Underweight or Slightly Overweight: Which is Worse?
For many people being underweight means their bones aren't as strong as they could be and they have fewer 'reserves' if they fall ill. It can also affect a woman's fertility. - BBC health
Here are seven health problems which can be caused by being underweight:
1. Weak immune system
If you're underweight, you're probably not taking in enough nutrients. This affects your body's immune system, making it more likely that you'll catch a cold, flu, or whatever else is going around.
2. Low muscle mass
Particularly when being underweight is caused by illness or deliberate food restriction, people who are thin are likely to have a low muscle mass. In teenagers in particular, who are still growing, being underweight can mean that muscles don't develop well.
3. Hair loss
Being underweight affects your hair - often meaning that you lose hair from your head. You may also end up growing body hair in odd places (especially if you're female) if you're too thin. Your hair, just like your body, needs to be nourished by adequate food intake.
4. Osteoporosis
Also known as "brittle bones", osteoporosis makes fractures much more likely. This can be an especial danger if you're underweight because you do a lot of sport and don't take in enough energy. Women who have passed the menopause are at especial risk of osteoporosis.
5. Anemia
Anemia occurs when the body cannot transport enough oxygen around in red blood cells. It's often caused by iron deficiencies - not uncommon in women, especially those who are dieting or restricting food intake. Anaemia can make you feel exhausted and can cause heart palpitations and dizziness or fainting.
6. Menstrual irregularities
If you're female, your periods can become irregular or stop altogether (known as amenorrhea) when you're underweight. This is because your body thinks you're starving - if you're not taking in enough food to stay at a healthy weight, your body definitely doesn't want to be giving what little energy you have to a baby.7. Pregnancy complications (or unable to get pregnant)
Even if your periods don't stop, you'll have trouble conceiving if you're underweight. And it can be extremely dangerous for the growing embryo if the mother is too thin: a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that:Women who are very underweight before they become pregnant are 72% more likely to miscarry in the first three months of pregnancy.
Are you underweight?
If your BMI is under 18.5 (you can http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ find your BMI here), you're underweight. Even if your BMI is between 18.5 and 20, you are thin for your height and could suffer from some of the problems above. Your doctor will be able to help if you are experiencing symptoms that you think might be caused by being underweight - please get the advice of a medical professional if you're at all concerned.
More like this in Health · Oct 7, 2008
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It's definitely worse to be underweight than slightly overweight, mainly because of all those problems you listed. However, you have to look at more than just weight. I got underFAT without going below an 18.5 BMI and I had some of those problems; namely that my period stopped and I lost some hair. I also had anemia, although it was a pretty mild case. I guess there are also some people out there that are naturally very ectomorphic that are underweight according to the standard, yet are perfectly fine health-wise. So yeah, you have to look at the whole picture: too little body fat is the real culprit behind most of those problems. Mine got down to something like 11%, which is very low for a woman. Fat stores hormones, so if you lose too much, you lose estrogen and THAT will screw up your system big time.
ReplyThanks for sharing that, Spectra -- I hadn't fully clocked how many of the symptoms are to do with too-low body fat, not just too-low weight. (Though a lot of studies report that athletes of healthy weights commonly suffer from some of the problems listed, which would definitely bear out your experiences.)
I guess the take home message is that fat is not the enemy: we need adipose tissue (fat) just as much as we need lean muscle tissue.
ReplyThe studies I've seen seem to sugggest that nutrition is the most important factor with amenorrhea, not necessarily weight.
ReplyThe Harvard study suggests that a BMI of 18.5 to 21.9 is statistically the healthiest.
ReplyI just report the news :-)
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/13/1581?view=abstract
Compare / contrast with http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2006/08/23/slightly_overweight_increased_health_risk.php where death rates seem lower among those who are slightly overweight.
ReplyThese studies that include cachetic or ill patients where they are emaciated will give results that say it's better to be overweight. If you only look at "normal," thin is healthiest. If you want to be overweight, and do better surviving the diseases that you get from it, do that. The best test is the "is it working test." If it's working well for you, let er rip!
ReplyGood call. Have a read of this NY Times piece. A different outcome again. In this review - patients who were already sick were ruled out.
ReplyThanks Jim!
Replythis is interesting. we dont think much about the health risks of being underweight. Thanks for the info.
ReplyAmericans 65-75 years of age or older have maximal longevity with a BMI 25-30, but have higher rates of disability than those with BMI under 25.
I see lots of people who suddenly become ill for various reasons and require hospitalization. Many lose the ability to eat adequately for 1-2 weeks. For example, bowel obstruction from an internal hernia. An extra 10-15 pounds of weight can help you weather the storm.
