Anyone 20 percent or more below his best weight is considered
underweight. Definite underweight is not desirable in young people who
are still growing. It may be a symptom of disease. The glandular
disorders so often erroneously blamed for overweight are much more
likely to show themselves in loss of weight or inability to gain. Even
when there is nothing wrong, people whose weight is too far below normal
are more likely to suffer from fatigue and poor physical endurance.
Resistance to infection is often lowered. Tuberculosis strikes more
often among adolescents and young people who are underweight than it
does among those whose weight is closer to what it should be.
_What Causes Underweight?_
Certain diseases and glandular disorders can cause underweight. In
healthy people, however, underweight comes from eating too little, from
poor eating habits, from over-activity or too little rest, and from
worry or prolonged tension.
Many people eat too little for much the same reasons which make others
eat too much. Habit frequently plays a part. Meals are irregular in some
families, sometimes poorly prepared, and eating is considered the least
important of the day’s activities. It is not surprising if the children
from such families grow up with an indifferent attitude toward food.
Emotions may also play a part. The feeling of being unloved,
dissatisfaction with personal relationships, discontent over job, money,
or social restrictions, and other reasons of this kind cause some people
to react with indifference to eating just as they cause others to
overeat. Keen rivalry, a wish to take part in everything, or too great
an absorption in school or social activities sometimes cause
over-activity and underweight among adolescents.
_How to Gain Weight_
As in overweight, the first step is to see a physician and have a
thorough physical examination. It is important to find and correct
anything which may be wrong. Efforts to gain may be useless unless this
is done.
The same principles apply to gaining weight as to losing it, but in
reverse. Underweight people must take in _more_ calories than they use,
so that there will be some left over to store as fat.
Will power can be as great a factor in gaining weight successfully as it
is in losing, particularly for people who do not like many of the
essential foods. They must learn to say “yes” to enough of the right
foods, regardless of their wishes, just as firmly as their fat friends
need to say “no” to forbidden extras.
As in overweight, it is important first to include the essential foods
in the day’s meals. These foods are necessary for maximum health,
whether a person’s weight is too high, too low, or just right. Some
underweight individuals whose food choices have been poor may find that
they are able to gain merely by making sure that they include these
foods in their diet. Others need to study ways to add extra calories.
_Adding Extra Calories_
The simplest way is to eat more at each meal—extra bread and butter, and
second helpings of everything.
Often, however, underweight people seem to have a small stomach
capacity. Therefore, additions of high-calorie foods which add little or
no bulk are probably easier to take at first than trying to eat larger
quantities. Such additions as cream on cereals and in beverages; extra
eggs in puddings, salad dressings, and drinks; and butter or other fat
used generously in salad dressings, cooking and seasoning should add
enough calories to enable most people to gain weight. Also, provided
they are added to regular meals and not used to replace them, the
high-calorie foods listed on page 14 should be used freely by anyone
trying to gain weight. If they do not interfere with eating enough at
regular meals, between-meal snacks also help. So do extra milk and
something to eat before going to bed.
_Saving Energy_
The body uses fewer calories at rest than when active, and least of all
during sleep. Therefore, any extra sleep or rest which an underweight
person gets will help him to gain. Whatever energy can be saved during
waking hours by riding instead of walking, sitting instead of standing,
and relaxing as often as possible will add to the calories saved.
A healthy person who decides to gain weight, and who sticks to his
program of taking in more calories than he needs, and of spending as few
as possible in needless physical activity, can be sure that sooner or
later his efforts will meet with success.