Am I "tiny"?

[Lollysoup]

I'm not. I've always thiigh of mysefl as a normal healthy build. In a world where a majority are over weight , I'm not that, but I don't think I'm exceptionally thin either.

I've just been for my NHS health check. A bit of a waste of time really, but I hadn't had my cholesterol checked for a while, so I went when I was invited.

I was weight and measured. 5'7", 10st1 in my clothes and 75cm waist. At both my weight and my waist the HCA explained "ooh you're tiny".

Yes height and build can make a difference. I'm.less than 5ft. My bmi is 21 but I look pretty stocky, not really slim

Whilst I was having gynae surgery, (under local) my private gynae told me I was 'slight'. 5ft6 and 10stone. I was delighted!

My parents always said I was like a baby elephant.

It def depends on your build/shape..Everyone thinks I'm very slim. BMI 22.2. All my weight though is on my bum and thighs and I usually dress to hide it (Skater type tops/dresses etc). So I look slimmer than I am. As I'm a barely an 8 top but a large 10 bottom.

I'm 5'4" and until 3 years ago weighed 8st 12lbs, which I was comfortable with.
I now weigh 7st 2lbs (due to illness) which is too thin, I've lost a lot of muscle.
However because I'm in my 60's I don't look tiny as my body shape is v. different to a young person. I am bony though.

I don't think weight is the best measurement for health.
I think you are probably well toned op as well as slim.

It's not tiny. Just a normal healthy weight and size in a sea of fat people like me.

How is a bmi of 22 tiny?!

I wouldn't say tiny. Healthy but not tiny.

It's not tiny but a nice weight. I'm the same height and would like to lose another stone to be about ten and a half stone.

It's much leaner than most people though.

@Lollysoupyou are perfectly healthy a good weight for your height and your cholesterol is good. Great things to be able to say at any age so well done.

You’re so right though the majority of people are overweight if not obese nowadays so you might seem tiny in comparison. I was fuming when some teacher at my kids school called her skinny in year 3 as in a poor you doesn’t your mum feed you kind of way in partners evening (teacher herself super morbidly obese) Luckily her other teacher immediately acted before even I could and said she’s fit and strong, children are not supposed to be fat. She’s right but no one is allowed to say things like that anymore.

I get this a lot as well, OP. Always being told I’m tiny even though I’m a completely healthy, average build for my height. I think there are so many overweight people these days that anyone not carrying extra weight is now considered “tiny” when in actual fact we’re just “normal” sized.

I am the same height as you, and was around that weight for most of my adult life. I’m now obese and I’m losing weight on Mounjaro. That is the weight I’m aiming for — 10 stone. I think being overweight and obese has become so normalized that people who are a healthy weight are perceived as ‘skinny’ or tiny, to use your words.

I’m 5/7 and 10-7 so you are less then half a stone lighter then me

I’m def not tiny

It’s laughable that a waist measurement of around 30 inches would be considered “tiny”. Mine was 24 before the dreaded menopause kicked in and stole it.

I think it's an NHS thing. I'm 5'8" and BMI of 22. Some years ago, I had a series of operations and clinic appointments to rebuild a broken limb. I was slightly bemused by the repeated comments about how slim I was, not just from nursing staff, but also in a technical medical context from my consultant when discussing how the wires in my arm would behave. I was certainly not "floating along on it for weeks", as a pp rudely suggested to OP. I get similar comments now, at appointments at which I am helped with a long term, managed condition.

I am most definitely not "tiny" - I have a medium frame and a few decades ago, I would probably have been rather larger than average. My take on it is that the average BMI is now quite high, so even a "middle of normal" normal BMI is slightly unusual. Also, medical carers usually make pleasant small talk, and assume that women will like to hear that they are perceived as slim (some of us really don't care). Finally, and I really don't care if I get flamed for this, hospitals in my experience tend to have staff and patients who are, on average, overweight, so weight is more "on the radar" than it is in other settings.

I think this. She is used to people being referred to her who need support and advice re. Weight and cholesterol so maybe she was surprised.

I'm 5'7 as well OP and now in my fifties.

As a young woman (17-18) I remember stepping on the scales and being pretty much bang on 10stone. I was a size 14 although sometimes I needed a 16 on top as I had a large bust, small hips and medium waist. This was a problem as most clothes only went to size 14 (for younger people, sure M&S etc had bigger sizes) and I remember always feeling huge in River Island and the likes.

Nowadays if I weighted 10 stone I'd be celebrating. Sadly I am currently trying to lose weight and my bmi is about 35 (down from almost 40 mind).

I think it is a sign of our times. Back in the eighties you would have been 'normal' sized and tall for a woman. With woman getting taller nowadays I feel more average in height and although I am overweight for sure I see people bigger than me quite regularly.

Congrats on maintaining a healthy weight thought. I sadly have used food for emotional issues and it's something I'm trying to fix.

While not tiny, it is on the small side for a woman of 55 like the OP. As you correctly say, menopause tends to increase waist size dramatically.

I was 9st 4 before I had DC and I'm taller than you OP. This was 20 years ago and BMI wasn't talked about much then. It was mentioned to me I could be a lot heavier and be within a healthy weight range. I don't own scales, so I'm not sure what my weight is. Definitely more than 10st.

I’m 5ft 6
weigh 8- 10. - 9stone
Am I tiny I don’t think so
my waist definitely is tiny but ever when I was bigger I always had a defined waist and flat stomach but my hips are still big so I look healthy /

i would say I am a large 8 / small 10

edit just measured my waist and it’s 26 inche

You have to bear in mind that 60% of the population is overweight or obese and 25% of nurses are obese. These things are relative.

True, but, according to a quick Google, that figure for NHS staff seems to be based on a study carried out from 2008- 2012. I would be very surprised if that has not changed, given that obesity in general has increased significantly since that time. My observation was based on my ( non- scientific) perception that, over the course of numerous visits to local hospitals in the past few years, I see a significantly higher proportion of obviously overweight people than I do in non-clinical settings. The point is that being a healthy weight is on my view more remark- worthy in healthcare settings, than elsewhere.

You're not tiny, you're a perfectly normal, healthy weight and size for your height.

The nurse figure was from 2017, I don’t know the figure for NHS staff in general. But I was agreeing with you that there are a significant amount of overweight people in hospitals among staff as well as patients, so it may seem more noteworthy.

I remember having a scan once and a doctor remarked “at least you’re thin”. Which I thought was odd and then I realised they must be used to scanning overweight people which may bring additional difficulties.

I think that’s not an unusual thing to say at a scan, and considering the parents height and build (not weight). It’s meant to be giving context and reassuring.

The HCP comments to OP were unprofessional and not the same at all.