ReplyA very good point! Many fashion models starve themselves to death to look slim and this is really unhealthy.
ReplyInteresting. My period stops if I go below 105 pounds (I'm 5'2"), which is a BMI of ~19, I think. I wonder why.
ReplyI'm the same height as you, and I found that when I got down to about 118 lbs, my period became very infrequent. I was diagnosed with PCOS, but I suspect that the weight loss also had something to do with it.
105 lbs is very light for someone of 5'2 ... you probably want to be no less than 110.
ReplyAs with bulky, muscled-up athletes, BMI can be misleading. Some very lean and extremely fit endurance athletes -- men and women -- can fall under 18.5 BMI. These people are not necessarily unhealthy, although they may be if they haven't looked after themselves.
ReplyBMI is flawed ,and studies involving them are always confusing.I say we just get rid of the whole thing.Looking at the two contradictory studies already posted further proves this point.
ReplyI agree with cereal... BMI isn't a great measure. Bodyfat testing is far more accurate.
ReplyI think being underweight as a concern is something people really forget about. Personally I have always been someone who has been very skinny and only through years of lifting weights and eating have I brought my body mass up. Many years of hard work...
ReplyBeing underweight isnt such a bad thing sometimes, maybe its just the way one's body works. Alot of people eat and eat but dont gain a pound and are underweight. I dont think we should set standards for what is the right size for a body, i think the way our body is doesnt matter as long as were healthy and do everyday tasks and its their body in the first place if they want to mess up their body they better consult a doctor, if they dont then let them learn from it and have the harsh reality bring them back
ReplyI know this guy whose BMI is 14 or 15, significantly lower than standard, but he keep eating like double or triple of the amount of food normal people eat. He has to eat to fight off his over active metabolism, so lots of carb for him at night, or else in his words, that he will just waste away while sleeping.
As a person who easily gain weight, I wanted to be him, but looking at how he looks, and struggle to eat eat eat, and literally to keep alive...may not be the best thing either.
ReplyThere have been studies done about this. They made these 2 people drink this fluid that counted calories. One person said they eat all the time and can't gain weight, the other person said they never eat and they always gain weight.
It turns out the person who "never eats" was eating a thousand more calories a day than the person who "always eats"
It was on the national geographic channel.
ReplyI'd like to watch this show, and wonder if it can be done on the guy I know.
I went out with him, I ate a plate of salad with little fat free dressing. He had this whole English breakfast, then ordered scramble eggs on toast....
At night I drink 1 almond milk, he on the other hand had 2 full plates of chinese fried rice.
I have a BMI of about 22. Normal, but on the higher range.
I think while in most case, people don't really have the real notion of how much calories they eat, but basing on what I see, (and he definitely put people in awe all the time by the amount of food he consume) genetic does plays roles.
His mother, said she used to eat half a cheese cake at dinner parties...plus other food and drinks of course, but in those time, her mother was told she's too thin....
Then when his mother get older, she looks more normal, more flesh on her. So your genetic metabolism does plays a role.
I did this test that calculate how much base calories I need for daily survival, it's about 1.2K. So I'm very concious to eat just a little above that if I'm not doing much.
But that 2 plates of fried rice alone is like already much more then what I can consume the whole day....
ReplyThe BMI thing always throws me when it's strictly that calculation. I'm 36, and for the majority of my life I was in the 18.5/18.8 range (I'm 5'3" and usually weighed between 105-110.) My preferred exercise was walking. I always looked fit and lean, although often called "too skinny." Six years ago I started swimming, and gained 5-10 pounds in three months, which leveled off after the first few months, and like my life before swimming, I haven't gone up or down since (I don't consider it age related gain because like I said, I started swimming heavily, immediately started to gain, and once I adjusted to swimming the gain leveled off quickly, and hasn't changed since). I eat extremely healthy (in fact, far healthier than I did in my skinny days.) Such little fluctuation tells me that it was more of a muscle gain than fat, and I'm still considered fit and lean (the most obviously physical difference is in my arm and shoulder muscles and ramrod straight posture and abs whereas I used to slump over). But my BMI is now technically up to 21.1 most of the time. See what I mean? You have to take into consideration way more than just the calculation.
ReplyAlly--I can definitely relate to gaining muscle as opposed to fat. I'm about 15 lbs heavier than I was at my lightest weight, yet I only gained maybe half a size in clothing. Definitely not enough to notice, except that I think I fill my clothes in better now.
