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?

All cases? No exceptions?

Not if you’re tall.

I'm 167cm tall and am quite chubby at a size 14 (which is very preferable to the more than chubby size 18 I am currently sitting at).

I can imagine it would very much depend on body shape and what part of the body you are talking about.

Unless you are a really small person, a 14 is very unlikely to mean you are obese. But lots of women, maybe even most, would not be at their slimmest while fitting into a size 14.

I’m just shy of 5’10 and a 12-14. BMI 26.something and definitely about a stone over a weight I look good and feel healthy at.

Whether I look ‘fat’ depends what I’m wearing, but it’s definitely bigger than I would like or is ideal for long term health. Unfortunately because I like food!

Surely depends on how much you weigh, and your height, clothes size can be determined as much by bone structure and body composition as it can by amount of fat you are carrying and thus no on the scales.

On the other side of things you could be very muscular/athletic and have quite a high number on the scales and be a size 14 but not considered fat.

Yeah as others have said it really depends.
I am quite tall at just over 5'7, and at 13.5 stone I was just about squeezing into a 14 but felt awful and was definitely fat!
Since lost almost 2 stone and have a healthy BMI and am still mostly wearing a 14 but it hangs off me now!

Yes, sorry.

Unless someone has height, then a size 14 is usually overweight.
I'm 5ft5, size 12-14, and I'm slightly overweight at the mo.

I'm not really sure what you want from this thread OP.

If you stand completely naked in front of a full length mirror, you'll know whether you're fat or not, regardless of the number on your labels.

I don't really think you need to ask MNetters who have never seen you.

You sound like a similar shape to me op. I am top heavy and seem to have wide thighs,im 5'7 too. My weight has gradually creeped up in recent years topping at nearly 15 stone. Since Oct i have been working on losing weight im now at 11 and a half stone. I was a size 14 at my heaviest and im still a 14. Some brands i could probably drop to a 12 but i feel like I'd be filling them out like i was with my size 14 at my heaviest. Fitted trousers no way i could fit into a 12. I have never been a size 10 but pre weight gain i was about 11 stone and always a size 12. I want to get back to this. For me a size 12 is healthy. Size 14 isnt huge but its on the larger side of healthy. I have lost weight but snacking less and cutting my portion sizes. I agree with you that i have friends who were larger than me at my largest and looked great, part of me wishes i could have been like them but theres no getting away from it that despite the outward appearance this is not a healthy size.

Almost always, yes.

Overweight or obese unless you're really tall, yes
Especially since sizing has gotten so much bigger
15 years ago I was a 10 and now even a 6 is too big (5'3, normal weight)

I suspect people are going to be cross with me for this. Yes. A size 14 is a bit fat.

I think one of the reasons that the UK, as a country, is the fattest in Europe is because we’re much too afraid to tell-it-like-it-is.

i’m 5’9 - when I am a size 14 with a bit of a roll round the middle I am definitely overweight by both a) bmi standards and b) carrying too much unnecessary fat - running + jumping + making good food choices are harder for me.

Are you morbidly obese? Or ‘socially’ very overweight? Almost certainly not. If you’re physically well + are happy with yourself then you’re probably fine to carry on as you are.

Dress sizes aren't an obesity measure. They're so inconsistent these days that they're not even really a measure of clothing size! And shape varies so widely even within the same size.

And "fat" is subjective to an extent.

Are you healthy and how do you feel?

"Fat" is a loaded word.
So you mean overweight for your size?
Size 14 vary enormously from shop to shop.

On me, yes - I'm a small 12 and about 1 bmi point below obese

Which I'm happy with as I used to be almost 5 stone heavier

Most people who are a size 14 are a bit chubby. To me a 14 is the "gateway size" to being overweight, but it clearly also depends how tall you are.

I am. Far too much weight on my middle, I gained a lot last year - perimenopause. I’m now usually a 14 and 5ft 8. Have just tipped into obese bmi. I’m trying to lose weight.

I'm 5'3 and a size 10, occasionally 12 and would describe myself as a bit chubby. So at 14 I would describe myself as fat, sorry if that offends anybody.

Fat and obese are quite different. Having a big roll of fat around your belly (your words) whatever dress size is not healthy.

To be a size 14 I'd either have to start doing some hard core muscle building or eat very many pies. I have a small frame. On someone else it would be fine.

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.
Then don't. Stop thinking about it and cut down on the pizzas and the 'roll of fat' will shrink.

I am size 12/14 depending on brand and am overweight by by BMI. But I am short - lots of other people in a size 14 would not be overweight.

i hate the word fat as a descriptor of a person.

As a 5ft 1 shortie, yes it definitely would. I’m in the top end of overweight BMI at size 10/12. But someone 5ft 10 would be fine.

Real life = no, unless 5" or less
Mumsnet = yes, morbidly obese

I'm a size 14 and 5'8". My BMI is 26, so yes, I'm overweight, but I really don't look it. When I was a size 10 I looked unhealthily thin although I was the lower end of the healthy BMI.