[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-health-basics\/thin-women-and-health-implications\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-health-basics\/thin-women-and-health-implications\/","headline":"The problem everyone wants \u2014 unless they have it","name":"The problem everyone wants \u2014 unless they have it","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest In a recent post, Beauty is Bone Deep, I commented on the health effects of trying to obtain a thin physique for the sake of an unrealistic beauty ideal. But there are many women who try to gain weight rather than lose it, often to no avail. […]","datePublished":"2011-05-16","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/osteoporosis-blog.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/osteoporosis-blog.jpg","height":512,"width":1024},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-health-basics\/thin-women-and-health-implications\/","about":["Bone Health Basics"],"wordCount":814,"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn a recent post, Beauty is Bone Deep, I commented on the health effects of trying to obtain a thin physique for the sake of an unrealistic beauty ideal. But there are many women who try to gain weight rather than lose it, often to no avail. They don\u2019t have an eating disorder or anorexia \u2014 they simply can\u2019t gain a single pound.Now, many women out there will read this and think, \u201cGee, that\u2019s a problem I wish I had.\u201d But the struggle to gain weight is actually harder than the struggle to lose it. If you search the internet, you\u2019ll find most information on weight gain is for bodybuilders and focuses on building bulky muscle, but that\u2019s not something most women really want. And contrary to the suggestions some of my underweight clients hear, eating cheeseburgers, ice cream and cookies 24\/7 does not help, and it\u2019s a highly acidifying, bone-damaging way of life as well.It\u2019s true that some people are naturally thin, and if you eat a varied diet with good nutrition, get sufficient (but not excessive) exercise, and have good coping methods for stress, being thin need not be a concern for your bones. But for many women, thinness has the following implications for their health \u2014 and their health care:\u2022 Small-boned, thin women are more likely to be handed a diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis. As I noted in my blog post about BMD testing bias, DEXA scans don\u2019t actually measure bone density, they measure bone area \u2014 and if you are naturally thin and small, your bones will likely fall below the standard used to assess bone density, leading to a diagnosis of osteopenia or even osteoporosis. At this point, many women are offered bone drugs and warned that they have a high fracture risk \u2014 without any real indication that they have a significant issue with bone loss or bone weakness at all.\u2022 Underweight women have less social support for their weight-related health concerns. As I mentioned earlier, the common response to women who can\u2019t gain weight in our overly weight-conscious society is envy \u2014 not empathy. There are very few recommendations offered for women seeking to gain weight, other than suggestions that they pack their diet full of junk food (and we already know what\u2019s wrong with that approach!) Thin women may also face social stigmas of the sort experienced by obese women \u2014 that is, the message that there \u201cmust be something wrong with you\u201d and hints that perhaps they\u2019re mentally unstable or have some sort of eating disorder. While there are certainly women with eating disorders that make them excessively thin, there are many others who have a healthy relationship with food\u2026 but still can\u2019t gain weight.\u2022 Women with naturally small and \u201cthin\u201d bones have less leeway when they reach the menopause transition. Menopause for most women is accompanied by a certain amount of bone loss, related to the hormonal changes that naturally accompany this life stage. If your bones are small to begin with, you have less \u201cwiggle room\u201d when it comes to how much bone you can afford to lose. Now, that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll automatically develop osteoporosis, but it could mean you need to pay attention to factors that can limit your bone loss \u2014 factors I discuss at greater length in my article on bone loss in menopause.When it comes to thin women and bone health, I want everyone to know three specific points:First, if your bones are small and \u201cthin\u201d, it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re weak \u2014 even if you\u2019ve had a DEXA scan that indicates you\u2019re in the osteopenic or osteoporotic range. Fracture risk is a combination of multiple factors, and bone density is just one of those \u2014 so take our Bone Health Assessment to get a better sense of where you stand when it comes to fracture risk.Second, if you are at risk of fracture, there are steps you can take to reduce that risk \u2014 and they don\u2019t necessarily involve bone drugs. We offer both quick tips on how to prevent weak bones as well as comprehensive information on key nutrients for bone health and how to change your lifestyle for better bones in our articles.Finally, understand that osteoporosis and bone fractures are not inevitable for thin women. No matter how many scary osteoporosis statistics you hear, if you assess your risk factors and take steps to reduce them, your bones will respond as Nature meant them to \u2014 no matter how old (or young) you are!In an upcoming blog post, I\u2019ll offer some specific tips for how underweight women can gain weight, so stay tuned!Our full guide covers all of this and more \u2014 see our resource on the nutrients your bones depend on."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Bone Health Basics","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-health-basics\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The problem everyone wants \u2014 unless they have it","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-health-basics\/thin-women-and-health-implications\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]