Thais Who Are Shockingly Skinny -- The Flip Side Of Obesity

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Instead of trying to come up with a bunch of negative, off-the-wall reasons, how about trying the most obvious: hereditary. Duh.

Thats a good point about genetics and I would add that to a list.

But I think your mislabeling the other potential causes as negative. You could have labeled them positive as being correctable.

If you attribute it genetics then what can be done about it?

Firstly, I don't agree with the premise that there's a large (or even discernible) number of "shockingly skinny" Thais. So there's not even a problem that needs to be addressed necessarily. But in terms of body size, it's clearly genetics first. Then diet and physical activity, as well as health issues and one's own personal choices. Being really skinny doesn't always equate to being unhealthy. It would seem much easier for a skinny person to gain weight, as opposed to an obese person trying to lose weight. Easy for me to say, but I'm not talking about folks who can't afford 3 meals a day.

yeah I think your using different definitions than others such as the OP.

Thats the problem with a lot of these threads is that people are arguing about subjects and using different definitions and nobody really stops to clarify.

On the street, the super fat are obviously much more visible than the super skinny. Both would tend to not choose to reveal much skin in public. I don't think it's a competition for numbers. Neither condition is desirable or generally healthy. Comparing the U.S. which has a more severe obesity epidemic than the U.K. (but the U.K. is catching up) there is definitely a greater percentage of super skinny people in Thailand than there. Also as has been mentioned, there isn't always any kind of direct relation between poverty and the super skinny. In the west, the poor are very likely to be obese.

so what do you think is the cause of the shockingly skinny in Thailand?

and what is shockingly skinny? BMI of what?

I would guess a BMI under maybe 16 would be considered pretty unhealthy because during a sickness there are few reserves to draw on and other diseases and conditions associated with such low mass.

Edited March 27, 2013 by CobraSnakeNecktie

[Jingthing]

It might be helpful to watch some of the videos (youtube, etc. ) from the program Super Fat vs. Super Skinny to see what the bodies of the Super Skinny actually look like. No, not talking about the fashionably thin here. As you can see in the videos if you see these folks without clothes they look like near skeletons and obviously not healthy. I hadn't realized some of the health risks with that, as I mentioned potential death from diarhea and maybe surprisingly increased risk for heart attacks. Less severe of course, difficulty performing tasks like lifting heavy objects, etc.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Jingthing

[David48]

Instead of trying to come up with a bunch of negative, off-the-wall reasons, how about trying the most obvious: hereditary. Duh.

... or it could be the case that you are what you eat ... and in most peoples case ... how much they eat (and drink). As was clearly shown so well by JT's introduction movie.

Fat is, as fat eats ...