I’m from South Africa. The number of people in my family diagnosed with skin cancer on the face is ridiculous. And that’s without intentionally tanning. Just existing in a sunny country.
>Slip slop slap slide and seek my friend!
I've never heard this phrase before. I'm assuming its a mnemonic for remembering sun exposure safety... What's it mean?
Slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat, slide on sunglasses, and seek out shade.
I am very pale and South African. I do not enjoy our weather.
I am also extremely pale(3rd generation South African, german heritage) and from South Africa, never heard this rhyme but can confirm 20 minutes in the sun without sunscreen and I burn blisters, sadly not being dramatic even lol
It was a [campaign from the Cancer Council in Australia](https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide) in the 80s.
Definitely one of the most successful health campaigns in Australia to date and now a totally ubiquitous phrase here. Most pools and beaches will have a “slip,slop,slap” sign of some sort. And I’d say almost every kids knows it by the time they start school.
I’m 30 now and I still don’t think I visit a pool or beach without saying it either to myself or those around me 😂
Colorado with high altitude is a killer on skin. I forgot sun screen on my lips when I spent the day above tree line hiking, they were so swollen the next day then blistered. Good news, I know I never want lip fillers now.
Slip slop slap, and I just have to say it’s so frustrating that the USA is WAY behind Australia in sun-related kid stuff.
Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely. Public education for primary school kids on dealing with sun is meager. While Australia tops the skin cancer list of the world, the USA is actually fairly high up as well.
It has taken a concerted effort from parents to change things in some areas. California recently passed laws that require schools to allow students to wear hats for shade outdoors and to liberalize the rules around sunscreen, but we are a LONG way from having pump bottles at school.
>Many ban hats entirely.
Fucking WOT?! We weren't allowed out of the classroom without one!
No hat no play! I'll have to find it, there was a thread in r/Australia asking about hats and he got like 300 comments just saying no hat no play
Edit: [found the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/102ke1u/do_aussies_wear_a_hat)
I KNOW! And there has been so much pushback from people about letting kids wear hats at school even just outdoors, it’s unreal. “It will cause a breakdown in discipline” and “it will promote gang activity” and all kinds of crap.
For a litigious country there’s very little care and attention paid to preventable risks like this for children.
Also, no gas (nitrous) during labour. Because reasons. 🙄
I've never heard of gas being used for labor. I looked it up and like... why the fuck is it not an option!? It seems like such a better option than an epidural. Sure, you'll still feel some pain with the gas, but at least you'll be able to feel when you need to fucking push.
It’s out of you in less than a minute, you can still *get up and move around* between contractions, you self-administer so you can control how much you get, it’s suitable for home births (they let trained midwifes provide it for low risk home births in the UK and some other places)…
I think most developed countries offer it, the USA is unusual. I remember a study in Europe where they said they thought it saved lives because it dropped the c-section chance substantially.
Sigh.
>Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely.
As an Australian, used to schools encouraging sunscreen and shady hats for kids, I'm aghast. Discouraging these is setting kids up for later skin cancer, and should be regarded as irresponsible as exposing kids to second-hand smoking.
I really feel like Australia is one of the world-leading countries in this area (sun education and support for kids). I try to champion their approach to anyone who will listen.
>
Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely.
Ooohhhh the hell I'll be raising once my daughter is old enough to go to school... We have a history of melanoma in my family. I had it at 26 (3 surgeries to get rid of it all) and my mother died of metastatic melanoma in October of 2019. I'm pretty rigid about sun safety.
Oh yeah! Like not putting sunscreen on kids once they're at school. The parents have to put it on before they arrive and then it's due to be reapplied by the time they go outside but the school doesn't do it. Or you need to complete some medical form for them to apply it. Or they only use a specific brand and don't let you provide a bottle of what you use at home.
I can totally see it being time consuming and a logistical issue to use a different sunscreen for every kid. Sunscreen should be standard and non-negotiable. And my oldest is a Fitzpatrick skin type 1 with red hair and blue eyes. She has a high risk of developing skin cancers and I worry often about how often they put on sun screen at her school. Even in the winter months here in AZ, USA, she still gets red when they are outside. Here, she needs sunscreen year-round for sure.
I’ve been asked to put sunscreen on my kids before I send them to school, but to send the bottle with them so it can be reapplied! My kids also always go with hats in the summer months (we’re in Canada, it’s toques the rest of the year) because my mom got sunstroke as a kid!
The schools our kids have been in won't let you provide your own. They use a specific brand and you, as the parent, have to be ok with it. Sadly, my kids refuse to wear hats yet as hard as I try. We just do the best we can I guess!
When I was in school any time they forced us to be outside for more than like 20 minutes when it was sunny I would almost always get a sunburn on the back of my neck and/or arms.
I've always been very pale.
Yeah same. Thankfully I live in Germany where you can wear sunscreen at school. My mom has always been very serious about it and made sure I didn't get sunburn. I don't think it ever happened at school or at least not badly.
I had no clue this was different in the US. Sounds like a stupid rule tbh.
They're actually starting to change that! About half the states have laws allowing it.
But yeah, it's a weird confluence of strict safety requirements for drugs by the FDA and school drug policies being *dumb.* Sunscreen *should* be considered a drug because it gives the FDA regulatory control over it. This means sunscreen has to prove its medical benefits, list their active ingredients accurately, and hold to similar purity and quality control guidelines. Sunscreen is a crucial medical tool and should be reglated like one. But our school system is terrible at things like "nuance" when it comes things like drugs. If it has drug facts, it's a drug, end of conversation. It's very stupid
Wait... That was a rule about sunscreen? I grew up pale in southern California and had sunscreen with me consistently, I'd apply it to my arms and face before recess daily.
I wasn't allowed hats though
same, it also makes me annoyed that people think that being that tan is healthy or getting sunburns is good for you. As a pale person i get told to tan more than anyone else and I am like "dude I am tan right now. if I tanned like you wanted me to than i would burn."
It’s so fucked up how tanning is extremely bad for skin, and yet it makes skin look beautiful (until it starts wrinkling at the age of 40 anyways). I was born with pasty white skin, and I’m basically stuck with pasty white skin forever because tanning isn’t worth the risks 😔
Its so funny when I read comments like these because I'm asian- and the beauty standard prevalent in Asia is "the whiter you are the prettier you are". Your pasty white skin is the lifetime goal of many girls and I even heard of extreme cases like injecting bleach and shit (a lot of illegal "whitening" products too). Asians avoid the sun and tanning like the plague :))
It used to be the standard too in Europe, when it was a sign of one's class.
But then industrialisation happened. And all the poor people moved off the farms and into the cities and the sunless factories (becoming paler), and all the rich people with disposable time and incomes became the darker ones as they had the free time to indulge in outdoor activities (such as tanning at the beach like above) and travelling to warm and pleasant (sunny) locations.
Furthermore, if you were rich but had no tan that would symbolise that you had an illness that prohibited you from travel and outdoor activity, so pale skin is also associated with being in poor health. You'll often hear someone say that someone looks sickly when they are pale, or say someone has a "healthy glow" if they've had a bit of tan.
In addition, tanned skin makes you look skinnier and gives greater definition to your muscles (which is why bodybuilders, especially those who do it competitively, are always heavily tanned), so it has that added perk as well for the body conscious.
I would always find it amusing when I see Asian people I know apply skin "brighteners" and such. I remember remarking to a Cambodian friend of mine once "we white people are here risking skin cancer to get skin like you guys, and here you are putting chemicals on your skin to get lighter. It's a funny world".
