Snooki Defends 50-Pound Weight Loss, Saying 'I Don't Look Emaciated, I Look Healthy!': Is A 96-Pound Body Healthy?
![Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/255826/nicole-snooki-polizzi.jpg?w=225&f=13b5da142c1127dd7a79a93b65d4bedc)
Reality TV star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi recently unveiled her dramatic 50-lb. weight loss to a horde of critics concerned about her health risks. At 4-foot-9-inches and 96 lbs., does the former Jersey Shore party girl have something to worry about?
According to Rush University Medical Center, Polizzi is at her ideal weight or even a couple of pounds over. A chart used to help people calculate their body mass index (BMI) shows that the ideal weight for a female at Polizzi's height is between 77 and 94 lbs.
Polizzi, who was recently picked as a contestant for season 17 of Dancing With the Stars, was not too pleased with the scrutiny that she received from critics. "People are jerks,” she told In Touch. “I don't look emaciated — I look healthy!"
Weighing 146 lbs. during the taping of MTV’s Jersey Shore, Polizzi credits reaching her weight loss goal to strength and cardio training with her own personal trainer. Her new life as a mother has also made a difference. “I hate drinking now. I’d rather be with my son!” she said.
Polizzi initially fired back at critics when an Instagram picture of herself, toned and flexing, was accompanied by the caption “Too skinny my a** *FIT.”
"My arms still jiggle when I wave! I'm 4-foot-9, which is the size of a third grader, so weighing 96 pounds is normal for me,” she told In Touch. "People ask me why I'm still working out — I'll gain the weight back if I don't."