ReplyHey guess what, being underweight IS a bad thing, in my experience. I lost a significant amount of weight after a traumatic experience last spring, and let me tell you, being just 10 pounds under the minimum healthy weight for my height did a number on me, physically, EVEN WHEN I WAS EATING regularly and healthfully in effort to re-gain lost weight. My periods stopped, which led to a torrent of other issues, sharply polarized moods among the worst. I looked gaunt, my hair thinned, I had no muscle tone, no libido, and fainted three times in two months, spending two nights in the hospital after enduring a concussion from one of the falls. The bottom line is, maintaining a body weight of 10 to 15 percent below a minimal healthy weight requires an unhealthy lifestyle, and this deficit in pounds if often muscle. Additionally, you can be anywhere from 10-15 pounds "overweight" and look great if that extra "baggage" is muscle.
ReplyWell, I haven't been "underweight" in a long time, but I remember losing my "baby weight" very quickly after pregnancy, so that I was around 115 while still nursing an infant and running after a toddler. I think I had more illnesses that year than at any time in my life.
I think older people, especially women, benefit by being normal or slightly overweight (BMI around 25 or so) because one illness can really wipe them out.
ReplyMy bf started to lose hair since he lost weight from 180lb to 155lb. From your post, I am not sure if becasue he is underweight or not. I will suggest him to read your blog.
ReplyI agree that being underweight is more dangerous if only for the fact that it is so embraced that it can go unnoticed or even praised until there are serious complications. However, I think that if you are on the lower end of the scale to get a water test done to find out if you are indeed under weight. My BMI is 17.5 by way of stander test/ scales but I'm only 4'11" tall, small framed and I weighed at my heaviest 103 w/clothes (and Sweater no shoes though) so probably more like 97-99lbs. That doctors scale pretty much said I was dying w/ 90lbs of non-fat mass but it was intended to measure regular height medium build people. It said I needed to gain 24 lbs of fat! It really scared me; thus I went to a different doc and he said I'm just small frame and lean and I'm of average weight for my height which can be from 90-130 lbs and my BMI is 19 I think I'd be pretty plump at 130 lbs. but I guess if I get pregnant I'd get that weight and then shrink again to something more like 110-115.
ReplyI find that when I lose too much weight too quickly, I become sad. My appetite reduces, I no longer feel attractive and my usual vivacious self. Last time I went from 128 lbs to 115 lbs in 5 weeks and loved my reflection and shape but I felt horrible on the inside.
I think women should not change their weight unless they're actually overweight.
And it's confusing when you read somwhere that being the slimmest you can possibly be is the thing that makes you live the longest.
Replyhi i just read through this because i was worrying about my weight im about 5' 9.66" and weigh 123 lbs.
it puts my bmi at 17.8 which according to everyone is underweight. but i've always been really skinny. my bmi has never went over 20.3 when i used to weigh 140.
that was when i was lazy and didnt have a job. but since i have one i've lost a significant amount of weight. but i don't feel any diifferent all my clothes fit me the same. no change in my body besides weight.
anyways what im wanting to know is that healthy? for me to lose weight out of nowhere on my body except that the scale says a lower number and then be considered underweight?
Replywow, my BMI is 16.5 i do everything i can to gain weight but none of it ever works no matter what i possibly do, i guess ill be unhealthy my whole life
Replyhi. i weigh 115lbs. is that ok 'cause i stand 5'3"?
ReplyThis is a very ignorant, stupid post. Do you people realize that body builders have to get down to nearly 4% to 5 % body fat percentage for preparation in body building? Hmmm they don't die while achieving that goal. What about the 90 pound celebrities? They're not dead. I actually got under weight for a reason and that was so I could get rid of skeletal muscle from being a former female athlete. Some people NEED to get under weight in order to change their body to the person's liking. I fasted while being under weight and guess what? Nothing happened except that I lost the bulk muscle I had built prior to reducing my body fat percentage because when a person falls under weight with muscle mass who fasts UH the body will take skeletal muscle to feed the vital organs such as the heart.
You people need to realize: THE BODY IS AN REMARKABLE AND WILL DO EVERYTHING IT CAN DO TO KEEP THE PERSON ALIVE; HENCE, IN FASTING UNDER WEIGHT BODY WILL FEED OFF SKELETAL MUSCLE BEFORE VITAL ORGANS THE BODY IS CAN DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES OF MUSCLE.
As for people who are naturally under weight who can't gain weight. That is probably those who were just born like that so they don't have a problem. Some ectomorphs are like this. I know a guy who does periodic fasting who literally got down to 4% body fat through the fasting and he did NOT die.
