Believe it or not — one expert is weighing on short women and the result?
If you are under 5’5 it may be harder for you to shed pounds.
And while there are definite advantages to being on the short side — as a fun size person, this above information is not one of those.
Advantages include being able to fit under beds as well as tight-fitting places, being carded always and last but not least, getting patted on the head and/or used as an armrest for the taller folks in our lives.
The average height of woman worldwide according to Medical News Today is 5’6.
But Craig Primack from the Obesity Medicine Association, smaller women are not winning when it comes to losing weight.
The expert shared with Cosmopolitan that the average woman has a basal metabolic rate (BMR) of 1,400 calories per day.
A BMR is the amount of calories your body would burn if you did nothing for 24 hours.
So let us say you are 5 ft. 3 in. — you could consume 1,4000 calories of food in one day (while in bed) and burn it off in the same day.
But if you are short — read on….
Primack shared:
“Short women have slower metabolisms. If [the average woman] lays in bed for 24 hours, she will burn 1,400 calories. But I see women who are shorter than five feet with BMRs of 1,200 calories, and some who are 5’10” or so at 1,750 or more per day.”
Primack went onto say how shorter women have less lean mass — and lean mass is directly correlated with how many calories you burn.
And in case you aren’t sure what lean mass exactly is — it is everything in your body that is not fat or water. This includes muscles, organs, bones as well as connective tissues.
So the smaller your body — the less energy it needs — which means **drum roll please** the less calories you burn.
And so while it does seem not very fair that genetics force you into something you can’t shift — there are a few key things Women’s Health shared that you can do as a short lady to help combat this.
Eat only what you need.
According to Betsy Opyt R.D. — match your meals and snacks to your hunger level as well as energy needs — instead of assuming you can lose weight eating the same number of calories that your taller friends can.
One study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that how starving you are is a reflection of your metabolic rate and those with a higher metabolic rate (i.e. tall folks) are usually hungrier than those with slower metabolisms (i.e. short folks.)
Lift heavy.
Opyt also says that building lean, metabolically active muscle can also help! She goes on to say how it is better to lift heavier weights less frequently than the inverse.
More protein, vitamins and minerals.
Protein is great for helping you feel full for longer, while vitamins and minerals will help you get all the nutrients you need without going over your calorie-limit for the day.
Helen Bond, a nutritionist, shared with The Sun Online, saying:
“A lot of people blame excess weight on having a slower metabolism. We all have slightly different metabolisms so it’s important to keep it revved up so we are burning calories.”
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