Underweight or Slightly Overweight: Which is Worse?

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.

The Harvard study suggests that a BMI of 18.5 to 21.9 is statistically the healthiest.
I just report the news :-)
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/13/1581?view=abstract

this is interesting. we dont think much about the health risks of being underweight. Thanks for the info.

Americans 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.

A very good point! Many fashion models starve themselves to death to look slim and this is really unhealthy.

Interesting. My period stops if I go below 105 pounds (I'm 5'2"), which is a BMI of ~19, I think. I wonder why.

As 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.

BMI 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.

I 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...

Being 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

I 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.

The 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.

Hey 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.

Well, 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.

My 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.

I 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.

I 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.

hi 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?