How Being too Skinny Damages your Health
As if the whole self-esteem, lack of respect and lack of physical attractiveness to the opposite sex wasn’t bad enough, being too skinny is bad for your health, too. As we discussed in the first article of this series, being a skinny guy in a fat world, you are a skinny guy living in a fat world so most of the media attention about weight related health issues is geared towards people who are overweight. In fact, most people assume that being skinny is healthy…well certainly it has to be healthier than being fat, right? Wrong! Being too skinny has just as many health risks as being too fat and unfortunately not enough media attention for the skinny guy to know about it.
You probably aren’t eating enough
Even though you would like to believe that you are too skinny exclusively because of genetics, the fact is that you probably aren’t eating enough which means your body isn’t getting enough nutrients to maintain proper cellular function. This coincides with a lowered immune system which opens the door for being susceptible to a myriad of viruses and other illness and taking longer to heal than most people.
Next on the list is the risk of osteoporosis which is a condition of thin, porous bones. As you age and muscle tone decreases, your bones will become particularly vulnerable to breaking because they are too thin and do not have adequate support from your muscles to protect them. It is important to increase your calcium, vitamin D and magnesium intake as well as increase weight bearing exercise in order to prevent and counteract osteoporosis and maintain strong, healthy bones throughout your life including in your old age. You don’t want to spend your final days in and out of the hospital, wearing casts and/or sitting in a wheel chair, do you?
In our previous post we discussed why women aren’t attracted to skinny guys, we established that it’s tough being a skinny guy in a fat world. Women don’t want to feel fat and being with a man who is skinnier than they are makes them feel as though they are fat even if they are at their ideal weight. A woman’s self confidence is a fragile thing. Women are constantly bombarded with images of what an ideal woman’s figure should be and 99 times out of 100 they just don’t match up to the airbrushed perfect images they see on TV and in magazines and this really bothers them.
A woman will spend a good deal of her time and money on things that will make her look better and feel better about herself.
She will buy and wear nipping and tucking undergarments no matter how uncomfortable they are. She will spend oodles and oodles on an anti aging cream, weight loss pills and the latest exercise DVD sensation. She’s not about to destroy all that hard work by standing next to a skinny guy who makes her look fat by comparison!
Beyond her own sense of self esteem, there are evolutionary reasons that a woman is attracted to muscular men.
It is actually programmed right into their genes to seek after a strong, muscular man. It has a lot less to do with her thinking the guy looks sexy than you might believe. You see, in the woman’s subconscious is the belief that a strong man will be a better provider for her and her future children. Back in the caveman days, a strong, muscular man would’ve been the best choice for hunting and providing a good source of food for the family.
It’s also played out in the movies all the time. A strong man is been best suited for defending the family from dangers. Of course, nowadays, a computer geek may be better able to provide financially for a woman, but her genes don’t know that! She can’t help being attracted to those bulging muscles and contoured physique…it’s in her nature! Aside from the subconscious belief that a muscular man will be a better provider and protector is the belief that he will also provide genetically superior offspring. Even though neither men nor women may be thinking in terms of marriage when they are looking for a date on Saturday night, deep down in their subconscious that is what they are thinking about.
Even if you are already married, this subconscious programming affects you.
Your wife may have been intelligent enough to make her decision about a life partner and his ability to provide for the family on conscious thought, but her subconscious programming still affects the way she views you. There are times you don’t feel as though she respects you as much as she should and that is because you aren’t “as much of a man” as you could be.
This also affects your sex life. Even though your wife was attracted toward your personality and character strengths when you got married, she isn’t always as sexually attracted to you as you would like. Having a strong muscular physique would send your wife’s hormones through the roof and you would be getting all the action you could handle… and then some!
Anemia is another common health problem in those who are underweight.
Its main cause is not eating a healthy balanced diet that is rich in iron (lean red meat, fortified cereals and green leafy vegetables are your best sources). Anemia is characterized by decreased blood cells and symptoms may include: shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain. Please check with a doctor as soon as possible if you are experiencing any of these symptoms and be sure to include more of the foods listed above in your diet. The iron naturally occurring in food is more easily assimilated in the body than iron in a vitamin pill, so keep that in mind.
Other health risks associated with being underweight are varied.
Most hormones in your body, including sex hormones and those necessary for proper brain function, need fat to be properly transported throughout your system. Even though your main goal is adding lots of hard muscle to your body, chances are that your body fat is also very low and may need to be improved as well (don’t worry, you won’t be “getting fat”, the muscle will all that anyone notices). Bodybuilders love to sculpt down to a 4% body fat (which is about the bare minimum for survival), but they usually only do this for competition because having a little more fat on your body is actually much healthier. Also, you will have a difficult time adding muscle to your frame if you are starting out with a body fat percentage this low (more info in the next chapter). You should strive for a range of 6 to 17%, especially if you intend to increase your physical activity level.
In our next post we’ll talk about how being too skinny damages your health.
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This article sucks.
I am skinny, and my health is amazing even now with 60 years
Sorry you didn’t like this article but there are a lot of truth’s in it. Glad to hear you are in good health though, I hope I can say the same at your age.
Cheers
This article does suck.
