. Your body fat percentage says a lot about your diet,” said Shaina.
And Lindstrom agrees working out and eating well are the only answers. She says the average adult gains one pound or more, per year after high school.
“And honestly, that's an old study, it's probably more like 15 pounds a decade,” Dr. Lindstrom said with a sigh.
Dr. Lindstrom says even some people who stay thin or skinny after high school, like Leanna, can have higher risks for health problems than they think.
“[No matter what your weight] if your BMI is in the overweight range, and ultimately in the obese range, that confers clear risk for cardiovascular problems like the heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and even diabetes,” Dr. Lindstrom said.
The good news? The doctor says Leanna Murphy is doing exactly the right thing by doing cardio workouts, training with weights regularly, and not trying to control her weight through diet alone.
“If you take two people of absolutely equal health and you compare them side, and one person is exercising and the other person isn't, the person whose exercising will live longer. We know for a fact that sedentary lifestyle is risk factor for early death,” Dr. Lindstrom said.
But that ‘sedentary lifestyle’ is no longer for Leanna. Through diet and exercise, she's lost 10 pounds, dropped her body fat by 2.5 percent, and lowered her BMI by 3 points, just since April.
“I feel a lot better. I do notice that my jeans that I used to have would be super tight around the waist, and they fit a lot better. It’s just a lot more comfortable, and I feel like I look better and I feel more confident wearing my clothes,” Murphy said.
“Anytime you can start a healthy lifestyle, the better. It doesn’t matter if you’re 15, 25 or 55. We know that even 7 percent weight loss will decrease your risk for things like heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and high cholesterol,” Dr. Lindstrom said.
Shaina says the goals she sets in the gym for clients, are long term.
“It's about forming healthier habits. You might think, 'I'm skinny. This doesn't apply to me.' but it's about down the line. What are you going to feel and look like 20 years from now?” Shaina asked.
Both the doctor and the trainer recommend adults eat healthy, and do at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity five days a week.
