To think that being “skinny” doesn’t make you fit

[hannah1992]

So I’ve just read a thread about 2 policeman being “overweight” and chasing a “skinny” guy and it got me thinking.

I’m slim but I’m really unfit. More so than I thought before lockdown.

My friend is overweight by about 2 stone but she’s a lot fitter than me. As in she can go jogging for an hour, I would feel like I’m having a heart attack after 10 mins.

I understand that carrying extra weight can make you get tired quicker but Aibu to think that just because you’re carrying extra weight doesn’t mean you’re unfit? And just because you’re skinny or slim doesn’t mean you’re fit and healthy either.

People’s perceptions of the way people look is mind blowing

A lighter body is easier to move. So it's likely to be faster. But faster and fitter are not synonymous either.

I am 41 and about 1 and a half stone over weight. Before lockdown I used to do boxing classes, weight classes and general keep fit cross fit classes for 45 mins each about 3 times a week. There were regular 20 year olds (don't know the age but a lot younger than me) who were size 6 and 10 who had to stop every 10 minutes as they were struggling / out of breath. I was fortunate I could carry on so I believe even though I'm overweight I was fitter than the younger skinner people who struggled with the classes

You can be very skinny and still have blocked arteries and high cholesterol.

My DH is 17 stone and has a BMI of 30+ (obese).

It’s a load of crap because he’s the fittest person I know. He doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him and excercises daily, he’s just muscly. It’s not all black and white.

And visceral fat especially if you are a skinny apple shape.

YANBU. I'm what my friends say "skinny" but I've done zero exercise since lockdown bar a couple of Joe wicks in the beginning. I've put on weight and have started walking now. I'm out of breath all the time!

Depends how you define 'fit'.

When I do my 5k, I'm doing it basically with a couple of suitcases because of the extra weight I'm carrying.

Am I fitter because I can do 5k while carrying the extra weight compared to putting a 40kg rucksack on a slim person and asking them to keep up?

Obviously being 40k overweight isn't healthy, but I'd say that as far as fitness goes, being able to comfortably do the 5k whilst carrying 40kg extra suggests I might be able to say I am at least fit by some measure.

I'm 17 stone and can complete a legs bums and tums class at the gym with ease.
The new skinnies always stand next to me and generally give up for half the exercises
I'm losing weight before anyone jumps on to fat shame me

I've always been slim but only got fit in the last few years really. I was never hugely unfit, but couldn't run for more than 15 mins. However I have never really met anyone who is overweight and fit. And I mean properly overweight and able to run for more than about 15 mins.

overweight and fit. And I mean properly overweight and able to run for more than about 15 mins.

Well yes - but could you run for 15 minutes with a weight vest equivalent to what they're carrying as fat?

Are we saying 'fit' is a holistic thing, or an absolute thing really?

I am overweight - not obese but close as my BMI is 29.

Those who say that being overweight still is less healthy than being skinny I disagree completely. I am big; big framed, tall and have size 8 feet. Yes I have excess fat but at least I can see it - unlike a skinny but unhealthy person who potentially has visceral fat inside but thinks they're okay.

I play hockey which involves training once a week and a match on Saturdays. I can run 5k, do kettlebells swings with a 12kg weight and squat a 20kg kettlebell.
I can sprint on a hockey pitch (I don't know many people who sprint regularly).

I am 42 years old. I've had 3 kids. I am tall. I weigh a lot. But I would say I'm fit and strong and despite being overweight I am healthy. I have had a health check at the doctors and my cholesterol and blood pressure etc are excellent and I am at no risk of developing diabetes.

My skinny mate has high blood pressure and can't lift a box over head to put it on a shelf. She has a truly dreadful diet with endless McDonald's etc.

My diet is generally good, but with too many biscuits and too much red wine!

I know which one I'd rather be. Muscle mass is so important as we get older and cardio fitness keeps our heart and lungs healthy.

I'm skinny and can't even run five mins without feeling like I'm going to die.

I’m a chunky monkey- always have been, less so at some points but I am built like a female Goliath even with low body fat.

Right now, I’m overweight due to over eating. But I’m pretty fit and really strong. I can walk all day, run / jog happily for a period, and I have really strong legs and core from horseriding, and upper body strength from living a general horsey / rural lifestyle. My cholesterol before lock down was 4.4, and I bet I have very little internal organ fat.

I would take my size, weight, and health any day over being a size 6 who eats what they want but can’t walk the length of themselves and has a heart encased in fat.