I’m in great health and I’m a skinny guy. 24 years old 6′ @ 150lbs
Also, I’ve never had a problem with attractive women being attracted to me through out my life.
love the skinny folks flaming the article, some folks are just made fat or skinny if you are and your healthy why complain?
the sword also cuts both ays as far as health issues, you don’t see heavy people hooking up and shagging anything that moves, you don’t see them running maratons. on the other side you don’t see thin people building strength and lifting weights, you also don’t see them giving a damn about their well being because theyre constantly told they are the earth’s chosen folks and will inherit it.
i thank the writer for sheding some light on the oposing side of the battle here, neither side has a clear advantage and both should be kept humble to promote civility.
I think this is a great article, people these days are always talking about the health risks of being overweight but never bother to mention the risks of being too thin. I am constantly sick and injure myself very easily (not just because I am clumsy), and I am quite insecure about my size. I am 23, almost 5″7 and I weigh 62kgs, the heaviest I have ever been. 12 months ago I peaked at 57kgs, but prior to that at the sme height I was between 51-55kgs.
I was and still am teased for being skinny, for years my mother and father would say its just my build. Maybe. But I’ve started eating larger meals, snacking throughout the day and hitting the gym. I’ve put on 5kgs. It’s not easy, it takes just as much hard work to gain weight as it does to loose it.
Everyone’s always talking about the fatties, I think it’s time the sticks and twigletts got a bit of information, awareness and support headed their way.
The author did not say it is unhealthy to be skinny..The author said it is unhealthy to be to skinny..I’m sure being to skinny or too fat are both unhealthy states..so all skinny people don’t ,,if u are just right
It’s quite clear that an obese person wrote this article… Haha
You can tell this was written by a large man, but I guess it has some truths to it
I’m 6″2 and 64kgs and I still have a girlfriend, i’m reasonably healthy. I eat a lot more than most people I know who are average weight, but I guess I have a faster metabolism and should try eat as much as possible.
I think the article is ok considering the fact that people men are begin to skip meals & essential nutrient just to be thin.
I remember how people taunt me in high school cos i was very lanky,girls even turn down my proposal saying i’m weak & malnutrited cos i was 6″2 & 49kg.
I’m 6”3 and 68kg presently, girls eye me on the way. Even though some of them say i’m too tall,i get better attention and respect since i gained weight.
How did i pulled it off?
I eat well,sleep well, do little exercise like pressups and sit ups only,
i dont go to gym at all.
I presently date a beautiful babe,with lots of flings who throw themselves at me.
Don’t rag on people’s body image. Who cares? This article does lend more to that thought but the real issue is health. My huaband is really thin, he got sick a while back and now he’s way underweight dor his height and age. Its been about the worst thing i can imagine. Hes tired all the time, he NEVER wants to have sex because he’s so exhausted, its madr him depressed. I only attribute the changes to the weight loss because he’s become an entirely new person sinve it happened. Its like he died and left this shell behind. Im afraid for him. And we want to have kids but he can’t brig himself to have sex enough to do it and I’m concerned his weight might be affecting his fertility. Of courwe I’d never say that to him, jes having a hard enough time. You want attraction factor? If you’re so underweight your fertility and mood are affected? That’s the biggest turn off ever. Women want strength and verility, we don’t care so kuch whether the package is muscular and tan, we just don’t want to be planning your damn funeral at age 30.
Melissa Stop writing nonsense articles, get your fat azz to the gym and work out and stop insulting skinny people to make yourself feel better.
This article is trash.
My health is perfect and I’ve been thin my whole life. Get your facts straight, idiot, before you start ragging on thin guys.
Maybe chicks don’t dig us. Too damn bad; it’s their loss. If a woman is stupid enough to disrespect me because of my weight, she’s not worth my time and should probably stop throwing stones because I could find any woman and pick apart her appearance with ease.
You sound like you’ve experienced a lack of female interest and you sound whiny and rude. Anthropologically, women are attracted to a more muscular built male. An attractive face also helps. Perhaps you don’t have one of those, and thus women generally find you unappealing? I’m not trying to offend, but I’m sure I am. Sorry about that. What I’m saying is being offended over what nature dictates is childish, as is name-calling. You can’t choose who you’re attracted to.
This post is downright idiotic and stereotypical. It didn’t come off to me as an actual article, but as something some random person wrote when he/SHE was bored. I’m almost certain this was written by a girl, given the five minute intermission on how a guy is “supposed” to look like Captain America. There are plenty of women in the world who are more attracted to skinny guys… OR chubby guys for that matter. I personally know women who prefer those men because muscly men feel much too bulky and harsh when cuddling, for example. Plenty are just plain turned off by ripped men. That whole portion of the so-called article is just biased. Prime example… not all skinny males are computer nerds. Good job.
Also… “YOU PROBABLY AREN’T EATING ENOUGH”?? Since you seem to have no knowledge about your topic at all, let me share this tidbit with you. SOME PEOPLE ARE BORN TO BE SKINNY. If you were a naturally skinny person you would know. You can’t just magically eat more and be bigger. If it were that easy, wouldn’t all guys have caught on to that?? GEE! Guess they didn’t think of that one!! Plus, eating more than your body tells you to is UNHEALTHY. Try checking your facts first… or living a day as a naturally thin male.
Wow, what a silly article. I’m skinny at 5’6″ and 130 lbs and but I eat healthy AND exercise a lot.
Not all women like muscular men and in “caveman” times there were probably very few muscular men in the bodybuilder sense. Food was scarce and people could go for days without meat so most people were probably thin. What attracted women were good leadership skills, intelligence, and smart, calculated risk-taking. Sure, strength was also desirable but I don’t think there were any 6’5″ Adonis men running around.