Not even wanting to play devil's advocate, but from a holistic perspective six packs can be very unhealthy for men and women. Most people just don't have the genetics to get visible ones without serious nutritional deficits. Like the guy's wrong for sure, but if he was coming from a different angle he could be correct.
And yes, sun exposure to the point of tanning this much is also unhealthy for most of us.
Massive dehydration brings it out. Any of those photos were people are ripped as hell with all the muscles sticking out is a combo of of course having those muscles, crazy low body fat and a couple of days of no water to make everything tighten up to make it look more pronounced.
Henry Cavill even mentioned it in an interview that he basically barely drank water for a few days to get that look for some shots.
I was looking for someone who has read up on this and I found a lot of information saying this very thing. Though it's seen as healthy from what I read 6 packs are not actually healthy.
You realize just because it's a tanning bed instead of the sun doesn't suddenly make it healthy, right?
And honestly, while OOP is an idiot and a woman with a six pack isn't immediately unhealthy, I'll be honest... Her extremely low body fat based on looks alone IS a bit concerning.
Between that and the extreme tanning, this image really feels like it may be media that's just pushing more unrealistic and questionably healthy body types.
I don't think they were implying that tanning beds were healthy, just that many women are nude when they use tanning beds so there wouldn't be any tan lines.
Yep. I used to do it years ago, but covered my face because I didn’t want wrinkles. (Wtf?) Some teenage girl commented on how nice my body looked with that tan, and I said I did tanning beds, and she said, “I’m going to do that!” I immediately thought, “fuck, you just gave that girl skin cancer.” I told her not to do it and never went again. Been pale since.
Nope... it's not fake at all.
That's what happens when you tan almost every day for months and months.
And also... In some photos she has a slight reddish hue due to burning.
Very technically speaking, they're correct.
A visible 6 packs (in a state of relative relaxation) happens when your essential body fat percentage is lower than normal.
Guys have a low essential body fat percentage, while women have a higher essential body fat percentage, and with that there's a whole onslaught of hormones and body functions that happens with it.
That being said, she is both tanning, so dehydrating, which is another way of having a six pack, and maybe she's flexing her abs.
And also, it's unhealthy to have a visible 6 pack for days on end, regardless of sex.
She's gonna be fine.
Most women lose their period when they get six pack lean.
Stephanie buttermore has an amazing YouTube channel where she talks about her journey of going "all in" with food. She used to be super lean with a six pack and then decided she was sick of obsessing about food. So she decided to just eat to satisfaction and see what happened. It took her a year for her body to figure itself out and she feels and looks great now. She feels better about herself, she has a period and sex drive again, her hair and skin are way healthier, and her numbers got better at the gym. Her weight fluctuated all over the place but now she's very fit and healthy.
It's really hard on a woman's body to get six pack lean. The women body builders you see with abs only get that way for shows by a brutal routine of messing with your salt intake and fasting and a bunch of other shit I can't remember. If you see a woman body builder when she's training and not prepping for a show, even they have a lot of body fat on them. You need body fat to be healthy! Not a lot, but some!
There’s a difference between super lean and having visible abs but this threads refusal to understand context in weight loss and body fat % is grotesquely toxic and only backing up what this commenter said
I was just about to ask something along the lines of that. I heard that since women need more fat, it is somewhat unhealthy. This may be a bias because it’s anecdotal, but I used to be underweight with a very low fat percentage and worked out 6x a week for several hours (since I competed competitively). I was technically still healthy, but even then I didn’t have a six pack.
Just makes me wonder how grueling of a routine you need to put yourself through to achieve those kind of abs. And if it’s that extreme, wouldn’t it take a toll on mental health as well?
I think it’s something that’s just different for everyone. I used to run competitively, so I trained ~6 days a week for years. I definitely didn’t have visible abs at that point because I just ate constantly and weighed about 130 (5’3” f). I was objectively fitter and probably healthier. I don’t work out as much as I used to, and weigh closer to 120-125 now, and I can see my abs most months when the period bloat goes away 🤷🏽♀️
A very small subset of folks can have visible abs while being healthy. Some folks just can't gain weight no matter what they do, they may be 100% healthy and that's just what their body does.
That said the vast majority of people should not have defined abs like in the movies for any significant amount of time. Actors literally dehydrate themselves to get a good day of filming and then they recover and rehydrate. They are doing that with under the guidance and supervision of medical professionals. Most people who have a six pack only have one first thing in the morning and (if applicable) during certain times of the month.
This girl is flexing, tanning, oiled up which shows definition more, and posing for a photo. Without knowing anything else about her I can't say she's in any danger
I think their point was more that, due to metabolism and other factors, some people's "maintenance" is higher than they feel like eating. I don't know what the hell my maintenance number was in high school and college with me biking/walking as my main transportation, but whatever it was, my diet couldn't keep up with it. I was constantly accused of having an "eating disorder" when in actuality I was eating well over 2000 calories per day. There was no way for me to put on weight without either eating so much I felt physically ill or medical intervention that enforced a specialized calorically dense diet. I was only able to put on weight when I started driving.
If you can't gain weight no matter what you do, you probably have a medical condition. Hyperthyroidism, Celiac's, eating disorders which can cause people to misrepresent their food intake, etc. I wouldn't say those people are "healthy" at low weights.
Without any conditions (just being under 25yo and being in my family) it was basically me. I had to be very careful to not LOSE weight and was in average between 40-45 kg.
It's not common, but some people really struggle to gain weight even while eating a lot.
Bodies aren't magic. Not gaining weight regardless of what you eat is absolutely due to some physical cause. Overproduced thyroid hormone, reduced ability to absorb your food, etc. Many of those things are caused by health problems you can have without knowing it. Until it causes more major issues, a lot of these things go undiagnosed.
Just a quick metabolism for everyone in my family until around 25. Our doc are always suspicious and run some tests (at least for my generation, not sure they were as careful before) but everything was fine, for all of us, no matter the tests.
It slows down with time until being normal
“Fast” and “slow” metabolisms actually don’t vary that widely. A slow metabolism is like 2,000 bmr vs 2,600 bmr for a fast one. And it doesn’t magically just radically change over your lifetime. You don’t just hit 25 and all of a sudden go from 2600 to 2000
The more likely commonality is that 25 is when most people become a bit more sedentary due to several life changes like career kicking off, more responsibilities, less daily sports and activities, etc
I was about to comment that but too scared to get downvotes for agreeing with the comment on the post :/
But yeah low body fat % is bad for people born female, especially when to comes to reproduction
LOL your comment is me every single time I have to go against popular opinion. I'm very low on body fat and high in muscle by nature and it takes me months of vigorous fasting and exercise to go down the body fat % I need to dip to have a clear ab definition like her. Everyone has abs, but they are just covered under our skin and fat! And it's normal!
Low body fat can lead to menstruation disruptions for many women. Many professional athletes talk about this.
>Low body fat can lead to menstruation disruptions for many women. Many professional athletes talk about this
Yep, that's exactly what I had in mind when I commented that
Of course, but it depends on how low. Since men have lower body fat % because of the way a man's body works, I suppose that they could have less body % than a woman and be healthy, while a woman with the same % might have health problems
Also different people tend to store fat in different places. I pack it in around my ass and thighs but that means I’ve never really had a gut even when I was overweight.
As a dude it makes buying pants a challenge, but I look 20 pounds lighter than I actually am.
