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Everything about Underweight
Below a weight considered healthy
Underweight is a term describing a person whose body weight is considered too low to be healthy. The definition usually refers to people with a body mass index (BMI) of under 18.5 or a weight 15% to 20% below that normal for their age and height group. While obesity is a major public health concern in many developed nations, being underweight can also carry significant health risks and is a primary cause of mortality in developing countries. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: UnderweightA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Brain Structure in Acutely Underweight and Partially Weight-Restored Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa: A Coordinated Analysis by the ENIGMA Eating Disorders Working GroupInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Non-Underweight PatientsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adultsCited 5,721 times
- Go sideways: OverweightA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Relative energy deficiency in sportA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Adjective Of an inappropriately or unusually low weight.
Adjective Not too heavy for an intended purpose.
Adjective Being less invested in a particular area than market wisdom suggests.
Noun The state or quality of being underweight.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults
Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults
Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity
Cause-Specific Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity
Trends of obesity and underweight in older children and adolescents in the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia
Impact of overweight and underweight on assisted reproduction treatment
Maternal underweight and the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight: a systematic review and meta-analyses
Overweight exceeds underweight among women in most developing countries
🆕 Influential since 2022
Brain Structure in Acutely Underweight and Partially Weight-Restored Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa: A Coordinated Analysis by the ENIGMA Eating Disorders Working Group
Individuals with adverse childhood experiences explore less and underweight reward feedback
Association of underweight status with the risk of tuberculosis: a nationwide population-based cohort study
Gastric Cancer Risk in Association with Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Geospatial and environmental determinants of stunting, wasting, and underweight: Empirical evidence from rural South and Southeast Asia
📚 Books worth reading
Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Non-Underweight PatientsGlenn Waller, Hannah M. Turner · 2019- 📕Overweight and underweightMetropolitan Life Insurance Company · 1945
- 📕Here's power for youDavid Manners · 1975
Meals for underweightsUnited States. Department of Agriculture. Radio Service · 1933- 📕Nutrition During UnderweightJosef Miligui · 2018
Correction of underweight and overweight by exerciseC. O. Benson · 1929
Underweight children and the eating problemUnited States. Department of Agriculture. Radio Service · 1933- 📕Sixth spring symposium on overweight and underweightMichigan Academy of General Practice · 1959
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Overweight Being overweight is having more body fat than is considered healthy. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies people as overweight when their body…
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