I can't stand people who assume someone will die if they are under weight or do any type of fasting. If you are stupid about being under weight and don't eat at all for a VERY long time then that WILL cause a problem including those who are naturally under weight.
ReplyHi,
im emailing from glasgow, scotland i think underweight is better in a way that means your not worred that your overweight or fat anyware y is it sometimes when im out in the glasgow city center i see so many skinny guys are thay not underweight becouse im having problems with my weight im finding it hard to lose weight im 5"10 and my weight is 12.9 and im overweight but i have been underweight before my lowst weight use to be 8.4 i found that was better now i fell now im overweight and fat and i dont fell happy and i fell realy unhealthy my mum and dad ware keep on mooning about my weight when i was underweight and that pissed me off and thay got docoters in this aswell and i got tooken away and now i fell that my lifes not the same anymore i fell my lifes messed up after what happend to me i cant forget that day becouse i use to get my heart checked and one day i went with this nurse and she end up taking me someware else after getting my heart cheked becouse i was underweight with thses people it was like a home out in the country side in stirling and i thot thats it now im never going to go back home but thanks god my dad sorted everything out and got me out of there now my aim is to get to 10 stones and mantain it after that becouse im not happy with my weight and now after all thats happend im starting to get food cravings and sweet cravings and im finding it hard to controll.
Replyand when your underweight i fell your Metabolic rats faster and you dont put on weight you can get away with eating foods you like becouse when i was underweight i got away with eating things i liked but now i cant if i look at an ice cream or cake or pudding you name it i start to pell on the pounds and i hate that now.
Replyokay i am 15, 5'7'', and only 105 lbs.. ive been TRYING to gain weight and i do, BUT I DONT LOOK ANY BIGGER! i ABSOLUTELY HATEEEEE being skinny and i love food. it makes no sense?!?!!?
ReplyWILL SOMEONE ANYONEE PLEASE HELP ME
i DONT WANT HEALTH PROBLEMS, i WANT TO FIT INTO THINGS BETTER, and not always worry about people thinking im so tiny!!!
PLEAASEEE
PLEASEEE
PLEASE! HELP!!
According to my doctor, I am 5'2" and 103 pounds (15 years old); and at the perfect weight. However, she did a test and told me to bend over, noticing how bony I had become.
ReplyAwhile back I weighed 136 pounds, and I was 14 years old. I ate pizza, sodas everyday, bread, meat, a crap load of chips, you name it. Though, I was confident and happy all the time. Then I somehow convinced myself I was obese. I started off healthy, and then gradually got to the point where I didn't eat meat or bread, just fruits, veggies, low-calorie cereals, and occasionally the fat free foods. I can honestly say I have most of these problems. I have not had my period in awhile, also my hair has been thinning out. I AM trying to gain weight, but how would a teenage girl go about doing that? Do I start with straight up junkfood, or healthy fat type stuff?
My opinion is that you need to increase your calorie intake. I don't think it will hurt you to stay active, but an increase in healthy foods will be much better for you in the long run.
ReplyI am a 36 year old "recovering" anorexic. Last December at 5'6" I weighed 95 lbs just before starting treatment, which isnt incredibly low for an anorexic but damaging enough believe me. I had been at a low weight for over a year (also at other times in my life). I went through 6 months of treatment but recently had to drop out due to insurance refusing to cover any more treatment and an astronomical bill. I am still terrified of gaining weight but have gotten up to 106 lbs. I have been trying to maintain there and get used to it and because I feel so much better than I did when I started treatment I tend to assume I am safe at this weight. Before at my lower weight I had hair falling out, extremely low blood pressure and heart rate (bradycardia), no energy, weak and dizzy, mood swings, insomnia, thyroid issues, slowed metabolism, and lack of body reflexes among other problems. Most of that has gone away except the insomnia, thyroid issues, and mood swings (I also suffer from lifelong depression). I actually have more energy to work out and lift weights.
ReplyBut I wonder what silent symptoms are lurking underneath that I may not be aware of, hence searching long term consequences of being underweight. The only one I know for sure is osteoporosis which I was diagnosed with after a dexa scan at 36 years of age (I also had a total hysterectomy and loss of both ovaries). Its easy to ignore that factor right now since I havent suffered with a fracture yet and am still stuck in my eating disorder mindset but these articles help remind me that I am going to be doomed if I stay on this path. Osteoporosis is not just an "old persons" disease. Its hitting women younger and younger because of the impossible standards we set for ourselves and society sets for us. I guess this can go for men too but its worse for women as far as osteoporosis.