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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think a 84cm / 34 inch waist is not "slim"

419 replies

apenny4 · 13/01/2016 09:18

Here's a link to the article

I'm very open to being told IABU, in fact I'd be quite relieved to be told I have a warped view. Right now though I don't think a 34 inch waist is slim. To me slim is no larger than a size 10 so around a 27 inch waist max.

Unless you are a much taller than the average woman (average being 5' 4"?) I think a healthy (in the general sense of the word) waist is less than 30 inches.

However I have a small frame and have felt overweight whenever I've needed to wear size 12 bottoms (and that's still not over a 30 inch waist).

The irony is that I still think I'm at high risk of developing diabetes because my father has it and whilst not overweight I have a diet quite high in sugar.

Genuinely interested in people's views on this and whether my own view is out of kilter with the norm.

OP posts:
dottyaboutstripes · 15/01/2016 10:38

Sorry, haven't read the whole thread but what about those of us who've had many pregnancies and have been left with zero muscle tone (or so it seems!)
I have a healthy bmi and wear a size 10 but measure around my squidgy yum and it's bad news Confused

suzannecaravaggio · 15/01/2016 10:51

We can quantify the risks at the population level (of various factors which predispose to diabetes) but much less so at the individual level because the mechanisms involved are not all fully understood.

In future it seems likely that we will be able to tell at the individual level (by gene sequencing or other method) so we will be able to say with more certainty what any given individual should focus on.

suzannecaravaggio · 15/01/2016 11:09

Obviously you can still ignore recommendations and live the lifestyle that makes you 'chilled and happy'
But if healthcare is privatized or the nhs has to make decisions about who to treat then things could get tricky
Your cover will depend on whether you have been following individual health recommendations and it will be very easy for healthcare companies to monitor what you do

GraysAnalogy · 15/01/2016 11:26

That's partly why I'm so bothered about losing weight, I've already lost a lot but clearly have some way to go. My main worry is how I'm going to be cared for if god forbid I end up immobile due to a stroke or something, the NHS is not prepared for the obesity epidemic that's coming. And even if it was staffed adequately, had the best bariatric equipment etc, there's nothing that can prevent you from having to be rolled by 4 nurses straining their backs if you end up morbidly obese and immobile. The thought scares me.

This is usually where people come in and say it's the same for slim immobile people, it's not. Higher end obese and morbidly obese people are the most challenging to care for in regards to personal care and stress on the staff's bodies.

I'm trying to take responsibility for it now before it's too late Blush

Original poster
apenny4 · 15/01/2016 12:05

Here's the link to the Diabetes.co.uk waist size measuring instructions.

For me there is a 3 inch difference between natural and in-between ribs & top of hip measure (27 v 30 inches). I am 5 ft 6,
9 stone 3 so BMI is 20.8, half height measurement is 33 inches.

But learning to measure my waist the proper way to check for diabetes risk has been sobering because I am not that far from the recomended maximum of 31.5 and having a parent with diabetes means I am already at higher risk.

It's sobering because I do think of myself as slim and yes, it's mostly down to wearing size 8 tops and 10 bottoms. In fact I measured myself while trying on my bridesmaid dress, which is a size 8 ffs (I am an ancient bridesmaid to much younger DSis).

Oh and I'm no apple, a definite pear here, so my 30 inch 'medical' waist is a surprise and I think clothing manufacturers' must be laughing all the way to the bank. I suspect trying on my wedding dress would show me just how much clothing sizes have ballooned, even though I was only half a stone lighter back then.

After all that I'm just like the women in the article - deluded!

OP posts:
AyeAmarok · 15/01/2016 12:13

I for one appreciate your 'pseudo-science' Suzanne! Thanks for the info.

suzannecaravaggio · 15/01/2016 12:24

Thank you AyeAmarokSmile
I'm very interested in science/health/medicine and I like to try to stay up to date and well informed

Katenka · 15/01/2016 17:29

Your doctor sounds very engaged Katenka I'm quite Envy

My GP surgery is brilliant. Never had a problem. I have to move there as I moved house and didn't want to. But so so glad I did.

They have been really good. Sorry yours is so rubbish.

Katenka · 15/01/2016 17:33

Anyone who wants to accuse me of pseudo science fuck off and google it yourself

nice!

lljkk · 15/01/2016 20:55

tjhanks for link, apenny.
30 doesn't sound that close to 31.5 to me.

hmmmm... my medical waist seems to be same as natural waist. Or close enough that I can't measure any more accurately. I'm amazed at people on this thread who have had 26" waists.