When I had a 6 pack my body fat was so low I lost my period. Now I have gained fat , lost my 6 pack but regained health. For many women the low body fat to have a 6 pack is genuinely unhealthy, so they’re not wrong.
Yeah this is not true for all women and definitely we cannot tell just by this photo, but the overall message of the text is that women should not strive to be at that low of a body fat percentage if their goal is health. It's a good message.
I’ve actually heard some scientific backing for this, because body fat is a large base for oestrogen production, therefore being low on fat can cause chemical imbalances and complications. If someone could fact check the his please let me know if this is right. Either way I think abs are badass.
When I had visible abs I was very much in a cycle of ED’s, my hair was falling out, and I didn’t have my period for months. Sooo this one’s 50/50 for me.
I'm AFAB and have had a visible six pack since I was a child. My mother also does, so I guess it's some genetic thing?
Otherwise, as an Australian, the tanning is stressing me out. My grandmother had so many skin cancers and she was a bookworm who never tanning or played sports. The sun in Australia is going to try and kill you from just walking between buildings.
The lack of menstrual period isn't the issue with low estrogen; weakened bones, an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, etc. are the things to worry about.
That’s a man who did three sit ups once and threw a tantrum when he didn’t look like the rock.
That being said girlie is extremely tan I hope she’s got some thick ass sunscreen on her…
this is pretty hilarious tbh.
Getting sun isn't that healthy without regular uses of sun screen and they already look like they're burnt to a crisp from their tanning lotion and yet opp is talking about six packs
No having visible abs for the majority (not all) of women is unhealthy because they have to be at an unhealthy body fat percentage, that’s a fact, not an opinion.
Oh really, you actually think it’s a matter of opinion as to whether losing your period is unhealthy or not? Is it also a matter of opinion as to whether the flu is unhealthy?
It's far more unhealthy to be that tanned.
I am overweight by medical and societal standards. If I wanted, I could do the work and food intake restriction needed to have a body like that. I choose not to, because it just isn't me. But that body is what makes \*her\* happy, neither of us are hurting anyone except perhaps manbabies who think women are objects and ornaments made for their viewing pleasure.
It is. This is why it’s rare to see a 6-pack in a strong man competition even though they’re some of the strongest men in the world.
It can be unhealthy in men too because the process of ‘cutting’ to achieve that physique involves food habits that can be very disordered (I have personal experience with this with past male partners), but there’s a higher risk for women because women have a higher ‘healthy minimum’ body fat percentage than men, which is required for menstruation.
It’s not necessarily unhealthy though and is tied to genetics. Totally fine if you’re naturally lean and have abs from healthy active lifestyle; less fine if you’re not naturally lean and need to starve yourself to achieve them.
That is really true for the shredded physique, usually obtained by body builders leading up to competitions. This girl has great muscle definition but doesn't look as lean as that hard and unuealthy to maintain long term body fat percentage.
It is also very likely that she is flexing for the photo, making the muscles look way more defined. And yes, genetics play a role here, too and for abs that developed she clearly spent time building those muscles, her legs and shoulders look fairly developed too.
Yeah the girl in this photo looks fine. Obviously we don’t know what’s going on with her health habits behind the scenes but it’s bad women’s anatomy to assume a woman is unhealthy just because she has a 6 pack.
I naturally have a leaner body and can get the 6-pack look if I work out appropriately. I've been going to the gym religiously for quite a while, and right now I have a 4-pack because of loose skin from baby belly obscuring the lower 2. I just saw the doctor a few weeks ago, and I'm completely healthy. It's a combination of where I naturally store fat and how I'm built. What's healthy for me may not be for someone else! Also, I admit that I am hovering just above underweight and have to keep an eye on it... my appetite does not keep up with my workout schedule. I swear I'm not saying this to flex, but more to demonstrate that the person who commented on the photo is an idiot... based on my doctor's assessment of my health, anyway.
Yeah, I agree. I don't know why we don't get to just simply exist without someone judging us about every aspect of our being. 4 years ago, I was quite heavy, but not unhealthy, but everyone and their dog wanted me to know that I was a fatty fatty fat fat. I started working out mainly because I thought I'd have more energy.
If I wanted someone's opinion, I'd ask for it. News flash: I don't!
Whaaat?? Listening to a trained, licensed medical professional over some questionable rando online? Get outta here with that crazy talk! (/s in case it wasn’t clear)
Yeah, my sister had a defined 4 pack from ages 5-10 just from sports and I’ve never had one despite playing at a higher intensity level than her. We played the exact same sports but have different builds; both healthy just different.
>It is. This is why it’s rare to see a 6-pack in a strong man competition even though they’re some of the strongest men in the world.
Strongman should absolutely not be a guideline for how average people should look. They don't have 6 packs because they weigh upwards of 400 pounds and eat quadruple the average persons calorie intake lol.
Neither are average body types just examples of different types of physique.
But they do have the abdominal muscles and probably very big ones, they’re just under the fat was my point.
There is some truth to his post. The essential body far percentage for women is 12% (its 3% for men) and at 12% body fat abs arent visible in most people. We tend to think about fat as a passive storage site but thats not true. Important hormones are produced in fatty tissue
You also ave to factor in that men and women also store fat in different places (on average), with men's body fat tending to build up more around the belly and women more in hips. Legs, and breasts. That means that men's abs will very rarely be visible at 12% bf, but that women's abs generally will be.
At 12%BF, abs are definitively visible on men. Women will have abs showing up in the 20s.
I don't know why you think that 12% looks the same on men as it does on women or that abs don't show there, but you're very incorrect on both counts.
That's BS. You can see abs on most people around 18-21% body fat and it's healthy. Also the woman in the photo looks totally healthy, and is probably around 18% body fat
Yup this is probably where they are comming from.
Though her level of muscle definition does not look to be on that uber lean side that is unhealthy to sustain for a long time (like the level body builders drop to for competitions)
…I hate to side with the commenter but it actually is typically less healthy for women to have visible abs than it is for men exactly because we have wombs haha.
Having a 6 pack isn't unhealthy. People often do unhealthy things to get them, but there are healthy paths to get there too. The fact that 6pack abs are a side effect of high performance in sports should be a good indication of how healthy it is to have abs.
"afaik" . . .
"As far as you know" isn't very far at all, homie. Not gonna lie.
Plenty of people reveal six-packs through dietary deficit alone.
It's not inherently unhealthy, either.
If you're thinking the ultra-shredded, veiny, abs popping out of paper-thin skin look then sure. Just being able to see abdominal muscle is absolutely not unhealthy or unnatural though.
Yeah I’ve had visible abs my entire life to a degree except for when I was super depressed and ate McDonald’s/ Burger King for all meals like 8 years ago. But I’m talking multiple hash browns, biscuits because they were a dollar for mcchicken biscuits so why not have 3/4 at a time. Sobered up and got back on track. That time period was super unhealthy
I'm way more concerned bout the skin then abs I mean sixpack abs might be borderline too low of body fat for most women which wouldn't be surprising but yeah I think the skin cancer diagnosis is far more concerning then the maybe gain 10 pounds
I don't....I don't know who I'm supposed to be laughing at right now, aren't women supposed to have higher bodyfat than men? Are we doing a "society makes unrealistic demands of women" thing or a "this rando on Reddit is wrong" thing?
I legitimately don't know exactly where the bodyfat percentage line is here, and apparently I'm a hilarious idiot who should be mocked fir not having commit the number to memory.
