The Kelsey Report

ATTENTION WOMEN: How Much Fat is Enough?

Yeah, guys can read this too.

But for women, it’s critical.

In the first three months of every year, the media slams us with images of women in bikinis who look like they just squeaked through puberty. And right behind that are sales messages of “Get ripped!”, “Six Pack Abs in Just Three Weeks”, or “Have the Sex of Your Life With The Body You Love” (or how about with a person you love? – just sayin’).

I get it. Body image matters. If we look healthy and fit then maybe we are.

But, what’s healthy?

This is not enough fat…when you can see bones (like the pelvis for example)

The images of women on the covers of almost every health and fitness magazine, women’s magazine (and many men’s health magazines as well) represent dangerously low levels of body fat. In fact, for most women, that low level of fat is unattainable and chasing the image leaves a trail of frustration and splintered pieces of self-esteem.

The truth is women need more fat on their bodies than men.

There’s a certain amount of fat – essential fat – that you need to process certain vitamins and hormones. Guess what? Our culture doesn’t seem to value the body type or shape that corresponds to an acceptable level of fat (or even in the fitness zone).

The message women get is skinny is the new black.

But it hasn’t always been like this.

Where Has Voluptuous Gone?

About 50 years ago, Sophia Loren was THE most beautiful woman on the planet.

Curvy? Check.

Voluptuous? Check.

A body to die for? Check.

Skinny. Nope. Not even close.

Are we really worried that if we loosen the reins on women and let them have an “acceptable” level of fat (which by the way, why don’t we label that HEALTHY?), they’ll wake up one morning looking like a contestant for the Biggest Loser?

Doctors don’t help either using an antiquated Body Mass index (BMI) to determine if you’re “overweight”.

Dr. William Lassik, in an interview about his book, “Why Women Need Fat: How “Healthy” Food Makes Us Gain Excess Weight and the Surprising Solution to Losing It Forever”, explained that the BMI scale, while only one indicator of being potentially overweight, is used by doctors because an unhealthy BMI has been linked to a number of diseases in men.

Hmmm…I thought men and women were different?

Right. You just can’t apply the BMI the way it’s currently used. Turns out, from Dr. Lassik’s research, that women who fall in the “normal” BMI range have more health problems than women who fall into the higher ranges.

And that’s probably because we have defined “normal” as a weight that is too low for most women.

“If you actually look at the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and data from studies done in other countries, the optimal weight for women who have had a kid is what doctors currently call ‘overweight.”- Dr. Lassik

So What Do We Do?

I know there are individual differences. Certainly some women are “thinner” than others whether via gene expression or by choice. And, some are heavier.

Shoot for the “acceptable” range of body fat to start with and if you feel strongly about a lower level of fat, just don’t go past the fitness zone – my two cents.

And guys, while you may not be chasing the low body fat images of women, there’s another siren out there. It’s body building. Bulging muscles. All for show and for all of the same reasons that influence women to chase thinness. But that’s another time.

 

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Lacey says

I’m putting Lassik’s book on my Wish List. I have skinny-genes, and my interests and hobbies generally do not include sitting. I have to fight to keep my weight up. While hope is not a strategy, I’ve been hoping that as I got older that my weight would naturally go up a little, but I’m quickly approaching 40, and so far, no change. I’ve recently been forcing myself to sit still through an entire episode of NCIS, every night, while boredom eating trail mix… perhaps that will work.

Our culture is whacko about this stuff: you wouldn’t believe the comments I get from strangers about how I look. NO ONE would go up to an overweight stranger and comment about her weight, but apparently politeness does not apply to thin people.

There is a fledgling movement in women/beauty industry that is taking on the anti-beauty/”you are not ____ enough” philosophy of the mainstream. These little companies have pro-woman marketing ethics and celebrate “natural” women. Their umbrella motto is “healthy is beautiful”. I support these companies every way I can.

    DD Kelsey says

    Thanks Lacey for sharing your comments and insights. I agree.

DD Kelsey says

The best option is to have your body fat measured (some people store fat preferentially in one area over another) but as a general rule, when you can easily see the outline of the clavicle (collar bone), forearm bones, pelvis, scapula (shoulder blade) and ribcage, there’s a very good chance that body fat is too low. Here’s an example.

Allison Lawdanski Taylor says

This is encouraging. I forget that women like Sophia Loren were and still are considered beautiful.

    DD Kelsey says

    Our culture is so convinced that thin is the only form of beauty. Glad you found this encouraging. Thanks for reading and commenting. Spread the news!

violamarie says

So if your bones show you don’t have enough body fat? I don’t know what my % is, but I do know my ribs/pelvis have always been visible. I just assumed I have kind of large ribs. My BMI is around 19ish. If I were to gain weight, it would probably all go to my belly and not position itself nicely in Sophia Loren fashion.

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