Settle a debate with DH on skeletons and body size!

[whydoesitalwaysrainonme82]

DH said everyones skeleton is pretty much the same size. I said but everyone has different frames. It started because I was saying that even when I am at my slimmest my waist doesnt get smaller than 30inches, my body frame isnt that small, I am also quite wide on the shoulders, think swimmer type frame. DH said its to do with muscle mass not bone size and if you had 3 men skeletons in a row of same height , they wouldnt really differ from each other even if in real life they were all different frames.

Thoughts? I know this is probably something I should know by now so dont flame me down!!

It makes no sense. How does he think short people fit all their skeleton in if someone 6ft has the same size skeleton as someone 5ft? Or are tall people inflated?

Sorry, I’ve got my silly head on 😁

Love the wrist measurement - confirms that a) I have a large frame and b) My ideal weight is in fact the one I am most comfortable at.
You are right OP!

You're both right in a way. Skeletons do differ but not massively. If you look at these x-rays, it's not an excuse for obesity:
photosaws.sparkpeople.com/guid/7b263a4c-66eb-4645-832b-16854e9e44ae.jpg

"I'm just saying if I lose weight and am at my slimmest my waist doesnt ever measure particularly small, possibly 29in its gone down to. Obviously if I was severely underweight it would become a bit smaller. But I have a friend who has a 26in waist, wider hips and weighs a lot more than me"

But that's not bone is it? Your DH is right about this part.

You're correct. I'm not skinny atm but I have been and my shoulders and top of arms are really wide!

That is a symptom of foetal alcohol syndrome, when your wrists and hands are disproportionately small compared to rest of your skeletal frame.

Certainly not the case for me! I guess I’m just a weird shape - even when slim I couldn’t wear high boots as my legs are so sturdy, yet my wrists are barely six inches around even now (I’m now fat). And I’ve always been a lot heavier than I look.

@ScrambledEggForBrains

Hmm 🤔

Love it!

It makes no sense. How does he think short people fit all their skeleton in if someone 6ft has the same size skeleton as someone 5ft? Or are tall people inflated?

He OBVIOUSLY didn’t mean height 😂

I took it to mean that if you took two people of the same height, one of normal weight and one ten stone heavier, their skeletons would look very similar underneath it all.

Basically he’s saying “big boned” is a myth.

You're kinda both right, men and women are slightly different and there are variations within. Height obviously. Hips vary in women. But theres not fat skeletons and skinny skeletons, if you have a lot of body fat that's not down to your bone structure, if you're short then that is down to your bone structure.

Look up ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph.

DH and I had this exact argument last Sunday, maybe there’s something going round 😉

He eventually agreed that I was right and it was one of the frame calculations that convinced him as Im a bit chubby but have tiny wrists and am in fact small framed. The differences arent but its true but its still a thing.

My wrist circumference is 5.5"
DD's is 5.3"

If we all compare wrist circumference it'll give an idea of the variation within bone size.

I think you’re both right - skeletons do come in different sizes but your waist size is dictated by soft tissue and muscle mass - there’s no such thing as a human waist bone!

Can anyone send a link for the wrist/body frame calculator

My wrist circumference is 6.5 and I'm 5ft 6.5

ScrambledEggForBrains

I was going to post that pic!

Of course skeletons are not identical, but the actual frames are not as different as people claim they are. Your frame will not change if you are severely overweight or starving.

The circumference of the long bones (bones of the arms and legs) adapt to mechanical loading. So they increase in size in response to physical activity. You can even see bisymmetry in bone circumference between dominant arm use and the type of physical activity (tennis players vs. swimmers).

It's actually quite intuitive. The muscles on a body builder are huge and need space for attachment on the bone. They don't have massive muscles and weedy skeletons!

@SSW101

The circumference of the long bones (bones of the arms and legs) adapt to mechanical loading. So they increase in size in response to physical activity. You can even see bisymmetry in bone circumference between dominant arm use and the type of physical activity (tennis players vs. swimmers).

It's actually quite intuitive. The muscles on a body builder are huge and need space for attachment on the bone. They don't have massive muscles and weedy skeletons!

That's really interesting.

Well, I have a friend who is almost the same height as me. She’s 5’8” and I’m 5’9”. My feet are a size 10 (they were an 8 when I was young and thin, so I accept my weight, plus child bearing, have altered my size). Her feet are size 5. The size differences are repeated in eg finger length, shoulder breadth. We definitely don’t have the same size skeleton.

I'm very small framed. Can never get braceleys to fit (other than elasticated ones). My fingers aren't long, but when I do the frame size test my first finger comes to the bottom of my thumbnail.

Put it another way, people who have been struck with very bad illness and ended up losing an awful amount of weight very fast proves that there's only so much of a "bigger skeleton".

Obviously, some of us are taller or slightly wider....

Of course peoples skeletons are different. Some women in my family can not give birth naturally because their hips are too narrow

@Haworthia

It makes no sense. How does he think short people fit all their skeleton in if someone 6ft has the same size skeleton as someone 5ft? Or are tall people inflated?

He OBVIOUSLY didn’t mean height 😂

I took it to mean that if you took two people of the same height, one of normal weight and one ten stone heavier, their skeletons would look very similar underneath it all.

Basically he’s saying “big boned” is a myth.

Yes, that is what he meant. Not height!!

Ribcage measurement is basically skeleton size. I'm usually a 28, went up to 34 in pregnancy, now back to 28. There's still padding on my ribs at a 28. I also have small wrists and fingers but wide toes and narrow heels.

Hand size is very variable - I can't buy gloves with long enough fingers without going for men's gloves, which are then huge on the palm. My fingers would fit a 10.5, palm would prefer 7-7.5...

Hip width is a mixture. Even well overweight I can squeeze between the kids' car seats in the back of our smaller car. DH (lighter, taller male) physically could not get his hip bones in the gap between the seats while I could get in and stay for several hours.

My 4 year old girl has shoulders that are smaller than her 18 month old brother's. Hips too - but she is of course much taller than him. They look like they will turn out rather different in build - long/high jumper Vs prop forward!

On a sporting level look at Andy and Jamie Murray. From older pictures they would be very similar skeletally. Jamie is lean and fit but Andy has clearly worked very hard to add bulk and power. See also Nadal Vs Djokovic or Monfils vs Tsonga for extremes within the same sport!