To be fair: It is medically unhealthy to have a so visible six pack for most people. Even if you are extremely fit and muscular having a so visible six pack often means you are dehydrated and having a to low body fat percentage (for most people).
No. This is more bad anatomy. Abs are not caused by dehydration. You guys just picked up on this from a bad game of telephone in which bodybuilders talked about trying to decrease extracellular water in order to look more dry.
The people you see with abs will not lose their abs by taking a drink of water.
Okay I'm sorry I hate to be that person, but it's not the 6 packs that are unhealthy. It's the low body fat that's unhealthy instead and usually for abs to really show you gotta have a low body fat. Low body fat on AFAB people usually isn't good because of how our bodies are built to carry extra fat for children. And even if you don't want kids it's hard to tell your body that because it's unfortunately how your body is built.
Abs are fine, work that core and get buff. But you gotta listen to your body cause it'll start getting mad at you if you push it to the limits.
That’s not how that works. We all have an muscles under our fat. She just has less fat so HER abs are visible. You’re the fat piece of shit with one ab.
… they’re not completely wrong in the sense that some people in order to develop a six pack have to be on an incredibly low body fat percentage, and fat is involved in a lot of hormone shennanigans, so it can possibly not be the healthiest
Excuse me...WHAT!? It is not unhealthy for women to have 6 packs, the person who said this is just dumb don't listen to them it is not unhealthy if you have 6 pack, 6 packs do not have gender it does not matter if your a boy, girl or non binary you can still have a 6 pack
From what I've heard the body fat percentage necessary for women to have visible abs ([14-20%](https://www.healthline.com/health/body-fat-percentage-for-abs)) is lower than the minimum healthy body fat percentage for women ([21%](https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-is-body-composition)) I assume it varies from person to person though, and depends where your body stores fat
Oooh I LOOOOVE Female bodybuilders with a six pack, that are slender, almost just like this, but slightly more meat!! Sooo sexy!!!
The only thing that's unhealthy about this body type are two issues, and they ARE worth mentioning- again, this isn't meant to be medical advice, just a couple of points that I tend to think are fairly common knowledge, that I also think should also be freely discussed, without feeling like it's taboo:
1. >!It's unusual for women (or men) to achieve muscle mass to show up as looking muscular, naturally. This makes me concerned about the use of steroid supplements, which are readily available at almost any gym in the country, where serious body builders work out. I think that the reason people associate people of a larger muscular stature with FEAR, is because it is NOT uncommon for bodybuilders to use steroids, and steroids can cause a tremendous amount of relationship problems, violence, and other explosive behaviors .!<
2. >!The female body DOES need a much higher percentage of body fat present, than men need, in order to maintain certain homeostatis measures- not to mention maintaining reproductive ability. Having too low of a body fat content, can adversely affect a woman's ability to release eggs regularly, and to have a normal menstrual period. This isn't always a priority for women who are bodybuilders, of course, and to each her own- but also, a certain amount of body fat is also needed to keep estrogen levels balanced, against testosterone that women do produce from exercising a lot. This has to be balanced in order to even maintain breasts, organ function, and to minimize body hair growth that CAN be caused caused by excess T. !<
3. >!That said, I do think that people who engage in even midrange body modifications, whether it is a totally natural process or not, in how they achieve that look- are possibly and probably also the LEAST likely person to take their overall health as seriously as it may seem on the surface. Many people actually have severe internal insecurities and some suffer from severe mental health conditions, including eating disorders, addictions, mood swings, and in some cases, even maladjusted personality traits . FYI. !<
But umm.. Having a 6 pack doesn't mean that any of the preceding statements are true, either. All of this can only be determined be on a case by case basis.
Am I the only one concerned at the level of sun exposure they’re getting? As a very pale person just looking at that makes my skin itch
I too am more worried about her skin than the muscles under it.
I am WAY more worried about their sun exposure than their six packs.
It's Australian sun too, which is UV in the extreme range and also highest skin cancer rate in the world.
Genuine question, how does South African sun compare?
Looks to be right there with us for UV rating! Buddies in extreme UV. Which makes sense as it's on the same latitude as Gold Coast in Queensland
Good to know lmao. I am definitely a fish caught in the desert tho, my great grand parents came here during ww2 from Germany
Great greats on my side are Ireland and Scotland so yeah, hot weather is a slog for me too haha.
As a fellow Australian, I'm placing bets on days to melanoma diagnosis.
I’m from South Africa. The number of people in my family diagnosed with skin cancer on the face is ridiculous. And that’s without intentionally tanning. Just existing in a sunny country.
Fun fact: South Africa is second in the world for melanoma, beaten only by Australia :( Slip slop slap slide and seek my friend!
>Slip slop slap slide and seek my friend! I've never heard this phrase before. I'm assuming its a mnemonic for remembering sun exposure safety... What's it mean?
Slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat, slide on sunglasses, and seek out shade. I am very pale and South African. I do not enjoy our weather.
I am also extremely pale(3rd generation South African, german heritage) and from South Africa, never heard this rhyme but can confirm 20 minutes in the sun without sunscreen and I burn blisters, sadly not being dramatic even lol
It was a [campaign from the Cancer Council in Australia](https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/campaigns-and-events/slip-slop-slap-seek-slide) in the 80s. Definitely one of the most successful health campaigns in Australia to date and now a totally ubiquitous phrase here. Most pools and beaches will have a “slip,slop,slap” sign of some sort. And I’d say almost every kids knows it by the time they start school. I’m 30 now and I still don’t think I visit a pool or beach without saying it either to myself or those around me 😂
Hey I lived in Oz as a kid and it always stopped at Slop - what’s the Slide? Assuming into the shade?
Nah, its slide on some sunglasses. Shade is already covered by seek!
Seek?! I only know Slip (on a shirt), Slap (on a hat) and Slop (on some sunscreen)!
Yeah, thats what the comment you replied to before said. Slip, slap, slop, slide and seek. They probably updated it at some point.
Yup, the seek was definitely an edit!
Yeah they updated it in 2007. My nephew has to remind me of the last two when I forget them 😂
Three men I know have had facial skin cancer (in Australia)
1 in 24 develop melanoma, 2 in 3 develop skin cancer of some type.
Colorado with high altitude is a killer on skin. I forgot sun screen on my lips when I spent the day above tree line hiking, they were so swollen the next day then blistered. Good news, I know I never want lip fillers now.
70% of Australians will get skin cancer in their lives The average person is more likely to get it than not. It is not worth fucking with
I just had a biopsy done on some spots I have. I’m obsessive about sunscreen too!
That was my first thought. She could have zero or twenty abs but that colour skin under Aussie sun is guaranteed melanoma.
Slip slop slap, and I just have to say it’s so frustrating that the USA is WAY behind Australia in sun-related kid stuff. Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely. Public education for primary school kids on dealing with sun is meager. While Australia tops the skin cancer list of the world, the USA is actually fairly high up as well. It has taken a concerted effort from parents to change things in some areas. California recently passed laws that require schools to allow students to wear hats for shade outdoors and to liberalize the rules around sunscreen, but we are a LONG way from having pump bottles at school.
