Is underweight unhealthy if properly fed?

[Beuford]

Hi, I'm about 178cm tall and only about 55kg, and 16 years old. That would mean I'm underweight. I don't really feel underweight and I'm not too skinny either. I eat more than enough calories and get all the nutrients I need so do you think it matters if I am a little underweight?

[drakemer]

As long as you eat a full, balanced, and nutritious diet, I don't see any problem.

If you are only sixteen years old, your body may still be developing a bit - so you weight and shape may still change.

When you have questions about your weight/shape, I always recommend consulting with a physician you know and trust.

Naturally slender folks (well, all people, really) can try strength training to build muscle mass.

Hope this helps!

[Herbivore]

I've wondered: What is underweight? What is the missing weight?

It's hard to judge by comparing with the "average" person. because almost everyone is retaining a lot of water due to the universal practice of eating mostly heavy, and cooked food. And salt.

And sugar.

I recently started raw food and high fruit. My weight has leveled off exactly at your weight. So maybe it's the normal weight.

[Majesticzero]

One of my fitness coaches once told me that a low fat percentage isn't bad at all as long as you stay above 4 %. He told me that once your get below 4% your body will 'eat' the fat that protects your organs and it will eventually kill you.

This is just what he said to me, I don't have any sources.
Wikipedia says the essential fat is between 2-4 %: Body fat percentage

[Andrew Brunelle]

I bet you hear a lot of, "You got to put some meat on those bones." I would say that as long as you are not starving yourself, which it looks like you are not, then don't worry about it. You most likely just have a fast metabolism. You are one of the lucky ones.

I would only worry if you start losing weight rapidly. I'm not too good on conversions, but my calculator says you weigh in the 120s in lbs and you are almost 6 feet tall. That is in the very low BMI range. Eat more healthy fats and see if that helps you gain weight. I'm 72.5 inches and around 170 lbs and my whole family is concerned about me losing weight, so I can't imagine what your family thinks about this. Just make sure you get good quality calories and try and gain maybe ten to fifteen pounds if you feel like it will benefit you at all.

[JRhodes]

If you're eating a balanced diet and you're healthy then there's no problem with being a little underweight. At 16 you're still growing and it may be a few years before you naturally start to bulk up.

[Beuford]

Thank you for the replies. No ones really looks at me and says "Wow, you look underweight" and I don't think it is really bad for me. But still, I am going to eat a bit more fruit, and start exercising so I should strengthen my muscles and put my weight back up a bit.

Herbivore, I think you might be at least partially correct there. I've changed my diet from whatever is on the table to high fruits, nuts and seeds with some wholegrains and legumes. Though I'm sure there are other people with a similiar diet who are heavier.

[The Big D]

If I did the math right, you're 5'8" which is pretty darn short. If you've got a light bone structure that weight isn't absurd.

Honestly, I think with a diet like that you're always going to have a hard time putting on muscle mass due to lack of dietary protein - probably not a popular opinion around here, but IMO true none the less. But that's OK if you're OK with it - I think it's a natural state that evolutionarily matches up with "human as forager" as opposes to "human as scavenger/hunter". I seem to recall that being really light like that is correlated with long life.

[Beuford]

I believe it would be 5 feet 10 inches and 121lbs, if anyone is wondering what the conversion is.

[ginkgo]

It is fine unless you are almost a skeleton. Princess Diana was very underweight but she died in a car accident. 5'11" 125 pounds.