Skinny Fat v. Fat & Fit

SKINNY FAT vs. FAT & FIT

There have been many studies on fitness, what comprises a fit person as opposed to an unfit person, and these studies have shown that the size of a person’s body does not always equal their fitness level.

So what does “fit” or “fitness” mean?  Dr. Fred Hatfield, in his book Fitness: The Complete Guide, describes fitness as, “Your ability to meet the exigencies of your lifestyle with ease and room to spare for life’s little emergencies.”  In other words, fitness is your ability to perform in the world according to the goals and dreams you have for your life.

You often see BMI (Body Mass Index) as an indicator of fitness.  This system assigns you a number based on your height and weight.  While this might be a good indication of fitness amongst similar groups, it does not take into account lean muscle mass, body fat or basal metabolic rate and, therefore, even very lean and fit people such as bodybuilders would be classified as obese while a thin model who never exercised would be considered fit.

Since 1994, Dr. Jimmy Bell and his team at London’s Imperial College have been studying the way the people store fat in their bodies using MRI to create “fat maps.”  They have found that people who don’t control their weight with both diet and exercise store fat around their internal organs which can cause heart disease, insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes.

Additionally they concluded that fat and active people had a much lower mortality rate than skinny sedentary people.

So how do you know if you are fit?  There are eight parameters that will give you a good sense of your fitness level:

1. Body-fat percentage: Percentage of total body weight composed of fat.

2. Aerobic endurance:  How efficiently your body transports oxygen.

3. Muscle mass:  Amount of lean muscle.

4. Flexibility:  Ability to move freely through a full range of motion.

5. Strength:  Ability to use muscles to generate force.

6. Static balance:  Ability to maintain balance while standing still.

7. Dynamic balance:  Ability to maintain balance while moving.

8. Agility:  Ability to move in different directions quickly and randomly.

The bottom line, no matter what your body size you need to exercise if you want to enjoy an active, healthy and long life. 

There are many ways to get fit and it can be very confusing.  It’s important to find your personal fitness style, something you love to do and that fits your schedule or else you won’t stick with it long enough to get results.  Take some time and try some different forms of exercise that you’ve never tried before or contact a personal trainer or fitness coach to help you get started on the right path.

Becky Frisk, Lifestyle Fitness Coach

707-529-8407

becky@beckyfrisk.com