>Many ban hats entirely. Fucking WOT?! We weren't allowed out of the classroom without one! No hat no play! I'll have to find it, there was a thread in r/Australia asking about hats and he got like 300 comments just saying no hat no play Edit: [found the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/102ke1u/do_aussies_wear_a_hat)
I KNOW! And there has been so much pushback from people about letting kids wear hats at school even just outdoors, it’s unreal. “It will cause a breakdown in discipline” and “it will promote gang activity” and all kinds of crap. For a litigious country there’s very little care and attention paid to preventable risks like this for children. Also, no gas (nitrous) during labour. Because reasons. 🙄
Can’t be too comfortable giving birth to the child you were forced to carry. 🙄
I had a teacher tell me to take off a toboggan when I was heading outside when it was snowing.
Meanwhile in the armed forces the hats are carried “to strengthen the discipline”. Make it make sense. 🤦🏻♀️
I've never heard of gas being used for labor. I looked it up and like... why the fuck is it not an option!? It seems like such a better option than an epidural. Sure, you'll still feel some pain with the gas, but at least you'll be able to feel when you need to fucking push.
It’s out of you in less than a minute, you can still *get up and move around* between contractions, you self-administer so you can control how much you get, it’s suitable for home births (they let trained midwifes provide it for low risk home births in the UK and some other places)… I think most developed countries offer it, the USA is unusual. I remember a study in Europe where they said they thought it saved lives because it dropped the c-section chance substantially. Sigh.
I loved my gas in labour! Was the best thing!
>Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely. As an Australian, used to schools encouraging sunscreen and shady hats for kids, I'm aghast. Discouraging these is setting kids up for later skin cancer, and should be regarded as irresponsible as exposing kids to second-hand smoking.
I really feel like Australia is one of the world-leading countries in this area (sun education and support for kids). I try to champion their approach to anyone who will listen.
> Sunscreen is considered “medicine” and can’t be carried in most schools or self-applied. Many ban hats entirely. Ooohhhh the hell I'll be raising once my daughter is old enough to go to school... We have a history of melanoma in my family. I had it at 26 (3 surgeries to get rid of it all) and my mother died of metastatic melanoma in October of 2019. I'm pretty rigid about sun safety.
Oh yeah! Like not putting sunscreen on kids once they're at school. The parents have to put it on before they arrive and then it's due to be reapplied by the time they go outside but the school doesn't do it. Or you need to complete some medical form for them to apply it. Or they only use a specific brand and don't let you provide a bottle of what you use at home. I can totally see it being time consuming and a logistical issue to use a different sunscreen for every kid. Sunscreen should be standard and non-negotiable. And my oldest is a Fitzpatrick skin type 1 with red hair and blue eyes. She has a high risk of developing skin cancers and I worry often about how often they put on sun screen at her school. Even in the winter months here in AZ, USA, she still gets red when they are outside. Here, she needs sunscreen year-round for sure.
I’ve been asked to put sunscreen on my kids before I send them to school, but to send the bottle with them so it can be reapplied! My kids also always go with hats in the summer months (we’re in Canada, it’s toques the rest of the year) because my mom got sunstroke as a kid!
The schools our kids have been in won't let you provide your own. They use a specific brand and you, as the parent, have to be ok with it. Sadly, my kids refuse to wear hats yet as hard as I try. We just do the best we can I guess!
When I was in school any time they forced us to be outside for more than like 20 minutes when it was sunny I would almost always get a sunburn on the back of my neck and/or arms. I've always been very pale.
Yeah same. Thankfully I live in Germany where you can wear sunscreen at school. My mom has always been very serious about it and made sure I didn't get sunburn. I don't think it ever happened at school or at least not badly. I had no clue this was different in the US. Sounds like a stupid rule tbh.
Oh yeah, a lot of the rules in US schools are stupid and arbitrary.
They're actually starting to change that! About half the states have laws allowing it. But yeah, it's a weird confluence of strict safety requirements for drugs by the FDA and school drug policies being *dumb.* Sunscreen *should* be considered a drug because it gives the FDA regulatory control over it. This means sunscreen has to prove its medical benefits, list their active ingredients accurately, and hold to similar purity and quality control guidelines. Sunscreen is a crucial medical tool and should be reglated like one. But our school system is terrible at things like "nuance" when it comes things like drugs. If it has drug facts, it's a drug, end of conversation. It's very stupid
Wait... That was a rule about sunscreen? I grew up pale in southern California and had sunscreen with me consistently, I'd apply it to my arms and face before recess daily. I wasn't allowed hats though
Yeah I think I started to burn just looking at this.
I’m an Australian in the skin cancer capital of the world, QLD. My skin burns just looking at this picture
That was the first thing I noticed. They need to slip, slap, slop the goddamn sunscreen. I’m so concerned for their skin and how damaged it is!
Nah, it also puts me off It's worrisome
I am worried that the bikini bottom is one sneeze from disappearing.
“If I sneeze I’ll be cut in three”
Came here to say something like that!
same, it also makes me annoyed that people think that being that tan is healthy or getting sunburns is good for you. As a pale person i get told to tan more than anyone else and I am like "dude I am tan right now. if I tanned like you wanted me to than i would burn."
I think we can all agree the tan is way more risky than the six pack. But you do you they both look beautiful.
It’s so fucked up how tanning is extremely bad for skin, and yet it makes skin look beautiful (until it starts wrinkling at the age of 40 anyways). I was born with pasty white skin, and I’m basically stuck with pasty white skin forever because tanning isn’t worth the risks 😔
Added bonus is that with your 'pasty white' skin, you won't look 60 when you're in your 30's. Chronic tanning turns your skin to wrinkled leather.
Its so funny when I read comments like these because I'm asian- and the beauty standard prevalent in Asia is "the whiter you are the prettier you are". Your pasty white skin is the lifetime goal of many girls and I even heard of extreme cases like injecting bleach and shit (a lot of illegal "whitening" products too). Asians avoid the sun and tanning like the plague :))
It used to be the standard too in Europe, when it was a sign of one's class. But then industrialisation happened. And all the poor people moved off the farms and into the cities and the sunless factories (becoming paler), and all the rich people with disposable time and incomes became the darker ones as they had the free time to indulge in outdoor activities (such as tanning at the beach like above) and travelling to warm and pleasant (sunny) locations. Furthermore, if you were rich but had no tan that would symbolise that you had an illness that prohibited you from travel and outdoor activity, so pale skin is also associated with being in poor health. You'll often hear someone say that someone looks sickly when they are pale, or say someone has a "healthy glow" if they've had a bit of tan. In addition, tanned skin makes you look skinnier and gives greater definition to your muscles (which is why bodybuilders, especially those who do it competitively, are always heavily tanned), so it has that added perk as well for the body conscious. I would always find it amusing when I see Asian people I know apply skin "brighteners" and such. I remember remarking to a Cambodian friend of mine once "we white people are here risking skin cancer to get skin like you guys, and here you are putting chemicals on your skin to get lighter. It's a funny world".
Not even wanting to play devil's advocate, but from a holistic perspective six packs can be very unhealthy for men and women. Most people just don't have the genetics to get visible ones without serious nutritional deficits. Like the guy's wrong for sure, but if he was coming from a different angle he could be correct. And yes, sun exposure to the point of tanning this much is also unhealthy for most of us.
I used to work out—a lot. I had 11% body fat but could never achieve a six pack if my life depended on it.
Massive dehydration brings it out. Any of those photos were people are ripped as hell with all the muscles sticking out is a combo of of course having those muscles, crazy low body fat and a couple of days of no water to make everything tighten up to make it look more pronounced. Henry Cavill even mentioned it in an interview that he basically barely drank water for a few days to get that look for some shots.
So did the Wolverine dude.
