To not understand why people think size 16 is healthy?

[SerenaCat93]

Disclaimer, I am not skinny, I never have been. I have PCOS and have struggled with my weight my whole life so I'm not an armchair Kate Moss judging overweight people, I am overweight myself!

I used to be a lot bigger than I am now but I am currently a size 12/14 depending where I shop. I am still a stone overweight at size 12/14 and I am not a small woman, I am 5ft 8 with broad shoulders. If I got into to my healthy weight range I would be a size 10 on bottom and 12 on top probably. So I can't understand for the life of my why people think a size 16 is healthy? Even for tall/broad women it is still very overweight. It usually correlates to a BMI of about 30.

I used to be one of those people that thought BMI was bullshit because some of us have a lot of muscle/dense bones bla bla but actually it's not. My BMI is 27 and i have a lot of muscle, I'm athletic with huge quads and calves, strong core muscles but being brutally honest about it, I do still have a belly (apple shape) that shouldn't be there and if I lost it I would be in the healthy BMI range. Even with all my muscle mass and dense bones (My body composition scales tell me I have above average bone and muscle mass for a woman my size/age so I'm not imagining it) I would still be in the healthy weight range if I lost my belly.

I saw a post on FB where a woman showed a picture of a model wearing an outfit and then a picture of her wearing it and she's a size 16. She looked fantastic in it, she was beautiful and I'm not for one minute saying that being a size 16 makes someone look huge or that they shouldn't be wearing certain things because that's not true at all. Lots of larger women look incredible and wear fashionable clothes, as they should. This is purely about health. Lots of comments about how the clothes look better on a "healthy size 16" and when anyone pointed out that while the lady looked fabulous, a size 16 is NOT HEALTHY and is actually overweight/bordering obesity for many they were met with lots of laughing emojis and told they were being ridiculous/stupid. Conversely posters were calling the healthy weight model a stick/coat hanger etc. and saying how she looked half starved and was unhealthy, which she absolutely wasn't. She was a size 8, which is healthy and definitely not starved.

I know that size 16 is average in the UK. I thought people understood that average and healthy were different things though. The whole thing just baffled me to be honest so I'm interested in hearing other women's thoughts on it!

It can depend a lot on shape and what is comfortable. A couple of my shirts / button dresses are size 16 because otherwise it gapes at my chest. Some of my clothes are size 12. My BMI is in the healthy range.

Yes, and live longer lives. I had a look at some research on this. Don’t quote me on this but I seem to recall a hearty BMI of 27 was optimal.

BUT being overweight or obese significantly elevates your long-term likelihood of experiencing a heart attack or developing heart failure in the first place.

BMI has been discredited as a valid measure of healthy weights.

However, YABU for not considering that the thousands of fat-bashers on here have already done this thread before.

It’s getting very boring now.

Oh yes of course. The whole thread has been posted purely to submit CLINICAL FACTS, (and that isn't what the OP has done anyway, because no two people are the same. But you know that don't you? And so does the OP!) 🙄

What crap. Im 67, 6 feet tall and 12 stone 4. BMI 23. Size 16 top and 14 bottom. I do spin, weights and pilates and can easily do 8 mile hike.
Im not on any medication, no high cholesterol or blood pressure.

I think it's much more serious that some 600,000 people in the UK are too obese too work.

I agree. Obvious fat-bashing thread is obvious.

I'm out. Not giving it oxygen.

Kate moss was skinny because she did tons of cocaine...

Because I have PCOS and insulin resistance.

Not sure why you're insulting me, I understand I am overweight and am working on it. So far I have lost 4 stone. I don't know why others don't understand that they or other people are overweight. Do you?

"a lot of women don't understand what is a healthy size, which is worrying because people can't make informed choices about their health if they don't know what is and isn't healthy."

Clothes size is irrelevant to health though. It's a poor measure of body size, body fat, fitness or health for the reasons already mentioned.

What you are really saying is that you think that a lot of women don't know whether their BMI is in the healthy range or not, are unaware of what they weigh. That a lot of women aren't aware that being overweight or obese increases health risks. None of that is to do with how people look in a particular clothes size. Just be honest and talk about what is actually relevant rather than bring in a lot of justification based on what you've seen on social media.

Do you really think that a lot of women don't know they are overweight or obese, and aren't aware of the health issues that being overweight or obese can bring?

And, why does this bother you more than other health risks that people take?

If the op had put up a post saying 'I cant understand why people still smoke but think its ok because their great uncle smoked 60 a day and lived to 103' There wouldn't be any posts saying she was making smokers feel like shit would there ?

Generally looking unhealthy doesn’t look good so I doubt that you thought she looked amazing/stunning/whatever.

But thanks OP, I was wondering where I could find a post berating women for daring to be too fat under the guise of being concerned for their health.

as I said on another thread recently on a similar topic. It depends on the shop and the fit of the clothes. I have clothes ranging from size 10-16 on my wardrobe. It depends on the what fits correctly where and what is comfortable to wear. YABU

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong 😂

Again I’d echo what the pp said who said we need to define ‘healthy’. There are very healthy obese people and very unhealthy skinny people. And vice versa. A lot depends on lifestyle factors.

Is smoking status deeply tied up with how attractive/valuable a person is?

The way a 16 looks will obviously vary enormously depending on the woman’s height and also body shape. A woman who is very short will look massive as a size 16 whereas a very tall woman who is perhaps an hourglass shape won’t. I agree it’s probably overweight on every height though but it will look huge on a short woman and not so bad on a taller one.

I am 5’9” at 12 stone I have a BMI in the healthy range but some of my jeans are a 16 as I have a very round bum.

Yeah clothes size is probably the worst way to measure ‘health’ as apart from anything else women’s clothes sizes are not standardised and vary massively from brand to brand. I’m 5ft 10, 70kg/11st and wear clothing that ranges from a 10 to an 18 and they all fit me! I am tall, broad and muscular with long limbs. By your rationale I’m healthy in my size 10 dress and obese in my size 16 suit jacket despite the needle having not moved on the scales

Also depends on proportions my mum has a size 12 waist but wears a 16 in tops because she has huge boobs, has since she was about 12. Not much she can do about that

Health encompasses a lot more than BMI or weight.

Someone who’s a size 8 and smokes, or has bulimia isn’t going to be healthier than someone who is size 16 but exercises everyday and eats well.

Carrying extra weight has its issues of course (I’m a size 18 and know full well this isn’t an ideal weight) but there are plenty of other health complications that can make a person unwell, some of which also exacerbate the issue, which is doubly unfair as I’m then being judged for being ill as well as fat!

For example I’d rather be an active size 16 who eats a range of good foods, has a positive outlook on life, whose mental health is tip top and who has the energy to walk, swim or play sports, than a size 8 who doesn’t have any of those positive things going for them, is depressed, stays home and doesn’t see people, eats a limited diet and uses unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress.

Of course in an ideal world you’d have it all, but who is living in an ideal world? We’re all doing the best we can with the bodies and minds we have, so maybe just concentrate on your own and butt out of worrying about other people’s.

This is true with jeans as well yes, they vary shop to shop and there’s seemingly no standardised sizing. Zara clothes are very small I find so a person might need a 16 from Zara but 12 from H&M for example. Also yes pear shapes will likely need bigger jeans to accommodate the bum but their BMI may be normal.

16 is not “huge” or “massive” at any height ffs

Why the fuck do you care