Can I Avoid Skinny Fat?

The noise on social media can be hard to discern, to understand the science of how to avoid skinny fat. Are you already experiencing skinny fat right now? How do you know? When you go and see your doctor, have they diagnosed you with skinny fat? No, they haven’t, because no official skinny fat diagnosis currently exists; our MRI Study (1) is working on a solution. There is no official way to measure and determine skinny fat.

What is skinny fat (2)? Contrary to popular belief, skinny fat is not (3, 4, 5, 1) too much regular white/yellow body when within safe BMI. Skinny fat is a lack of genetic muscle (6, 7, 8, 1). So, how can you tell if you are experiencing a lack of genetic muscle? How can you measure your genetic muscle tissue, and are you below average (skinny fat), average, or above average? At present, there is no accurate way to measure how much genetic muscle tissue any human being has at birth, let alone right now, or ever. Just as there is no average to compare it to.

At present, muscle tissue is lumped in with “lean body mass (LBM)”. It is roughly estimated, at best. In other words, there is no way to accurately measure muscle tissue, and there is no way to diagnose skinny fat. Yet, venture out on social media, and everyone is measuring muscle tissue and diagnosing skinny fat on a whim. Every human being is not born in the same general body with the same general amount of genetic muscle tissue and the same metabolism (9), relative to height and gender. There is zero science to support this false common claim.

Can I Avoid Skinny Fat?

If you are truly genetically blessed, and you are born with all 600-plus genetic muscles fully developed — AKA the Standard Body Type One (BT1)(10) — then you can avoid skinny fat. However, if you are like roughly 2/3rds (11) of the population who are experiencing some degree of skinny fat (lack of genetic muscle), you will have to focus on reducing skinny fat via proper diet (12), exercise (13), and lifestyle (14).

Depending on how much skinny fat you are experiencing, with proper diet and resistance exercise (15, 16), particularly weightlifting (17) to build muscle mass and recomposition, you may be able to reduce it to a minimum. Possibly even to a point where it appears you have gotten rid of it. And, with enough consistent and regular effort, you may be able to maintain that appearance. That being said, if/when you stop doing the exercise(s) that built the muscle to reduce the skinny fat, you inevitably will gradually return to your original genetic body composition, including any skinny fat.

At this time, there is no scientific/medical way to permanently fix skinny fat (18). There are a few FDA-approved methods to reduce skinny fat, if you are willing to tolerate the likely discomfort, pain, and typical high cost.

How To Determine Skinny Fat

Until our MRI Study (1) is complete and an official skinny fat diagnosis has been developed and is available, using the latest science, we have developed the Scientific Body Type Quiz to accurately estimate if you are experiencing skinny fat, and where on your body. The Quiz is cost-effective — there is a free coupon — and can be taken in the privacy of your home. Accounts are secure, private, anonymous (depending on what info you choose to give), and free.

As body composition directly affects metabolism, diet, exercise, and lifestyle, we have also wrangled the current science and developed the Scientific Metabolism Quiz, Scientific Diet Quiz, Scientific Exercise Quiz, and Scientific Lifestyle Quiz. Each Quiz offers a snapshot of your current routines and how healthy they are, or are not, while accurately calculating your unique metrics. You can take as many Quizzes as you want to track your progress over time.

References

1. Skinny Fat Science: Scientific Skinny Fat MRI Study – Proving What Skinny Fat Is, March 26, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/scientific-skinny-fat-mri-study-proving-what-skinny-fat-is/
2. Skinny Fat Science: What Is Skinny Fat?, July 26, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/what-is-skinny-fat/
3. Skinny Fat Science: Skinny Fat is a Lack of Genetic Muscle – Beyond Normal-Weight Obesity, August 13, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/skinny-fat-is-a-lack-of-genetic-muscle-beyond-normal-weight-obesity/
4. Skinny Fat Science: Skinny Fat Is More Than Just Normal-Weight Obesity, August 2, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/skinny-fat-is-more-than-just-normal-weight-obesity/
5. Skinny Fat Science: Are Regular Fat and Skinny Fat the Same Thing?, August 26, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/are-regular-fat-and-skinny-fat-the-same-thing/
6. Skinny Fat Science: Is Muscle/Mass Genetic and How Does It Affect Skinny Fat?, November 20, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/is-muscle-mass-genetic-and-how-does-it-affect-skinny-fat/
7. Skinny Fat Science: Is Skinny Fat Genetic?, November 27, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/is-skinny-fat-genetic/
8. Skinny Fat Science: Why Is My Body Skinny Fat?, January 21, 2026. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/why-is-my-body-skinny-fat/
9. Skinny Fat Science: How Skinny Fat Affects Metabolism, August 7, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/how-skinny-fat-affects-metabolism/
10. Britannica: human muscle system, Shane W. Cummings and Robin Huw Crompton (Fact-checked by the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/human-muscle-system
11. Fellow One Research: Body Type Science Research Data. https://fellowone.com/category/fellow-one-research/the-four-body-types/body-type-science/research-data/
12. Skinny Fat Science: The Best Skinny Fat Diet, According to Science, July 29, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/the-best-skinny-fat-diet-according-to-science/
13. Skinny Fat Science: The Best Skinny Fat Exercise, According to Science, August 2, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/the-best-skinny-fat-exercise-according-to-science/
14. Skinny Fat Science: The Best Skinny Fat Lifestyle, According to Science, August 13, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/the-best-skinny-fat-lifestyle-according-to-science/
15. Skinny Fat Science: Best Skinny Fat Resistance Exercises, September 4, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/best-skinny-fat-resistance-exercises/
16. Skinny Fat Science: Category, Resistance. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/category/resistance/
17. Skinny Fat Science: Resistance Training for Skinny Fat – Weight Lifting, 40 Optimal Exercises (with Images), May 7, 2025. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/resistance-training-for-skinny-fat-weight-lifting-40-optimal-exercises-with-images/
18. Skinny Fat Science: How To Fix Skinny Fat. July 27, 2024. https://skinnyfat.fellowone.com/skinny-fat-science/how-to-fix-skinny-fat/