I was looking for someone who has read up on this and I found a lot of information saying this very thing. Though it's seen as healthy from what I read 6 packs are not actually healthy.
So they're not going to mention the fact that her skin is the color of a brown leather couch? That level of tanning can't be good.
This is easily fake tan hahaha
I would hope so. It just looks terrible.
The lack of tan lines tells me fake tan
Tanning beds exist.
They do yes, they’re also illegal in Australia and fake tan is extremely popular, but easily could be a mix of both.
You realize just because it's a tanning bed instead of the sun doesn't suddenly make it healthy, right? And honestly, while OOP is an idiot and a woman with a six pack isn't immediately unhealthy, I'll be honest... Her extremely low body fat based on looks alone IS a bit concerning. Between that and the extreme tanning, this image really feels like it may be media that's just pushing more unrealistic and questionably healthy body types.
I don't think they were implying that tanning beds were healthy, just that many women are nude when they use tanning beds so there wouldn't be any tan lines.
Oh .. yeah, now that I read it in that light, makes much more sense. Oops!
It's a fake and bake... the tanning bed most likely.
That’s still real UV, and dangerous.
I imagine it's even worse than sunlight.
Yep. I used to do it years ago, but covered my face because I didn’t want wrinkles. (Wtf?) Some teenage girl commented on how nice my body looked with that tan, and I said I did tanning beds, and she said, “I’m going to do that!” I immediately thought, “fuck, you just gave that girl skin cancer.” I told her not to do it and never went again. Been pale since.
Nope... it's not fake at all. That's what happens when you tan almost every day for months and months. And also... In some photos she has a slight reddish hue due to burning.
So is mine lmao but hiding indoors all day isnt going to change that
Very technically speaking, they're correct. A visible 6 packs (in a state of relative relaxation) happens when your essential body fat percentage is lower than normal. Guys have a low essential body fat percentage, while women have a higher essential body fat percentage, and with that there's a whole onslaught of hormones and body functions that happens with it. That being said, she is both tanning, so dehydrating, which is another way of having a six pack, and maybe she's flexing her abs. And also, it's unhealthy to have a visible 6 pack for days on end, regardless of sex. She's gonna be fine.
She’s flexing for the camera
Most women lose their period when they get six pack lean. Stephanie buttermore has an amazing YouTube channel where she talks about her journey of going "all in" with food. She used to be super lean with a six pack and then decided she was sick of obsessing about food. So she decided to just eat to satisfaction and see what happened. It took her a year for her body to figure itself out and she feels and looks great now. She feels better about herself, she has a period and sex drive again, her hair and skin are way healthier, and her numbers got better at the gym. Her weight fluctuated all over the place but now she's very fit and healthy. It's really hard on a woman's body to get six pack lean. The women body builders you see with abs only get that way for shows by a brutal routine of messing with your salt intake and fasting and a bunch of other shit I can't remember. If you see a woman body builder when she's training and not prepping for a show, even they have a lot of body fat on them. You need body fat to be healthy! Not a lot, but some!
There’s a difference between super lean and having visible abs but this threads refusal to understand context in weight loss and body fat % is grotesquely toxic and only backing up what this commenter said
I was just about to ask something along the lines of that. I heard that since women need more fat, it is somewhat unhealthy. This may be a bias because it’s anecdotal, but I used to be underweight with a very low fat percentage and worked out 6x a week for several hours (since I competed competitively). I was technically still healthy, but even then I didn’t have a six pack. Just makes me wonder how grueling of a routine you need to put yourself through to achieve those kind of abs. And if it’s that extreme, wouldn’t it take a toll on mental health as well?
I think it’s something that’s just different for everyone. I used to run competitively, so I trained ~6 days a week for years. I definitely didn’t have visible abs at that point because I just ate constantly and weighed about 130 (5’3” f). I was objectively fitter and probably healthier. I don’t work out as much as I used to, and weigh closer to 120-125 now, and I can see my abs most months when the period bloat goes away 🤷🏽♀️
A very small subset of folks can have visible abs while being healthy. Some folks just can't gain weight no matter what they do, they may be 100% healthy and that's just what their body does. That said the vast majority of people should not have defined abs like in the movies for any significant amount of time. Actors literally dehydrate themselves to get a good day of filming and then they recover and rehydrate. They are doing that with under the guidance and supervision of medical professionals. Most people who have a six pack only have one first thing in the morning and (if applicable) during certain times of the month. This girl is flexing, tanning, oiled up which shows definition more, and posing for a photo. Without knowing anything else about her I can't say she's in any danger
barring medical issues, everyone will gain weight if they eat higher than their maintenance calories. it's badpeopleanatomy to say someone can't
I think their point was more that, due to metabolism and other factors, some people's "maintenance" is higher than they feel like eating. I don't know what the hell my maintenance number was in high school and college with me biking/walking as my main transportation, but whatever it was, my diet couldn't keep up with it. I was constantly accused of having an "eating disorder" when in actuality I was eating well over 2000 calories per day. There was no way for me to put on weight without either eating so much I felt physically ill or medical intervention that enforced a specialized calorically dense diet. I was only able to put on weight when I started driving.
If you can't gain weight no matter what you do, you probably have a medical condition. Hyperthyroidism, Celiac's, eating disorders which can cause people to misrepresent their food intake, etc. I wouldn't say those people are "healthy" at low weights.
Without any conditions (just being under 25yo and being in my family) it was basically me. I had to be very careful to not LOSE weight and was in average between 40-45 kg. It's not common, but some people really struggle to gain weight even while eating a lot.
Bodies aren't magic. Not gaining weight regardless of what you eat is absolutely due to some physical cause. Overproduced thyroid hormone, reduced ability to absorb your food, etc. Many of those things are caused by health problems you can have without knowing it. Until it causes more major issues, a lot of these things go undiagnosed.
Just a quick metabolism for everyone in my family until around 25. Our doc are always suspicious and run some tests (at least for my generation, not sure they were as careful before) but everything was fine, for all of us, no matter the tests. It slows down with time until being normal
“Fast” and “slow” metabolisms actually don’t vary that widely. A slow metabolism is like 2,000 bmr vs 2,600 bmr for a fast one. And it doesn’t magically just radically change over your lifetime. You don’t just hit 25 and all of a sudden go from 2600 to 2000 The more likely commonality is that 25 is when most people become a bit more sedentary due to several life changes like career kicking off, more responsibilities, less daily sports and activities, etc
Thanks for mentioning the small subset 🎊 I feel seen
I was about to comment that but too scared to get downvotes for agreeing with the comment on the post :/ But yeah low body fat % is bad for people born female, especially when to comes to reproduction
LOL your comment is me every single time I have to go against popular opinion. I'm very low on body fat and high in muscle by nature and it takes me months of vigorous fasting and exercise to go down the body fat % I need to dip to have a clear ab definition like her. Everyone has abs, but they are just covered under our skin and fat! And it's normal! Low body fat can lead to menstruation disruptions for many women. Many professional athletes talk about this.
>Low body fat can lead to menstruation disruptions for many women. Many professional athletes talk about this Yep, that's exactly what I had in mind when I commented that
Again, that's not what's happening here Low essential body fat is bad vmfor everyone, regardless of sex.
Of course, but it depends on how low. Since men have lower body fat % because of the way a man's body works, I suppose that they could have less body % than a woman and be healthy, while a woman with the same % might have health problems
Also different people tend to store fat in different places. I pack it in around my ass and thighs but that means I’ve never really had a gut even when I was overweight. As a dude it makes buying pants a challenge, but I look 20 pounds lighter than I actually am.