Health / fitness is so much more than weight. Yes, weight can play a big part in it, but it’s not the defining factor. You can definitely be skinny and extremely unfit / unhealthy.

Agree, I'm quite slim at 8 and a half stone but very unfit. I know people a lot bigger than me who are so much fitter. I eat well but couldn't tell you the last time I bothered to exercise. I do get SVT though which can be triggered by exercise so it does put me off.

Of course. It’s actually quite hard work to be both slim and fit, I think.

There was a Harvard Medical study around a decade ago where it was found obese but active women had a mortality rate 91% higher than the norm. Of course that's far better than the inactive obese (142% higher) but crucially they were still far, far worse off than the inactive lean (5% higher).

So I would refute the theory being propagated on here that if you're active and overweight, you're better off than someone skinny but unfit.

If it makes folk feel better though, please ignore my post and crack on talking about the "skinnies that give up in the first couple of yoga classes".

@PatchworkElmer

It's not hard work to be slim and fit if being slim arose from a programme of fitness in the first place.

Thin is not equal to fit. Some thin people have very little muscle mass. Some people are thin because they have very deficient diets and smoke.

Excessive weight is a hinderence to mobility. It makes getting fit harder, but not impossible. It costs more energy to move and can restrict the range of movement (although my flexibility and mobility is poor regardless of my size!)

If you plotted a scattergraph of running race times and participants BMI, the general trend would be faster times having low end healthy BMIs, a mixed middle zone but average BMI would increase as the time increases. There would also be thinner people mixed throughout. People can be unfit at any BMI, but excess weight tends to slow people down and increase the effort.

If you are losing weight by controlling your diet and excercising, you will feel rapid improvements in fitness as weight decreases because your body is used to moving the additional weight.

In recent months, while doing slower family walks, I've been wearing a 5kg weight vest to increase the work. I'm roughly about 60kg, and that extra 5kg makes a significant difference. I would not want to run 5k with it on because my joints would notice very quickly (I run up to 10mi regularly).

Better to be well nourished, overweight and fit than the opposite end of undernourished, thin and unfit. The middle ground of fit, well nourished but not excessively overweight is better for health and joints though.

I'm slim and on the go all day. I spend half the day running up and down the stairs with my kids. Yet, if I have to run, I'm out of puff quite easily.

My friend is very overweight and she work in a floor shop, hauling big boxes of tiles etc all the time. She's much fitter than me.

There was a Harvard Medical study around a decade ago where it was found obese but active women had a mortality rate 91% higher than the norm. Of course that's far better than the inactive obese (142% higher) but crucially they were still far, far worse off than the inactive lean (5% higher).

There have also been studies showing that people in the overweight (not obese) category live longer than those in the normal or underweight category.

@GinDaddyRedux I disagree. It is challenging- I am slim and very fit, but I exercise at high intensity for at least an hour a day, am very careful about my diet despite being desperate to eat loads after a long run, am consciously moving as much as I possibly can for lots of the day. It is hard work. I don’t know many people who are effortlessly slim and fit, tbh.

This is not meant to offend but it also depends on peoples definition of running or jogging.
One person running or jogging might be doing, say 12 minute miles, another person might say they cant run (or can only run for 10 min) but could walk briskly at 13 or 14 minute miles, so the "runner" might not actually be that much faster or fitter....?
But I do agree that slim doesnt always equate with fit. I know several people who are naturally slim or skinny and do no exercise at all and would struggle to run for a bus or do a press up. Equally I've seen overweight men complete a 100 mile hilly cycle race in a decent time ahead of much slimmer and fitter looking people.

@PatchworkElmer

I know lots who are effortlessly slim and fit, but they are in their twenties and they play the sport that I play regularly so it's not some massive diet and high intensity exercise thing.

The key is, we haven't defined age groups here have we!

If you don't know "people" who are effortlessly slim, perhaps you mean contemporaries instead.

Loads of people do things they enjoy, or walk to work, or walk at weekends, and manage to stay trim etc.

For others like yourself it is hard work and respect to you.

I'm slim and can't run ten metres for a bus without feeling like I might die. I used to know someone who was overweight but could run 10K without even thinking about it. People assume you're fit because you're slim, but it definitely isn't the case!

I can't run for more than 30 seconds..I'm slim. However I have no problem with spin or dance fitness which is very intense. I don't think you can compare someones ability to run as a fitness comparison. I don't know why I can't run when I can do other exercise with ease. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could give some insight?