It is well known that obesity hurts health. But too much emphasis on “thin” can also be a problem. Underweight causes as many diseases as obesity. Underweight is an excessively small amount of subcutaneous fat in the human body, which means that it is not much below normal weight and the body is dry.

Body mass index (BMI) is often used as a criterion for determining obesity or skinny. This is obtained by dividing the weight (kg) by the square of the height (m). In Korea, more than 25 are classified as obesity. 23-25 ​​is overweight and 18.5 is underweight. Very low BMI levels of 15 or less have a 2.8-fold higher risk of death than those between 22 and 25. It’s a warning that an overweight diet may increase your risk of death.

When you are underweight, your body lacks hormones due to lack of nutrients and minerals. Immune cells do not work and are vulnerable to infection. It means that you are vulnerable and can easily get sick. Even with a little underweight, people with abdominal obesity who have relatively low muscle mass due to lack of exercise may have a similar risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease as obese people.

Continued underweight can cause infertility. Lack of nutrients in the body reduces the release of leptin hormone from fat cells, which are involved in female reproduction. As a result, the secretion of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) decreases and can interfere with the maturation of the follicle, leading to sex hormone deficiency and ovulation.

Too thin women often have low blood pressure and are at high risk of falling. If the elderly fall to low blood pressure and fractures can be life threatening. This can lead to prolonged hospitalization and potentially fatal pneumonia. Although hypotension itself is not a serious disease, there are other risks associated with it.

Lee Hae-young, professor of Circulation Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, said, “In particular, skinny women often have low blood pressure, because the muscles on their legs are weak and sit up because they cannot raise their blood when they stand up.”

Underweight men have a four-fold higher risk of depressive symptoms than normal-weight men. A survey of 177780 adult men and women by Yonsei University College of Family Medicine professors showed that the risk of depressive symptoms in men with normal BMI (above 18.5 and below 25) or obesity (greater than 25) was underweight (less than 18.5). Were 23% and 26%, respectively.

It is also worth noting that overweight patients were 0.3 times less likely to develop severe cerebral infarction than underweight patients. Lee Seung-hoon, a professor of neurology at Seoul National University Hospital, divided 2670 patients with acute cerebral infarction into five groups according to BMI, and analyzed the initial cerebral infarction intensity (NIHSS score) at admission.

Professor Lee Seung-hoon said, “In case of embolism caused by arteriosclerosis or heart disease of large vessels, cerebral infarction is often severe. However, obese patients are more likely to have cerebral infarction due to minor blood vessel occlusion. ” “This may be related to fat cells and inflammatory cytokines, or obese patients may be more aggressive in controlling cerebrovascular risk factors,” he said.

Experts note that obesity increases mortality due to various metabolic diseases but increases mortality even at low weight. If you are losing weight intentionally, you should gain weight right now. Excessive diet can seriously harm your health.