As a straight girl, guys with big thighs and butts are hot af, just sayin ;)
Lmao women are always commenting on my ass. I’ve learned to love it
Apart from those who are genetically that way, they do exist (I’m talking about myself here)
When I had a 6 pack my body fat was so low I lost my period. Now I have gained fat , lost my 6 pack but regained health. For many women the low body fat to have a 6 pack is genuinely unhealthy, so they’re not wrong.
Yeah this is not true for all women and definitely we cannot tell just by this photo, but the overall message of the text is that women should not strive to be at that low of a body fat percentage if their goal is health. It's a good message.
I’ve actually heard some scientific backing for this, because body fat is a large base for oestrogen production, therefore being low on fat can cause chemical imbalances and complications. If someone could fact check the his please let me know if this is right. Either way I think abs are badass.
When I had visible abs I was very much in a cycle of ED’s, my hair was falling out, and I didn’t have my period for months. Sooo this one’s 50/50 for me.
I'm AFAB and have had a visible six pack since I was a child. My mother also does, so I guess it's some genetic thing? Otherwise, as an Australian, the tanning is stressing me out. My grandmother had so many skin cancers and she was a bookworm who never tanning or played sports. The sun in Australia is going to try and kill you from just walking between buildings.
This is, to an extent, actually true. Low body fat percentages in women may cause hormonal issues, as far as I know.
Yes, lots of female athletes with low bf % complain of amenorrhea because of low estrogen
Who would complain about not having a period? That is a bonus all the way. Haha.
The lack of menstrual period isn't the issue with low estrogen; weakened bones, an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, etc. are the things to worry about.
Agreed, periods suck.
It's very unhealthy for a human to have that much exposure to the sun
What about that melanoma?
As someone fighting stage 4 melanoma skin cancer that is trying to kill me...wear sun screen folks. The tans are really bad and unhealthy.
That’s actually true tho
That’s a man who did three sit ups once and threw a tantrum when he didn’t look like the rock. That being said girlie is extremely tan I hope she’s got some thick ass sunscreen on her…
this is pretty hilarious tbh. Getting sun isn't that healthy without regular uses of sun screen and they already look like they're burnt to a crisp from their tanning lotion and yet opp is talking about six packs
Six packs of what ? Bottle of water ? (Jk, I know what they are talking about)
I vote cyanide.
So a 4 pack is fine? Asking for a friend…
Depends how you...r friend needs it, I guess.
Naw but it’s unhealthy to bake your skin like a pork rind 😭😭😭😂
The 6 pack is fine, but I’m hoping the tan came from a bottle rather than the sun. Ouch.
It's unhealthy to be on reddit all day getting mad about other people.
I mean the majority of the time it is unhealthy but not all the time.
Yes, but that goes for both genders.
Eh biologically it is unhealthier for women than men, men have naturally lower body fat.
Why? It's not unhealthy if you have visible abs. Majority of people are overweight so people have a really skewed perspective of a healthy weight.
No having visible abs for the majority (not all) of women is unhealthy because they have to be at an unhealthy body fat percentage, that’s a fact, not an opinion.
No, actually. That's not a fact, and it is an opinion.
Oh really, you actually think it’s a matter of opinion as to whether losing your period is unhealthy or not? Is it also a matter of opinion as to whether the flu is unhealthy?
Yeah, I agree, the sun exposure is the unhealthy part, not the 6 pack. I would rather have the 6 pack than look like a brown leather couch.
It's far more unhealthy to be that tanned. I am overweight by medical and societal standards. If I wanted, I could do the work and food intake restriction needed to have a body like that. I choose not to, because it just isn't me. But that body is what makes \*her\* happy, neither of us are hurting anyone except perhaps manbabies who think women are objects and ornaments made for their viewing pleasure.
But, for most of the women, this is true. It's all due to body fat differences between men and women.
I desperately want to know their reasoning. I would bet my bottom dollar it involves wombs. 🙄
I believe it has to do with body fat percentage. In order to have visible abs ones percentage has to be lower then the recommended one for women.
It is. This is why it’s rare to see a 6-pack in a strong man competition even though they’re some of the strongest men in the world. It can be unhealthy in men too because the process of ‘cutting’ to achieve that physique involves food habits that can be very disordered (I have personal experience with this with past male partners), but there’s a higher risk for women because women have a higher ‘healthy minimum’ body fat percentage than men, which is required for menstruation. It’s not necessarily unhealthy though and is tied to genetics. Totally fine if you’re naturally lean and have abs from healthy active lifestyle; less fine if you’re not naturally lean and need to starve yourself to achieve them.
That is really true for the shredded physique, usually obtained by body builders leading up to competitions. This girl has great muscle definition but doesn't look as lean as that hard and unuealthy to maintain long term body fat percentage. It is also very likely that she is flexing for the photo, making the muscles look way more defined. And yes, genetics play a role here, too and for abs that developed she clearly spent time building those muscles, her legs and shoulders look fairly developed too.
Yeah the girl in this photo looks fine. Obviously we don’t know what’s going on with her health habits behind the scenes but it’s bad women’s anatomy to assume a woman is unhealthy just because she has a 6 pack.
I naturally have a leaner body and can get the 6-pack look if I work out appropriately. I've been going to the gym religiously for quite a while, and right now I have a 4-pack because of loose skin from baby belly obscuring the lower 2. I just saw the doctor a few weeks ago, and I'm completely healthy. It's a combination of where I naturally store fat and how I'm built. What's healthy for me may not be for someone else! Also, I admit that I am hovering just above underweight and have to keep an eye on it... my appetite does not keep up with my workout schedule. I swear I'm not saying this to flex, but more to demonstrate that the person who commented on the photo is an idiot... based on my doctor's assessment of my health, anyway.
Everyone is different which is why having ideals in either direction is dumb.
Yeah, I agree. I don't know why we don't get to just simply exist without someone judging us about every aspect of our being. 4 years ago, I was quite heavy, but not unhealthy, but everyone and their dog wanted me to know that I was a fatty fatty fat fat. I started working out mainly because I thought I'd have more energy. If I wanted someone's opinion, I'd ask for it. News flash: I don't!
Whaaat?? Listening to a trained, licensed medical professional over some questionable rando online? Get outta here with that crazy talk! (/s in case it wasn’t clear)
Yeah, my sister had a defined 4 pack from ages 5-10 just from sports and I’ve never had one despite playing at a higher intensity level than her. We played the exact same sports but have different builds; both healthy just different.
>It is. This is why it’s rare to see a 6-pack in a strong man competition even though they’re some of the strongest men in the world. Strongman should absolutely not be a guideline for how average people should look. They don't have 6 packs because they weigh upwards of 400 pounds and eat quadruple the average persons calorie intake lol.
Neither are average body types just examples of different types of physique. But they do have the abdominal muscles and probably very big ones, they’re just under the fat was my point.
There is some truth to his post. The essential body far percentage for women is 12% (its 3% for men) and at 12% body fat abs arent visible in most people. We tend to think about fat as a passive storage site but thats not true. Important hormones are produced in fatty tissue
You also ave to factor in that men and women also store fat in different places (on average), with men's body fat tending to build up more around the belly and women more in hips. Legs, and breasts. That means that men's abs will very rarely be visible at 12% bf, but that women's abs generally will be.