Ambroxide · 15/01/2016 21:56

Mine is the same too, lljkk. My belly button is absolutely exactly halfway between my ribcage and hips.

Are you really amazed by 26" waists? Surely this is fairly normal for someone under thirtyish or someone under about forty with no kids? Certainly my waist measurement was never as much as that until I had a baby (at 37). I'm 47 now and my waist is about 28" which is probably too much for me but hey, I'm practically an old lady so if I'm a little bit overweight I can live with it.

TheCatsMeow · 15/01/2016 22:21

ambroxide I think it depends on shape. I have a 25" waist and it's normal for me but if you're more straight I can understand feeling confused by 26" waists

I'm amazed some peoples belly buttons are where their waist is though!

murmuration · 15/01/2016 22:22

I think some people are narrower than others. Even when I was a very thin teenager my waist (which, like Ambroxide's, is the same place whichever way you figure it) was 29". But I also have very wide shoulders - I remember when shoulder pads were in vogue and it made me look like an American footballer. If your skelton's wide, I think you're not going to dip in so much in the middle unless you corset it in. (I think being wide is part of what made me look tall -- there's a lot of difference from the side-on and front-on, and that gives the illusion of height. I've recently lost a bunch of weight and find that I seem to appear taller, which is very weird.)

TheCatsMeow · 15/01/2016 22:24

I think some people are narrower than others

This is right. I have a tiny frame with little wrists and narrow shoulders, and I also look short despite being 5"7.

This means if I weigh the middle or higher end of normal I look dumpy. Frame size matters

storynanny · 15/01/2016 22:25

Just checked the measurements on one of my sewing patterns from the 70's
Size 12. Bust 34" waist 24" hips 35" it gives instructions for measuring waist
"Measure around narrowest part of body"

WitchWay · 15/01/2016 22:55

I had a 24" waist before having DS & was a size 10 in my teens/twenties

Now aged 50 with 27" waist & size 8 Confused

Same weight 8st 10lb +/- a pound or two

Still an hourglass but not as curvy

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 15/01/2016 23:05

Size 12 isn't slim Shock. Fuckin hell. No wonder more and more young girls and indeed young boys are developing eat disorders.

suzannecaravaggio · 15/01/2016 23:58

sewing patterns from the 70's, Size 12. Bust 34" waist 24" hips 35

blimeyShock
irrefutable proof of vanity sizing
old size 12 = new size 8? 6?

suzannecaravaggio · 16/01/2016 00:01

although really it's common knowledge that the average body shape has changed over the last few decades, in particular that midsections are larger

Iamnotloobrushphobic · 16/01/2016 04:35

Just checked the measurements on one of my sewing patterns from the 70's
Size 12. Bust 34" waist 24" hips

I find that with vintage sewing patterns too. I always measure myself before cutting out a new pattern as I have a mix of vintage, decade - 2 decade old and modern patterns and they are all sized differently. The older the pattern the bigger a dress size I need to cut out.

megletthesecond · 16/01/2016 08:20

Modern vanity sizing has got a lot to answer too. iam and suz that sounds like a modern Next 8 or even 6.

EdithWeston · 16/01/2016 08:27

Sizing was regulated until the 1980s.

But unless you're 50ish or more, you probably won't remember. But somehow the idea from back then that 12 is normal has persisted.

But there is still a very persistent thought along the lines of 'I'm size 12/14 so that's OK' whereas it should be 'I'm size 6/8'

(or adjusting the other way 'I'm size 18/20')

Higge · 16/01/2016 08:36

At size 6/8 I am underweight according to my BMI at 18 and my waist size is 24.5in - so I don't know what's going on there. People were underweight after the war and that's not a healthy place to be either.

lljkk · 16/01/2016 08:44

Are you really amazed by 26" waists? Surely this is fairly normal for someone under thirtyish or someone under about forty with no kids?

Yes, 26", never mind 24", is a bloody hell reaction from me.
Might be a height thing.
I've put on maybe 3kg in last 2 yrs, but before that...
Often told I had an admirable figure.
& told I'm skinny ... by all sorts... I'm not, really.
Wedding dress fitter said I was wasting away on her
Wore size 8-10 jeans (so now 10-12).
Still seem much trimmer than most.
Same as 25yo Sophia Loren measurements (& height).
We had 28" waists (mine now 29").
So who knew we were FAT ? Or at least abnormal.

lljkk · 16/01/2016 08:45

oh and my BMI is now 22. Am I supposed to get it down to like 18 to get a normal waist?