Is a size 14 fat?

[bubblebutt88]

I know it's dependent on the individual and a lot of variables - height etc but generally speaking would you say it's 'fat?' I am a size 14, I don't think I'm huge but I have a big roll of fat around my belly (thanks c-section and pizza) and I do feel like my face looks a bit bloated at times.

I'm certainly not thin or toned but I wouldn't say I'm obese either. I know id look and feel better if I dropped a dress size but at this time in my life with young kids, a demanding job and lots going on I just can't find the energy to focus on weight loss.

What are your thoughts?

I’d describe it as midsized. I wouldn’t describe someone as “fat” who wore a size 14 but I would expect someone who is a size 14 to be in the overweight BMI category (this is the case for me too as a short size 12).

I'm 5ft 8ins and a 14 on top and 12 bottoms. My BMI puts me in the overweight category. I carry fat around my belly and boobs. I do think I'm fat, and I'm currently addressing my lifestyle. I would say most size 14's, I look at, and don't think you're fat, but realistically, from a health perspective, they are carrying too much weight.

Well that's the issue then - fat for me does = obese. Overweight with rolls of fat doesn't = 'fat' as it isn't fat overall.
I personally wouldn't describe another person who was overweight with some hidden belly rolls as fat.
I guess this is an important distinction, and in which case I also am fat to many others.

I am a size 10-12 and 5ft 3 and I feel a bit chunky at the moment. Im about 11 stone.

I always felt most "comfortable" with my weight around 9.5 stone and in a size 8-10. I have been skinny (under 6 stone and also heavy at 13 stone so seen both sides!)

But thats only because I am small so extra weight makes me look dumpy. I have taller friends who carry extra weight well at a size 12-14 and they certainly dont look their size.

I think you're asking the wrong question. The world doesn't divide clearly into fat/not fat and if it did, it wouldn't be by dress size.

You know whether you are overweight by BMI, whether you feel healthy and happy at your present weight and fitness level, what other factors are in play. Go on that rather than whether other people define 14 as "fat"- we don't even know how tall you are.

Yes but 59% of women in the UK are overweight or obese as of 2021 so that doesn’t really prove your point.

At my height and with my natural weight distribution I would be fat if I was a size 14 waist. Other people are size 14 and not fat.

Size 20s are going to almost always be obese I would expect.

I would look quite slim as a 14.
As a 10-12 I would look malnourished.
We're all different, we all carry weight differently.

I am 5 foot 8 and I would love to be a size 14 now but I have put on weight since my 40s. When I was younger I was generally a 12, sometimes crept up to a 14 and I felt heavy, too big, but I don’t think anybody would have called me fat due to my height.

I’m size 14 and I’m fat. I’m only 5ft 3 though so pretty short. Unless you’re fairly tall I’d say a 14 is usually overweight.

It more depends on BMI and waist measurement than just a size. I was 13.5 stone at 5 foot 2, BMI 33 and a size 14. I looked fat, BMI rating was high end of obese.

I've just lost 3 stone and now am a size 12.

Yes, it rarely looks good.

Only if you are very short. Average height and above no its not fat.

I don’t think of size 14 as fat at all, unless someone is very short. Just average/midsize, and personally I find that body type more attractive than size 10 and under.

No way is 14 fat

my hub doesn’t want me to loose any Weight after dropping to a size 14

his reason is not wanting to loose boob size

It’s weird as at a size 14 my bmi was only 22 and the nhs bmi calculated said I could even be a stone heavier and working range but I felt AWFUL !!!! I’m tall so probably didn’t look awful but I felt it and then I lost 1.5 stone bmi is now 20 I think (not sure exactly) and I feel so much better and wear size 8/10

*within range

I'm 5'7" and if I was a 14 I'd be overweight.

Yes. I am 5'6, 12 stone and a 14 and I am too fat. My waist is 30",that is too high. If I lose a stone and and inch or so from my waist I will be heavier than I would prefer to be but no longer overweight.

Size 14 is a bit fat on an average height woman. If I was to describe a size 14 woman then I would say that she was a overweight or chubby rather than fat. Obviously you wouldn't say this to a person in real life and I think this is why a few people have their noses out of joint.

I'm 5'7 for those asking.

I definitely have a roll so by that logic I guess I have and I am fat.

I certainly wouldn't wear anything figure hugging.

Dress size throws me though. When I was 2 stone lighter I was still wearing a size 14 on my bottom half. Big thighs. Lucky me.

Height does make a difference though. I had a friend who was a bit over 5'8 and needed to wear a 10-12 even though she was incredibly slim.

What are your rare examples?

I'm 6ft tall with size 9 feet. I wear 12/14. I get 14s as they tend to be more comfortable. I used to be a 10 and looking back on those photos I looked frankly ill

I'm a size 12/14 and I'm clinically obese (BMI of exactly 30).

I am absolutely fat and I know I am.

My mother and aunt were size 14s too and they were fat. My best friend was fat when she was a size 14 too. Of course I'd never verbalise it, but it was true.

But we aren't allowed to be honest anymore, even to ourselves. "Fat" doesn't begin until size 20 these days, if at all. It's all about "body positivity" even if you're morbidly obese and your life is at risk.

Cue all of the "bmi is a blunt tool", "I am 8 stone, 6 foot and a size 14" posts.

Do I believe some people are "big boned" and "athletic" and can be a size 14 and not be fat? Yes, I genuinely do.

Do believe some people (like me) are genuinely quite fat at a size 14? Also yes. And it wouldn't help me if patronising people kept telling me I was just "curvy", "normal sized", "lovely and healthy looking" as I get told frequently. The current, unusual for my young age, state of my health tells me very differently.

So yes, I'm a fat 12/14 and I'm doing something about it. My heart, lungs and joints will thank me for it later, as will my kids.

I’m 5”8” and a 10-12 and when my 12’s start getting tight I know it’s time to eat less/move more. 14 to me feels big. But some people feel happy as a 14 and that’s what matters - whether you are comfort with it or not.

I could have written this