• Tweet
• Share
• EMAIL

• Tweet
• Share

Thin people are not always healthy. You read it right – if you’re thin and you don’t exercise, you’re still unfit and could develop the same health issues that are usually associated with obesity. While heart diseases top the list of ailments that could affect unfit thin people, other issues like bone density, poor stamina, low to no muscle definition are some others that regularly plague the skinny fat populace. Continuing Healthy Living India’s 20 Health Myths, here’s looking at why thin people aren’t always healthy.

Read the Previous Myth: Sugar Makes Kids Hyper

“I don’t need to exercise, I’m naturally thin.” Wait, what?
To look into whether thin people are actually healthy, a London-based research team measured LDL levels (bad cholesterol) in 37 fit exercisers, 46 thin non-exercisers, and 28 obese non-exercisers. The results? The fit exercisers had healthy LDL levels, but the thin and fat non-exercisers, both, had similar and higher, unhealthy LDL levels. Conclusion – Thin people aren’t always healthy. Both thin and fat people are just as likely to develop cardiovascular heart diseases if they do not follow a healthy exercise routine.

Make it real - Almost everyone knows at least one person who ate everything because he/she was naturally thin, only to wake up to cholesterol issues in their 30s or 40s.

“Being thin doesn’t mean you’re not fat.” Eh?
Since 1994, Imperial College – London’s Dr Jimmy Bell and his team have scanned approximately 800+ people with MRI machines. The purpose? To establish where people store fat. The data shows that those who aren’t visibly fat are still storing fat in all the wrong places. Therefore, Dr Bell suggests that merely a rounder ‘middle’ shouldn’t be considered a sign of unhealthy ‘weight.’ Subjects who practiced weight control through dieting, and not exercising, were the ones with fat deposits in all the wrong places. Up to 45% of the women with normal BMI (20-25) showed extreme levels of internal fat. For men, this percentage went up to 60%, proving once again that merely being thin has nothing to do with being healthy.

Talk about the sumo wrestlers – Most studies about sumo wrestlers have claimed that they are much healthier than some skinny folk, simply because their fat is stored beneath their skin and not wrapped around vital organs and muscles.

In the end – Maybe it does come down to family history, injuries, mental health state, and numerous other intangible reasons that finally affect our health. But the general misconception of thin being healthy is what leads to unhealthy bingeing and lack of exercise. So do your thin friends a favour – tell them to exercise a little and really reap the rewards of being naturally thin even when they’re well into their 40s.