Do you think a women's size 16 is fat?

[LegencyMonsters]

Met a friend for coffee today and we got onto the topic of weight.

I mentioned that I used to be a size 16 and said I’m glad I’m not that size anymore as I was fat. She disagreed, saying a size 16 isn’t fat and pointed out that it’s actually the average size for women in the UK. I replied that while it may be the average, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not fat.

Would you consider a size 16 to be fat or not?

AIBU - YES - of course!
YANBU - NO - Not fat at all!

I suppose it’s all relative. I’d be very obese if I was a size 16 because I’m only 5 feet tall, but a much taller woman might not be. But I think most women would be overweight at a 16, no?

What was your weight at BMI of 23 but wearing a size 16 clothing?

I feel fat at Size 16. I'm 5'7 and tend to be a Size 16 at 11 stone, which is a BMI of 24.2, so not technically over weight.

Ideally I like to stay between 9 - 10 stone, which would be a Sz 12 - Sz 14 for me and a BMI of 19-22.

Size 16 refers to the measurements of a garment not the many and varied bodies of women who may buy clothes in that size.
Fat is a subjective term with no consensus as to its meaning.
If your friend was a size 16 with a BMI in the overweight range she would have been overweight. Whether she was overweight or not would not change depending on whether other women were mostly also a size 16 or mostly a size 8.

A size 16 isn't fat. Ever.
A person who wears a size 16 may be fat but not necessarily so.

Some women will look not look overweight at a size 16

Others will look obese (like myself).

But for majority of woman being a size 16 is likely to be overweight but not necessarily fat

I’m 5’6” and size 14. I feel overweight. Which I am.

I’m not sure if it’s helpful to get hung up on defining when a person, or specifically a woman, becomes fat. Not least because height and build will make a huge difference.

It’s probably best to concentrate on whether a specific person is a healthy weight.

I understand that height can make a difference....for example, someone who is 5ft 1 and someone who is 5ft 9 could weigh the same, but it would affect them very differently.

However, my point is that a size 16 is a size 16 regardless of height. If you’re wearing a size 16, I would consider that to be overweight.

I think that her logic is flawed. Regardless of the size you’re talking about, it being the average size doesn’t make it therefore not fat, or not thin. Would she stick to that logic if the average was a size 30? Or a size 0?

Certainly I think that a lot of people would be overweight at size 16.

Your voting makes no sense in the context of your OP.

Yes, 16 is a bit of a chub.

But who cares? Any more than being any other weight.

It can depend on so much. If I buy a 16 it is to fit over my hips which have always been wide. Waist is more a 14 and I don't think people think of me as fat for a woman in her 50s. I have a shape and wear clothes that flatter my shape. I'm also above average height which might help. Some people say they are size 16 and I think they look more overweight. But maybe I'm deluded when I look in the mirror!

I'm 5ft 11 and now a size 16. According to BMI I'm obese so yes, fat, however visually if I go down to a 12, I look awful.

Your voting options are completely counter intuitive.

If a person agrees with you, it doesn't make sense that you have asked them to vote YABU.

So I don't think you can take much notice of the poll, as some people will vote according to what your title says, and others will follow the instructions in your OP.

Unless you’re very tall or very muscular yes probably.

I’m 5ft 7 and felt overweight, very curvy but not huge. I defo wasn’t happy like that though

Depends how tall ...

Well said.

Yes

It's average but it's big, unless you're like 5"11

I'm short and apple shaped, when I'm a size 16 I look (and am) fat. I have a fairly tall daughter though who is not an apple shape and looks not skinny but reasonably slim at a size 16.

Yes

I am 67, 165cm tall and can still wear M&S shorts bought in 1991, size 12. According to the label waist 26, hips 37.
Other later sizes and brands vary from XS - really! to L, so no idea.

Medically, probably, yes. Depending on height.

Oh and about two thirds of the UK population is overweight or obese. So the average size is likely to mean overweight.

Surely the problem here is that defining a person through a binary of 'fat' vs 'not fat' is a really reductive way of looking at our bodies.

Sure, there are clear BMI cutoffs for being a healthy weight vs overweight vs obese, but ultimately these are fairly arbitrary, artificial divisions and not entirely uncomplicated in themselves (as we know regarding the differences that muscle mass or ethnicity can make). There is a wide range of sizes and body types. There are, to put it crudely, very different levels of 'fatness'! There are different definitions of what constitutes being medium-sized. Most of us agree on the extremes but there is a grey area in the middle - and of course some people carry their weight far better than others too.

At size 16 many people are fatter than they would perhaps like to be, and many would fall into overweight or obese BMI categories too. Yet that is not the same as being size 20 or size 24, and it is not necessarily a size at which people would think of themselves as fat or be perceived as fat. Meanwhile I used to be a size 8-10 and got teased by a (rather nasty) ex-boyfriend for being fat then, so clearly there's a degree of subjectivity here! And I know people who call themselves fat if they go above a size 6.

So sure, hold a gun to my head and I'll admit that at size 16 I would see myself as fat and expect most people would see me that way too. I have been this weight too and did not feel good about it. But I don't expect that to be the same for everyone, and I don't think there's much value in trying to set an objective benchmark around it.

I'm also not convinced that any of us going around labelling ourselves or others fat is a particularly healthy or lovely thing. It's an arbitrary word often used with viciousness and blame, and for those who say 'well it's just being accurate', I'd point out that the word doesn't even do the job of being an evocative description given the wide range of sizes and bodies it can be thrown at. What matters is our health, our confidence, how we feel about ourselves and how we'd like to be.