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.

I'm 5'6 and size 12/14 and most definitely chubby.

I think also for me, the reason I keep an eye on my weight and take action if I start to get a bit chubby, is because largely overweight/obese people tend to say that their weight just sort of 'crept up on them'.

I've read time and again people saying that they didn't just 'wake up fat' one day...it was a gradual thing and that they wish they'd kept on top of it much earlier.

In the past 6 weeks I have lost a stone in weight with the help of a cookbook and myfitnesspal. My weightloss is not because I want to lose weight but because I want to eat healthier, the bonus has been weightloss.
I don't care what size my clothes are, what my BMI says or if someone who I don't know thinks I am chubby, what's important to me is that I am happy and healthy.

I'm size 14, 5 foot 8 and I look overweight but I am at 12 stone 8. Not sure I'd think I was 'chubby' though? It's all about your shape. I don't really like that term anyway.

Binky that's a great philosophy and my thoughts exactly. I'm trying to lose a stone but more for health reasons.

I'm 5'6 & a 12 for me is ok, maybe chubby in some people's eyes but I'm happy being a healty bmi with a few curves.
Standardising sizes would be very helpful & do away with the dark moments of thinking you're a 12 & coming away with a 16, but would also do away with the lovely, sparkly moments when you come away with a 10 (even if you know the label is lying!!!).
When I was 7 months pregnant I found a gorgeous (v stretchy) dress to wear to a party - bear in mind I'd not been a size 10 (ever?) for years & years - made my bloody day I can tell you!

Definitely depends on height and frame. I'm short with a small build, I look chubby if size 10, a size 14 and I'd be past chubby and just plain fat. Even at a size 8 I have a wobbly pot belly and love handles, it's all relative.

i am a 12 tight but not buying more clothes as i will just fill them out within a few months and i look chubby i am 5'2 with a small build. my friend is the same hight but she can get away with it she looks more solid i look more curvy jelly like

i have clothes from the 70's and 80's not sure sizes were that different. 50's clothes yes but the sizes were different they fit me much better

i hate being chubby :(

I'm size 12, and I'm not sure whether I'm chubby. My stomach isn't flat, but my BMI is never above 24.9. It never seems to go below that, even when I was doing a particular sport at a highish level, and putting a fair amount of time into training!

If I starved myself for weeks, I wouldn't go down many sizes, because my bones would still mean my hips were too wide for a size 8! I'm prodding my hipbones now, in front of a mirror! I Have Big Bones! Honest.

I read something yesterday about a celeb (possibly chantelle from bb) who is apparently fat at 9stone. For me 9stone is an 8/10 so hardly fat. I'm currently 9st 13lb and would like to lose a few pounds but not a major issue but my target would be 9st 4lb - less than that I look ill!

thebigjessie I'm the same - I lost a stone and still was a 12 on my hips - 8 everywhere else. The only comments I got were "where have your boobs gone?" So I headed for the cake :)

At 5'6", I am a size 14, veering towards a 16 and have a 35 inch waist. My BMI is 26. According to the BMI calculator I've just looked at, I'd need to lose 1 stone 11lbs to be in the middle of the healthy range .

Although as an apple shape, even when I did weigh under 10 stone a lifetime ago in the late '80s I still looked chubby. Although funnily enough, I was a size 14 back then, too...

Well, flame me, but I'm a runner and its all about power to weight ratio, you cannot be carrying excess weight if you want decent times. I'm the same weight I was in my early twenties. And I know plenty of women my age (37) who are the same. For me, its all about listening to your body instead of ignoring it.

Not all of us are a size 16, or even a 14, and not all of us put on weight slowly throughout life. So yes, women and men who are carrying excess weight look chubby to me. Particularly the men. I can't believe how many young men are chubby. Its really not a good look. As for looking beautiful inside and out, your appearance reflects your personality to a certain degree.

Call me shallow, but if I were single, theres no way I'd contemplate going out with a chubby man, no matter how "nice" he was.

For the record, I'm 5 feet 2 and 52kg. I recently let my weight creep up to 55kg but lost it quite quickly once I did something about it. Interestingly, I had a knee injury through running which cleared up as that little bit of excess weight went away, which has told me a lot about how to stay fit and active and avoiding injury in later years. It really has cleared up from having 3 less kilos to carry, although I wasn't heavy in the first place.

Size 12 or 14 today is the equivalent of sizes 14 / 16 /18 a few years ago, depending where you're shopping. For me at 5 foot 5 I would definitely feel chubby at a current size 12.

I do find it odd that womens bodies are a matter of so much debate though when mens are hardly ever mentioned.

I'm 6 foot and size 16. At a perfect BMI I would be size 14. I have been less than an a size 14 but I had an eating disorder. I have large shoulders and hips, even when I was slimmer I didn't look much different to now.

It's horses for courses, what's chubby on one isn't on another.

This thread makes me feel uncomfortable, it's a bit judgy and competitive.

I'm 5'4, size 6- 8, just under 8stone. I would be huge if size 16!! Sorry..

I'm 5"2 and a size 12. I do however have a flat tummy, little waist and killer cheekbones. My 2 stone of excess weight is solely rested on my breasts and bum, which I have always loved and never wanted to lose.

You can't really say 'X size is chubby', even when you bring height into it it's a bit of a non-argument. We all gain weight in different places. I have friends who are lighter on the scales and taller than me, but when they have a few weeks of binge eating- it will go straight to their face and tummy...not places you want to be 'chubbed' out..

Geegee888
Yes you are shallow and sound like a bit of a bitch.

Your appearance reflects your personality? Ok yes, I understand your clothes might do.
What about the personality of someone with facial scarring?

Your appearance reflects your genes.
Get off your high horse.

I'm just under 5'10" and a size 14 and I'm a bit chubby - certainly round my middle anyway.

I think the trouble with relying on BMI is that it's far too generous imo and most importantly, it does nothing to make people concerned about visceral fat.

A couple of years ago I became quite inactive for about 6 months and as much as I was still a size 10, I had an ever growing jelly belly that made me look around 4 months pregnant.

However, my BMI remained well into the 'healthy range' even though I could clearly see my belly was carrying all that visceral fat that was clinging to my liver and kidneys etc.

I could have kidded myself that as my BMI was 'healthy' I was therefore healthy but I chose 3 months of hard slog and much hated bloody exercise instead.

I'm 5'9 and a size 12/14 and as I'm tall I wouldn't say I look chubby but I am definately carrying excess weight.

I think it really depends on your body shape. I'm short and yes, undeniably overweight, but because of the way it's distributed (tits and arse) I get told I'm too thin if I get down to a size 12, because it comes off my face and arms where I really don't need to lose it. So I have a choice between haggard and chubby. Fuck it. Somebody pass the doughnuts.

I'm 5ft5 and at a size 12-14 would be more than chubby. I'd be huge. I'm very small boned and weigh light for my size. My sister is a much bigger build, broad shoulders, big rib cage, and is probably at 5ft8 a size 12. She has no fat on her at all and looks almost skinny.

So it varies.

Well I am a size 10/12. I am 5ft and on the border of being overweight according to BMI. I think I am chubby at this weight and would rather be a size 8/10 There is a photo on my profile at the moment if you want a nose as I asked advice about a dress). A friend is a size 16 but she is 5ft 10 so looks normal. So I don't think its as simple as all that.

Well, I've just looked in the mirror properly and realised I look fantastic apart from the tigger-striped stomach that I don't care about ! I'm not chubby.