who was the idiot who said that size12/14 was 'chubby'?

[mrsfuzzy]

spitting feathers over an article i read yesterday in the newspaper about this subject. it's common knowledge that the average size is 16 and over in this country so how would that make a lot of women feel? does it really matter what your size? also why the emphasis on women why not men? many of them carry weight, noone seems to say anything about it. we all come in various shapes, sizes and colours and everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way be it inside or out. media should stop giving us these so called ideals and let us decide for ourselves how we wish to look.

LRD maybe not but there must be at least a small range otherwise you could label something as a size 6 when it would hang off the ass of an elephant. It doesn't matter if most people are wearing a 16, they're still overweight. It's not as though the lines on a BMI chart have shifted to accommodate statistics.

sigh so many posts since I last read one that I've repeated what loads of others have said, sorry.

I think the idea that everyone is unique (well maybe technically true) and beautiful is a bit silly tbh. Most people are not beautiful. Most people (me included) are pretty ordinary looking. And that is, and should be, absolutely fine. I don't need or want to be patronised by being told I'm 'beautiful' in my own speshul way :)

I'd definitely feel chubby at 14 and I'm 5.65 in height.
I don't think it's helpful the media talking about sizes per se, because of different heights etc but there's also no point in ignoring the fact that so many people are carrying extra weight have bad diets and it's just not good for their health. Are we just supposed to stick our heads in the sand about the whole thing?

I'm 5'4" and when I reach size 14 I'm chubby. It depends on your frame.

Most of us have lost sight of what 'normal' should look like. Most of us are fat. Average does not equal healthy/normal.

We in an obesity epidemic, it is a health crisis. We are killing ourselves and our children with too much food.

I would suggest a size 16 is not healthy on any women shorter than 6'2".

But you have to divide the 'health' issue from the 'beauty' issue. Yes, there is too much focus on what people look like.

I'm an unhealthy size 18 BTW not a skinny minny who doesn't understand why people get fat.

Can't believe I'm joining this debate, especially when so much of it is 'if I were a 12 I'd be fat'

I am 5'7. I was a 16 until very recently and am now a 14. I need to lose another stone to be a comfortable 12. Then I would be the perfect BMI for my height.

At a 16, I am overweight and 'chubby'. The issue is that 'chubby' has such negative connotations and it's unnecessary.

I imagine most 16s are overweight and that is probably something that needs to be addressed.

However if we could talk about it in terms of health and lifestyle instead of bitchy articles wrapped up in self esteem and appearance, things would be a lot easier to solve.

Xpost merlot - you are a wise woman

I'm 5'4 and 12-14. I'm not sure I'm chubby but I am broad and always have been. Even when I was anorexic I couldn't get any smaller than a size 10 and I looked positively ill - like Cartman said "I'm not fat I'm big boned!" Seriously, I hated that I couldn't get any smaller than a size 10, it wasn't for want of trying, but I accept now that women come in all shapes and a size is not necessarily a reflection on how much excess fat someone carries or or how healthy someone is, which is actually what matters, rather than conforming to the media's obsession with unnaturally small sizes.

Oh what bullshit. I'm a size 14, am pretty short ie five foot three, and I look fucking awesome.

Chubby - my arse!

I'm 5 11" and a 14 would mean I was definitely chubby (definitely in the overweight maybe even in the obese category on the BMI chart)

I'm 5'10" and am decidedly chubby at a size 14, am currently a size 12 and still bigger than I would like to be (as in I have too much body fat not as in I have an unrealistic view of my size).

I'm 5'5 and a 14, I think I am chubby, I would prefer to be a 12.

It's just a good job I'm a total babe

Sizes are so random though. I can be an 8/10 in Next and a 16 in H&M. I am 5'4" and have been a size 12 when weighing 8st 9 and a size 12 when weighing 10st. My body shape just doesn't change enough to go down dress sizes.

I'm 5.5 and at a size 14 I would have a very fat tummy & large bum. Size 12, still a big wobbly tummy. I need to be an 8/10 to feel healthy (and I definitely still have curves at that point). On someone of a similar height with a different frame, size 8/10 might be gaunt and scrawny looking but a 12 or 14 could be perfectly healthy without big areas of fat.

It depends on the person.

Morris you can look awesome and be chubby but you are, by your own admission chubby and to SOME people, that would rule you out of looking good which is an entirely subjective issue. Healthy weight is a different issue and the fact that the average size is a 16 just means that the average woman is overweight and that is not a good thing. I am 5.1 and have just spent 6 months getting from a 16-12. Am pretty pleased but still need to lose another stone to get safely into the healthy BMI and give me some leeway for Xmas.

I agree Graciescotland

I am 5 10" and a 14 would mean I was definitely chubby too.

I don't live in the UK now but I do notice than whereas once a European 38 was the same as a UK 12. Now I would say a UK 12 is often closer to a Euro 40. Vanity sizing in the UK is on the increase I think so 12/14 is perhaps nearer to 14/16 in many shops.

I'm 5'2" and sometimes feel chubby in a 10....

I'm 5ft 3 on a tall day and at size 12/14 I would definitely be chubby.

A size 16 would make me obese.

I am 5' 8" and feel fat when size 14. Size 16 is deffo chubby.

I'm 5ft 6in and would feel fat if I were a size 14 (I have been) and would definitely be over my healthy bmi. I have a small build and carry extra weight very badly/look fat quickly. It does definitely depend on the person and more than just height - build too.