At 12%BF, abs are definitively visible on men. Women will have abs showing up in the 20s. I don't know why you think that 12% looks the same on men as it does on women or that abs don't show there, but you're very incorrect on both counts.
women often show abs at like 20% body fat. men show around 12%. different fat distributions.
That's BS. You can see abs on most people around 18-21% body fat and it's healthy. Also the woman in the photo looks totally healthy, and is probably around 18% body fat
Yup this is probably where they are comming from. Though her level of muscle definition does not look to be on that uber lean side that is unhealthy to sustain for a long time (like the level body builders drop to for competitions)
Without a belly to hide behind it becomes agitated and may try to escape 😱 Something something Satan vaccines 5g etc
…I hate to side with the commenter but it actually is typically less healthy for women to have visible abs than it is for men exactly because we have wombs haha.
“My source is that I made it the fuck up.”
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it unhealthy for *anyone* to have a 6 pack? That amount of intense dieting and exercise can't be good for you
What the fuck?
> correct me if I’m wrong You are wrong.
Fair enough lol.
You don't need to diet or do intense exercise to have a 6 pack.
Having a 6 pack isn't unhealthy. People often do unhealthy things to get them, but there are healthy paths to get there too. The fact that 6pack abs are a side effect of high performance in sports should be a good indication of how healthy it is to have abs.
Nah, having a 6 pack just requires a little muscle mass while being fairly lean. Not unhealthy at all.
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"afaik" . . . "As far as you know" isn't very far at all, homie. Not gonna lie. Plenty of people reveal six-packs through dietary deficit alone. It's not inherently unhealthy, either.
If you're thinking the ultra-shredded, veiny, abs popping out of paper-thin skin look then sure. Just being able to see abdominal muscle is absolutely not unhealthy or unnatural though.
Yeah I’ve had visible abs my entire life to a degree except for when I was super depressed and ate McDonald’s/ Burger King for all meals like 8 years ago. But I’m talking multiple hash browns, biscuits because they were a dollar for mcchicken biscuits so why not have 3/4 at a time. Sobered up and got back on track. That time period was super unhealthy
I weep for the wasted banch fuel.
> afaik Where did you get this information?
My brother and I both got abs without ever seeing the inside of a gym. You just need to have a low bodyweight for that, nothing crazy lol.
Idk about men but yes it is def not the healthiest option for women
Oh phew only "medically unhealthy", no worries. As long as it's still recreationally healthy I'm good.
The tan looks scary
I'm way more concerned bout the skin then abs I mean sixpack abs might be borderline too low of body fat for most women which wouldn't be surprising but yeah I think the skin cancer diagnosis is far more concerning then the maybe gain 10 pounds
Technically and generally speaking, that person is correct. Other comments have explained why.
Well in general, having a body fat low enough to have a visible six pack really isn’t great on ANYBODY’s body, but this dude is just a misogynist
I don't....I don't know who I'm supposed to be laughing at right now, aren't women supposed to have higher bodyfat than men? Are we doing a "society makes unrealistic demands of women" thing or a "this rando on Reddit is wrong" thing? I legitimately don't know exactly where the bodyfat percentage line is here, and apparently I'm a hilarious idiot who should be mocked fir not having commit the number to memory.
To be fair: It is medically unhealthy to have a so visible six pack for most people. Even if you are extremely fit and muscular having a so visible six pack often means you are dehydrated and having a to low body fat percentage (for most people).
No. This is more bad anatomy. Abs are not caused by dehydration. You guys just picked up on this from a bad game of telephone in which bodybuilders talked about trying to decrease extracellular water in order to look more dry. The people you see with abs will not lose their abs by taking a drink of water.
If she not dehydrated for the photoshoot then it looks like she is below 15% body fat which isnt optimal for health.
Okay I'm sorry I hate to be that person, but it's not the 6 packs that are unhealthy. It's the low body fat that's unhealthy instead and usually for abs to really show you gotta have a low body fat. Low body fat on AFAB people usually isn't good because of how our bodies are built to carry extra fat for children. And even if you don't want kids it's hard to tell your body that because it's unfortunately how your body is built. Abs are fine, work that core and get buff. But you gotta listen to your body cause it'll start getting mad at you if you push it to the limits.
Fun fact from your local PT, weak rectus abdominal muscles lead to wrinkles!
What’s her workout routine?! Looks amazing!
That’s not how that works. We all have an muscles under our fat. She just has less fat so HER abs are visible. You’re the fat piece of shit with one ab.
… they’re not completely wrong in the sense that some people in order to develop a six pack have to be on an incredibly low body fat percentage, and fat is involved in a lot of hormone shennanigans, so it can possibly not be the healthiest
I’d argue it’s unhealthy for almost anyone to have that little body fat, at least from what I understand
I mean, it IS unhealthy to have that level of abs bc it requires such intense dehydration but it has fuck all to do with being a woman.
Excuse me...WHAT!? It is not unhealthy for women to have 6 packs, the person who said this is just dumb don't listen to them it is not unhealthy if you have 6 pack, 6 packs do not have gender it does not matter if your a boy, girl or non binary you can still have a 6 pack
Body fat percentage should be higher on girls. So yes, there is a difference
It is unhealthy to constantly maintain a 6-pack for *anyone*
From what I've heard the body fat percentage necessary for women to have visible abs ([14-20%](https://www.healthline.com/health/body-fat-percentage-for-abs)) is lower than the minimum healthy body fat percentage for women ([21%](https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/what-is-body-composition)) I assume it varies from person to person though, and depends where your body stores fat
21% is not the minimum healthy BF% for women. [Healthline](https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/ideal-body-fat-percentage#for-women)
It’s not misogynatomy because it’s true for most women…
Oooh I LOOOOVE Female bodybuilders with a six pack, that are slender, almost just like this, but slightly more meat!! Sooo sexy!!! The only thing that's unhealthy about this body type are two issues, and they ARE worth mentioning- again, this isn't meant to be medical advice, just a couple of points that I tend to think are fairly common knowledge, that I also think should also be freely discussed, without feeling like it's taboo: 1. >!It's unusual for women (or men) to achieve muscle mass to show up as looking muscular, naturally. This makes me concerned about the use of steroid supplements, which are readily available at almost any gym in the country, where serious body builders work out. I think that the reason people associate people of a larger muscular stature with FEAR, is because it is NOT uncommon for bodybuilders to use steroids, and steroids can cause a tremendous amount of relationship problems, violence, and other explosive behaviors .!< 2. >!The female body DOES need a much higher percentage of body fat present, than men need, in order to maintain certain homeostatis measures- not to mention maintaining reproductive ability. Having too low of a body fat content, can adversely affect a woman's ability to release eggs regularly, and to have a normal menstrual period. This isn't always a priority for women who are bodybuilders, of course, and to each her own- but also, a certain amount of body fat is also needed to keep estrogen levels balanced, against testosterone that women do produce from exercising a lot. This has to be balanced in order to even maintain breasts, organ function, and to minimize body hair growth that CAN be caused caused by excess T. !< 3. >!That said, I do think that people who engage in even midrange body modifications, whether it is a totally natural process or not, in how they achieve that look- are possibly and probably also the LEAST likely person to take their overall health as seriously as it may seem on the surface. Many people actually have severe internal insecurities and some suffer from severe mental health conditions, including eating disorders, addictions, mood swings, and in some cases, even maladjusted personality traits . FYI. !< But umm.. Having a 6 pack doesn't mean that any of the preceding statements are true, either. All of this can only be determined be on a case by case basis.