Wish to increase! What it means to be "too thin"
Skinny are like fair game - everyone is allowed to comment
"Girl, are you thin again!", Anja Luhr * (30) gets to hear every time she meets relatives or old acquaintances, "are you eating enough too?" Or: "I would also like your worries!"
It annoys her that her character is commenting so often. "I find it impossible to discriminate against thin people who are under constant pressure of justification." Thicknesses are rarely addressed directly to their weight, she says, "because you do not want to hurt their feelings." Thin ones, on the other hand, are "like fair-game" - this is also the feeling of Birgit, who expresses herself in the forum of www.diaeten-sind-doof.de: "Everyone thinks that he is allowed to say everything that comes to his mind, without consideration."
Two-thirds of the underweight are women
Delicate limbs, flat stomach, dress size 34 to 36: Who is very thin, while on the one hand corresponds to the prevailing ideal of beauty. "Petite" is what is called euphemistic in the fashion industry, meaning "small", not "lean" or "weak". In real life. Underweight people are quickly considered a "dry shirt" or even worse: sick and anorexic.
From a medical point of view, the limit is a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18.5. Who has a BMI of 18.5, is still considered slim, who is below, as underweight. In Germany this affects almost two million people. Two-thirds of the underweight are women - including young, healthy women who simply can not gain weight.
Goal increase: The problems of underweight go down
In a country where over half of adults struggle with excess pounds, the problems of thinning go under. No doubt, thicknesses are discriminated against, they are considered unsightly and undisciplined. But if someone is not only slim, but very slim, that does not fit either.
"The thing that bothers me the most is that you're reduced to your weight, as if you're not as a person," complains Heike Schuster. The 41-year-old graphic designer weighs 45 kilos and has a BMI of 17, even though she "eats as much" as her husband. As she gained weight during her pregnancy, she kept telling her how good she was. After the birth, the kilos were quickly down again - and everyone doubted whether she gets fed up with her son, if she could even breastfeed. "I had so much milk, I did not know where to go!"
Everyone believes, "She's anorexic!"
Underweight women are often assumed to have an eating disorder. Claudia Muir (44) was already addressed as a young woman on her alleged anorexia. By mid-20 she weighed 53 pounds at a height of 1.76. Her key experience was when a colleague told her while cooking together, "We always thought you were anorexic, but you're so good with food ...!" - "I thought they really have a bike!", Claudia recalls. Since then she has been reacting very sensitively to comments on her character.
Some women do not dare to go to the swimming pool because of the looks. Others do not even dare to go to the bathroom. After a business lunch, Anja Luhr avoids going to the bathroom - so nobody thinks she suffers from bulimia.
Underweight women, even those who are healthy and eat normally, are under general suspicion. The paradox: Women who actually have an eating disorder are rarely mentioned - although many may wish it.
Underweight and the physical consequences
Most underweight people who are not anorexic desire to gain a few pounds - and feel powerless because it does not work out. "I can eat what I want, I just do not get fatter," asserted Jana Richter *. The 34-year-old mother weighs 46 kilos and has a BMI of 16. "I always wanted to break the 50 kilo limit, but never did." She believes that she would be more robust if she had more reserves. In times of stress - as she did during her diploma - she immediately loses weight. She says, "If you do not have anything on your ribs, you can reach your limits much faster." A thinner body is more susceptible to disease, confirms nutritionist Friedrich Bohlmann, who has written the book "Finally increase".
Heike Schuster has to eat something at least every two hours, otherwise she feels sick. It gets really difficult when she's sick. Then the kilos are quickly down. Anja Luhr also takes off immediately, if she is sick or stressed: "Then it gets critical, I feel limp and get out of breath quickly." When her wisdom teeth were pulled, she had eaten a lot two days earlier because she knew she would lose weight immediately after surgery.
Unwanted underweight: What's going on?
In about one third of the women who come because of their underweight in the consultation of the Cologne nutritionist Christof Meinhold, the genes are to blame. Anyone who discovers lax or dainty relatives when looking at the family album can assume that he inherited this plant from his ancestors. It turns the body into a kind of racing car that burns energy in high-speed. The more often new calories need to be fueled.
Another third has simply exaggerated in terms of diet and healthy eating, takes too little calorie by the renunciation of sugar and the grip on fat-reduced products. Still other women are so busy in their job and family that they often forget the food. In such cases the whole way of life has to be rethought in order to reach the desired weight. Not easy.
"Increasing can be as hard as losing weight," says Meinhold. "Anyone who manages to gain two kilos in a month can be satisfied." And women can achieve this only if they consume about 500 calories more than normally recommended per day.
In all cases: If you eat normally and are still underweight, you should have a doctor tell you whether he is suffering from an illness, Crohn's disease, parasites or hyperthyroidism. If all this can be ruled out, it is called "idiopathic anorexia" - an anorexia without recognizable causes.
Nutrition Plan: Tips to Grow
- Eat regularly, preferably every two to three hours. Five to six meals a day are ideal for growing
- Meide Light Products
- Eat high-calorie snacks such as nuts, dried fruits, trail mix, fruit and nut slices, chocolate, bananas, lychees, grapes or avocados between the main meals
- Yoghurt and quark dishes are also suitable as snacks and can be enriched with high-quality, taste-neutral oils
- Eat fatty fish once a week, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, eel or sardines
- Eat wholegrain bread, rye or wheat mixed bread daily
- Drink shakes or cocoa with cream; replace mineral water with milk, fruit and vegetable juices
- Bind soups and sauces with cream
- Choose high-energy spreads such as nutmeg, pesto or nut nougat cream
- Richer salads with oils, nuts or cheese
- Walks stimulate your appetite - even on a piece of cream cake
- Fresh herbs such as anise, basil, chilli, curry, ginger or cumin can also stimulate the appetite
- Often take meals in company with family, friends or acquaintances and make the meal a pleasant experience
- To bring variety to the table!
- Take your time while eating! Every main meal should last at least 20 minutes. Other activities such as reading or watching TV can reduce your appetite
- Strength training promotes muscle growth? and increases weight, resilience and fitness. Maybe with a course or with a personal trainer?
addresses
If, despite a change in diet, the weight does not increase as desired, dietary advice is recommended. Addresses of qualified nutritionists can be found here:
- German Society for Nutrition e.V., www.dge.de
- Association of Oecotrophologists e.V., www.vdoe.de
With books to the desired weight
- Sven-David Müller, Klaudia Pütz: Healthy increase! (Knaur, 112 pages, 9,95 Euro)
- Friedrich Bohlmann: Finally increase. The Guide to Thin (Kneipp, Leoben, 126 pages, 15,80 Euro)
- Susanne Nowitzki-Grimm, Peter Grimm: Man, are you skinny! (Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 49 pages, 13 euros)
- Sven-David Müller: "Nutritionist Underweight"(14.95 euros, Schlütersche)
* Names changed by the editor
