This was published 7 years ago
Move over obesity, the new problem is 'overfat'
By Evelyn Lewin
By now, we're all familiar with the terms 'obesity' and 'overweight'.
While those words focus on a person's weight, experts are spruiking a new term they would like us to embrace: 'overfat'.
Overfat is not the same as 'skinny fat'.Credit: iStock
Overfat refers to having sufficient excess body fat to impair health.
People who are overfat can be normal weight (according to body mass index, BMI), but have increased risk factors for chronic disease, such as high abdominal fat.
This notion was put forth in an article in the January issue of the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
According to the authors' classification, people fall into one of three categories: overfat, normal body-fat percentage and underfat.
Alarmingly, they suggest that up to 76 per cent of the world's population is overfat. Nine to 10 per cent may be underfat, leaving only 14 per cent within the normal body-fat percentage.
Healthy body fat levels differ according to age and gender. So, the authors note, for a normal weight 21-39 year-old woman, a healthy level is 21-32 per cent fat.
Meanwhile, the normal range for men of the same age and BMI is 8-20 per cent body fat.
But how do you know if you're overfat?
"It's not always easy to tell," says Dr Georgia Rigas, Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Obesity Network.
"This is a classic case of you cannot, nor should you, judge a book by its cover."
That's where your doctor comes in. By using a range of tools, your doctor can tell how much fat you have, where you're carrying it and, most importantly, how it's impairing your health.
One of those tools is BMI, which assesses your weight in relation to height. However, it has significant limitations, including a tendency to underestimate fat levels.
Waist circumference is better, the authors note, as it has a "very strong association with health risk".
In her clinic, Dr Rigas uses a combination of BMI, waist circumference and bioempedance analysis (BIA), which measures how easily an electrical current can flow through the body. (By doing that, it can then estimate total body fat.)
In certain circumstances, Dr Rigas also employs DEXA scans.
Though they provide "accurate and precise" measurements of body fat, they also involve exposure to ionising radiation, which is why they're reserved for specific cases only.
While the word 'overfat' may remind you of the much-touted phrase 'skinny fat', the new term isn't just the latest buzzword.
The term 'skinny fat' was bandied about to describe those who appear lean on the outside and have low muscle mass, but carry excess visceral fat (fat around internal organs).
Meanwhile, many overfat people appear overweight, or sport beer bellies.
Also, 'skinny fat' focused on appearance, and the crux of 'overfat' is that these people have enough extra fat to put them at increased risk of disease, regardless of how they look.
And those risks can't be overlooked, says Dr Rigas.
There are the mechanical effects, which lead to accelerated wear and tear of joints.
Then there are the neurohormonal effects, which can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, infertility, cancer and other diseases.
Lastly, there are psychological effects, including depression and anxiety.
Many of those psychological effects come from the "significant amounts of shame" people feel when carrying excess fat, says Dr Rigas.
She says even the word 'fat' seems to apportion blame, feeding into the pervasive notion that carrying excessive amounts of it is a 'lifestyle choice'.
"I assure you, no one chooses to be overweight or obese and have all the physical and emotional problems that come along with it."
Dr Rigas agrees we need better "destigmatising" terminology to address these issues, as key preventative and remedial strategies can then be implemented to help reduce risk of disease.
However, she doesn't believe the term 'overfat' fits the bill.
"Labelling people 'fat' simply creates further barriers to treatment."