14 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
HEALTH
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,2002
Fat percentage test shows thinness is not a measure of health
Beauty is only skin deep. The old cliché implies that it's not how you look that matters, but what's inside that really counts.
The same saying holds true for being in good health. Staying healthy has less to do with how big you are and more to do with what you're made up of inside.
This concept really hit home when my roommates and I had our body fat percentages measured last week. Just based on our size, it seemed obvious who would have the most and the least amount of body fat. But our assumption that a smaller behind meant less body fat was off the mark.
One of my roommates weighs 147 pounds. The other evens out the scales at 115 pounds. They each carry different amounts of weight on their roughly similar frames, but their body fat percentages turned out to be almost identical. It differed by only one percent.
I was just as surprised to learn that I have a greater body fat percentage than my roommate who is 15 pounds larger than me and sometimes wears a bigger size. Does this number mean that I am less healthy? What does all this body fat talk really mean?
The word fat often has a negative connotation. But most people don't realize that not all fat is bad fat.Everyone has to have a certain amount of fat in his or her diet and body to keep from withering away.
Two different types of fat are found in our bodies, said Dr. Carol Otis, a sports medicine physician. Essential fat cushions our organs and is necessary for our hormonal and immune systems to function. Storage fat is used by our bodies as fuel. Both types of fat keep us running so we can cram for our next tests and last until the end of our work shifts.
The physical therapy department at Watkins Health Center stresses that to stay in optimal health, men need to keep their total body fat between 12 and 20 percent and women between 18 and 25 percent. That number shouldn't drop below 5 percent for men and 12 percent for women because this is how much essential fat the body stores and needs.
HEALTH
However, some people will naturally carry more fat than others. Each of us is
Leslie Kimmel
lkimmel@kansan.com
"Staying healthy has less to do with how big you are and more to do with what you're made up of inside."
genetically programmed to have a certain body type. So even though almost one-fourth of my body is made up of fat, I am still considered a healthy person at an ideal fitness level just like my roommates.
In fact, excessive dieting and exercising to slim down a few sizes can be harmful to a person in good health. Storage fat burns away after exercising and consuming fewer calories. After so much storage fat is gone, the body switches to using muscle for energy to save essential fat.
This is why it may be a shock to learn that people who appear slender can actually be considered fat because of their large body fat percentages. They previously may have never known or been concerned because they fit into what society deems as natural and healthy -a small size.
Those concerned about their health and think they may need to lose weight can have their body fat percentage tested for $5 at Watkins Health Center. The Watkins staff can also give advice on weight-loss programs for those who truly need to shed some pounds.
On the flip side, guys and girls alike need to stop using their skinny waists as an excuse to constantly eat bad foods and pass on the gym. Their bodies could be begging them to find a healthy balance in their lives.
And overall, society needs to stop using thinness as a measure for health. If beauty is only skin deep, then some of society's most beautiful people don't have much left