Hey guys, I already posted about this once but I didn't get a lot of responses and it's a topic I think a lot of people would have dealt with.

Anyway, here goes. I know a lot of you guys probably grew up skinny and gained weight as you got older, then tried to lose.

I however have always been overweight - I was fairly normal sized till about 8 and then I steadily grew overweight as I grew older until about age 15 - I'm now 17 and on the higher end of the "acceptable' bmi range.

So, the question is: If you are severely overweight during key growing times (like puberty), does that affect the way your body grows or the way your body stores fat? I have friends who are my height exactly and weigh somewhere around 7-10 lbs. less and yet, they look 20 or even 25 lbs. lighter than me.

I'm kind of worried that since I was overweight for so long, maybe my body "grew" to fit an overweight person and there'll be some kind of limit to my weight loss.

Does anyone have any info on this? Medical or just anecdotal? Especially from people who were overweight when their bodies were growing.

I just figured I'd give an example to kind of help describe my problem here - take my face for example - while I no longer have a double chin or excess fat, my face is still very round. It almost seems like my body was "compressed" more than I lost weight - any help is greatly appreciated, even if you're just guessing!

I don't really have a definitive, scientific answer to your question, but my non-scientific answer is: I highly doubt it.

And I really wouldn't stress about it too much. You're still really young. Your facial physiognomy may well still change. You may also just have a naturally round face.

I particularly wouldn't worry as your post implies that you are not excessively overweight - if you are still in the 'acceptable' BMI range (whatever that is), then you really aren't all that badly off, relatively speaking.
Although you don't mention how much you used to weigh,and how much you have lost.

Also, one possible reason that your friends look so much lighter than you is that they may well have a lower body fat percentage than you do. If you take two people, the same height and weight, and one has, say 15% body fat and the other has 25%, do you think they are going to look the same? No, of course not.
If you lost a lot of weight quickly, and didn't exercise a lot to maintain your muscle, then you may well have a fairly high body fat %.

Without knowing more details about you, I can't speculate further.

But, in general, if you want to look better, start working out.

Pretty much what Cord said.

I'll also say this although it might not be something you want to hear as a 17 year old guy ...

At 17, it's possible that you're still carrying around some "baby fat" for want of a better phrase for it. My brother is 6'2" and was always in great shape (he was the athlete of the family) but until he was in his late 20s he had round cheeks and a bit of a "baby face". It was shortly before his 30th b-day that his face leaned out and revealed his cheekbones.

Like Cord said, work out - lift weights, focus on a healthy diet with balanced nutrients.

I agree with the responses above. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

You will keep changing physically until you're at least in your 20s. I'm 24 and since I was 17 a lot has changed: my complexion got worse, and then better, my cheekbones became more pronounced, my excess weight distribution changed (thighs now instead of stomach)... things will be changing for you pretty dramatically for at least another ten years. You are young enough that the natural elasticity in your skin should take care of any excesses as well, should you have any as a result of weight loss.

The only other angle to your question that might be worth asking is related to muscle memory - but even that you don't need to worry about until you're in your late twenties or early thirties. If you get started with weights now, you will have a fantastic muscle memory, and that is something your body can actually go back to whenever you are away from lifting for a while, and then get back to it. My trainer mentioned it to me once, I don't know a lot about, but it might be worth researching if you're interested in that kind of thing.

Hey, thanks for all the help guys! Especially people who had "real-life" experience. Point of interest: while I was doing some internet research, I came across some info about the number of fat cells in one's body - apparently, it gets "set in stone" at around age 20, so it seems to me like I'm good on the whole "irreversible changes" bit - I kind of doubt that information helps many other people on the forums, but if it does, glad to help!

hey, everyone is shaped different... pear shapes, apple, coke bottle/hour glass, whatever. Faces are oval, round, heartshaped, etc.


it may just be genetics.

I know for me.... i have little boobs, big hips, tiny waist and weigh 125 ish. My one friend has a big belly, little hips, little chest... weighs 125
my other friend is tiny ALL OVER and weighs 130.


its all in where you carry it too!!!