What does skinny fat mean? Skinny fat is referred to as someone who has a high amount of body fat and low amount of muscle. The societal perception is that people who are small or thin have good health, which is not necessarily true.
People who have higher body fat, lower mass, and still have a normal BMI- (body mass index), are likely to develop the following health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and insulin resistance.
What does skinny fat mean? iStock- photo credit: Prasit Supho
Skinny fat is when someone has a large amount of visceral fat but doesn’t have muscle definition. One of the best ways to improve your skinny fat status is to eat healthier and to exercise. Resistance training is one of the most important things to help your body composition. It will help you gain muscle and lose body fat.
Incorporating cardiovascular training in your exercise routine is one of the most important things you should be doing, which will help with losing body fat and maintaining a healthy heart. Just because you are genetically predisposed to having less muscle and higher body fat than others doesn’t mean you can’t counteract that with positive lifestyle habits.
Some of the things that can contribute to higher bodyfat, and lower muscle is age and hormonal imbalances. Older adults are at a higher risk of muscle loss and higher bodyfat due sarcopenia. When women get to the age of 50 and over and approach menopause their estrogen levels drop. And this can potentially lead to a higher body fat mass and an increase in visceral fat.
Some of the dietary modifications that can help improve your bodyfat composition:
- Focus your diet on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. This will help with making you more fuller because of the extra fiber.
- Incorporate protein in most of your meals which will help with gaining lean muscle mass.
- Minimize consuming sugary beverages like soda, fruit juices, alcohol, desserts, etc.
- Minimize ultra processed foods like pastries, cookies, cakes, candy bars, etc.
Some good moderate cardiovascular activities that you can do to help you lose bodyfat are swimming, gardening, hiking, jogging, cycling, dancing, walking, etc.
Some good strength training activities that we can do are resistance bands exercises, dumbbell weights, body weight exercises, machine weights, etc.
The Bottom Line is skinny fat is a term that is used for someone that has a normal BMI but a high amount of fat and a low amount of muscle. This is someone who probably doesn’t work out and doesn’t eat well but they are thin from a BMI perspective but still unhealthy. You can combat and improve your skinny fat phase by incorporating consistent cardiovascular and strength training exercises. And eat better in a balanced and healthy way.
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About Author- Obi Obadike
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References
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- Roh E, Choi KM. Health Consequences of Sarcopenic Obesity: A Narrative Review. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020 May 21;11:332. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.00332. PMID: 32508753; PMCID: PMC7253580.
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