There's a roughly 20 percent chance you are 'skinny fat' or 'healthy obese'

About 20 percent of people are &quot;healthy obese&quot; or &quot;skinny fat&quot;

published 31 August 2015

Body mass index (BMI) doesn't tell the whole story about your weight and health, says Albert Sun at The New York Times. The formula commonly used to determine obesity (or underweight) is so popular because it's easy to measure height and weight. But in 18 percent of cases, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, BMI gets it wrong.

In 11 percent of cases, people labeled overweight have healthy amounts of fat, and 31 percent of those underweight or normal weight have excess fat. More men are "healthy obese" than "skinny fat," while the reverse is true for women. Here's what the women's weight/fat data look like mapped out:

The CDC measured body fat percentage with a type of X-ray called a DXA scan, Sun explains, and the discrepancy between that more expensive measurement and BMI matters: "The consequence is that some perfectly healthy high-BMI people might be unnecessarily worried about their weight or penalized by higher insurance premiums. And some normal-BMI people may be fatter than they realize and facing the same health risks as the obese." You can learn more, and see the men's weight/fat spread graphed out, at The New York Times.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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