One of the primary goals of people who care about diet and exercise is staying in shape. However, you can get too thin, which tends to have less than desirable medical repercussions. If you’re wondering whether this may apply to you, let’s check it out.
How thin is too thin?
The simplest way to determine whether or not you're too thin is to check your Body Mass Index (BMI) which is the benchmark the World Health Organization (WHO) uses. For Asian people aged 20 years and over, a BMI between 18.5 – 22.90 is considered normal. Less than 18.5 is underweight and 17.0 or lower is too thin.
Caution is called for. When the body gets insufficient nutrition, anorexia is waiting in the wings. Fear of obesity drives some people to eat too little. Mouth, tooth and gastrointestinal issues ensue.
Thinness can also be determined by how much energy we burn. Excessive weight loss can also result from high metabolism, overly-intense exercise, drug use, toxic thyroid, diabetes and dehydration.
Some diseases including certain cancers are indicated by unnaturally high levels of calcium leading to accelerated bone degeneration. Cancers produce PTH-related polypeptide (PTHrP) that binds to receptors stimulating production of substances that break down bone tissue leaving calcium levels in the blood elevated.
Inheritance factors can also lead to low BMI, as can mental health issues including depression, anxiety, anorexia and bulimia.
Latent diseases in thin people
Medical issues are usually more associated with overweight than underweight people. In fact, thin people also need monitoring for the likes of high blood lipid concentration, the potential consequences of which include atherosclerosis, stenosis and blockage, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease and paralysis.
Then there’s the case of high blood pressure unrelated to both obesity and thinness. Regardless of which category you fall into, an annual check-up is in order.
And don’t forget about bone density which tends to be less in underweight people, potentially leading to osteoporosis. This is ascertained by a T-score test which gauges bone mineral density. A reading between -1.0 and -2.5 is an indication of bone thinning. Under -2.5 is considered osteoporosis.
When excessive weight loss and thinness has medical consequences
There are those who feel good about losing lots of weight. Unfortunatey, the next step after getting too thin may be medical issues such as toxic thyroid which results when the thyroid gland produces and secretes more thyroid hormone than normal. Thyroid regulates metabolism of nutrients, body temperature and blood lipid levels. An excess of it causes malfunctioning which if left untreated opens the door to heart disease, bone thinning and osteoporosis.
Another issue encountered by excessively thin people is “skinniness”. The cause here is muscle mass, bone and fat loss, as often accompanies terminal illnesses. Researchers believe the condition is how the body responds to being less able to absorb nutrients. To get the energy the body needs to maintain the body and resist ailments, it compensates by breaking down muscle and fat tissue. In that case, a thorough physical examination by a doctor is in order to determine the underlying cause.
Remedies for being too thin
Being overly thin has many causes and there’s no single profile that fits all cases. Determining the best solution therefore depends on diagnosing the root cause. If it's a mental disorder such as morbid obesity or anorexia, depression or bulimia where patients induce vomiting when they eat out of fear of getting fat, treatment is the preserve of psychiatric specialists. In other cases, the thinness is caused by physical abnormalities and treatment is prescribed accordingly.
Excessive thinness can be avoided by following some guidelines. First up is food. You can eat well without getting fat by cutting back on spicy, high-fat foods and focusing on getting protein from milk, eggs, nuts, whole grains, red meat and whey protein along with carbohydrates. Choose the more nutritious staples such as brown rice or whole grain bread. Exercise according to what is suitable for your age and body type. Always be mindful of your mood and mental health and absolutely get enough rest and quality shut-eye.
Healthcare-conscious Krungthai-AXA Life Insurance customers can read up on many more helpful focus areas at https://www.krungthai-axa.co.th/th/health-advisories.
References
· Samitivej Hospital
https://www.samitivejhospitals.com/th/article/detail/underweight-health-risks
· Vibhavadi Hospital
https://www.vibhavadi.com/Health-expert/detail/606
· Pobpad website
· Thai Cancer Journal
https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TCJ/issue/view/16629/4074
