What is extreme thinness?

Author: Nash Hansen  |  Last update: Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. It is often seen as the opposite of obesity. Emaciation. Photo from 1972 of an emaciated child in India with marasmus. Pronunciation.

What is severe thinness?

In most low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), severe thinness—defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) below 16 1 —among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) continues to persist in selected regions, along with ...

What is extreme thinness called?

Someone who is dangerously skinny and skeletal-looking can be described as emaciated.

What is considered extremely skinny?

Your BMI will classify you as 'underweight', 'healthy weight', 'overweight' or 'obese', as defined by the World Health Organization. If your BMI is: under 18.5kg/m2 – you are considered underweight and possibly malnourished.

What is the level of thinness?

The WHO reference defines thinness as < -2 Z score and severe thinness as <-3 Z score; the IOTF criteria defines thinness level 1 as < 18.5 kg/m2, thinness level 2 as < 17 kg/m2, and thinness level 3 as < 16 kg/m2.

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How skinny is too skinny for a woman?

If a women's BMI is 18.5 to 20, she is skinny and if she falls below 18 she is borderline anorexic,” says Dr Seng.

What is the thinnest body type?

Ectomorph: This is when the body is lean and slender and tends to have less body fat and muscle. People with this body type can often find it challenging to gain weight in the form of muscle or fat.

How thin is too thin?

Underweight is a condition when the body weight is 10-20% less than the average expected for one's height, age and sex. If the body weight is less by 20 % or more than ideal body weight, the individual is grossly underweight and it is a matter of higher concern.

What is an extremely skinny person called?

emaciated, lank, like a rail, malnourished, rawboned, scraggy, skeletal, skin-and-bone, twiggy, undernourished, underweight.

Why are my ribs visible but I have a belly?

Rib flare is most commonly seen in people who have a significant amount of excess weight around their midsection, as this can cause the abdominal muscles to weaken and allow the rib cage to protrude.

What disease causes extreme thinness?

Overview. Anorexia (an-o-REK-see-uh) nervosa, often simply called anorexia, is a treatable eating disorder in which people have a low body weight based on personal weight history. Although many people with anorexia look very thin, some may not look thin and others may look overweight.

What are the grades of thinness?

How are they defined?
  • BMI <17.0: thinness.
  • BMI <18.5: underweight.
  • BMI 18.5-24.9: normal weight.
  • BMI ≥25.0: overweight.
  • BMI ≥30.0: obesity.

What is extremely thin called?

Some common synonyms of skinny are gaunt, lanky, lank, lean, rawboned, scrawny, and spare. While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

Why am I so skinny even though I eat a lot?

You may become underweight for many different reasons. You may be born naturally small and your low BMI can be due to your genes. You may have a very high metabolism and find it hard to put on weight, even if you eat foods that have a lot of calories.

Who defines Grade 3 thinness as?

In addition, cut offs of 18.5 kg/m2 and 16 kg/m2 are also included to coincide with WHO grade 1 and grade 3 thinness in adults and allow the distinction between different grades of undernutrition and thus different levels of risk in children.

What is seriously underweight?

BMI <17.0: moderate and severe thinness. BMI <18.5: underweight. BMI 18.5–24.9: normal weight. BMI ≥25.0: overweight. BMI ≥30.0: obesity.

What is the medical term for extremely thin?

A condition marked by a loss of more than 10% of body weight, including loss of muscle mass and fat, in a person who is not trying to lose weight.

What is extremely thin and bony in appearance?

gaunt in American English

(ɡɔnt) adjectiveWord forms: -er, -est. 1. extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated.

What does extremely slender mean?

thin and delicate, often in a way that is attractive: He put his hands around her slender waist. The plant's leaves are long and slender. Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples.

What weight is too skinny?

Women with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. The average woman's height is 5 feet, 4 inches. If you weigh 107 pounds or less at this height, you are considered underweight with a BMI of 18.4. A healthy weight range for that woman would be 108 to 145 pounds.

Does being too thin age you?

Not only this, but underweight people lack the pads of fat beneath the skin that plump out wrinkles. When you're too skinny, these signs of aging can't be helped by cosmetic treatments such as facelifts or BOTOX.

How do thin people stay so thin?

Eating less and having a fast metabolism keeps skinny people “super lean” according to scientists who have discovered what separates heathy, underweight people from the rest of us.

What is the most attractive body shape of a female?

Women with a 0.7 WHR (waist circumference that is 70% of the hip circumference) are rated more attractive by men in various cultures. Such diverse beauty icons as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and the Venus de Milo have ratios around 0.7; this is a typical ratio in Western art.

What is the least popular body shape?

Despite this, there are many different body shapes, with an hourglass shape being one of the least common, but the most desired. Typically, designer clothes may fit a woman in size but not flatter her as they were made for a model's neat hourglass body shape.

What is the thinnest human hair?

Flaxen hair is the finest, from 1/1500 to 1/500 of an inch in diameter … and black hair is the coarsest, from 1/450 to 1/140 of an inch.

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