Is size 12 seen as "big" generally?

[piperoo1095]

Hi all,

Not trying to cause controversy here as I am genuinely interested. But do most people consider a UK size 12 to be "big"? I only ask because I see a lot of posts online at people "horrified" that they reached a size 12 and to me it's never seemed bad at all. Perhaps I've been living under my nice little rock of ignorance. Of course I'm sure height and build plays a massive role too!

I always think size 8-10 is slim, 12 is medium sized, 14 is on the verge of being large and 16+ is big!

If you quite tall 5'7" and over you will probably be slim at a size 12.

Vanity sizing means size numbers are meaningless.
I’ve always been somewhere between a 10 and 14 over the years, which hasn’t changed much, even when going through meno and I KNOW I’ve got bigger.

I knit a lot. Patterns from the 70s would suggest I’m actually a size 16 going on their measurements, even though I wear size 12 at the moment, and that’s probably about right.

If say it's mid-sized, healthy.

Although in 5ft 1 so I'd imagine I'd look 'bigher' if I was a 12 than a tall person would

I'm 5'1
This is overweight for me

Ideal is size 8.
Had a baby and I'm a 10, but want to get back to an 8

I’m 5’7 and size 14 would love to be a 12

In general I would say size 12 and eve. 10 and 14 are average, depending on shops of course.

Yes I also think this is true

I’d say it’s average size for my 40 something friends, a few are probably 8/10 and a few 14/16, majority a 12 and not overweight.
Isn’t the average dress size for UK women a 16? So 12 would not be ‘big’.

This feels like a very weird response to the point I was making 😂anyway no, I wasn’t larger than my friends

At 5ft1 I would look ‘big’ at a 12. I need to be an 8 or small 10 to look like I want to.

I'm a size 12 and BMi is about 24/25. I'm okay with my size but I don't feel slim, I feel mid sized I guess. I don't feel big but I think if 18yo size 8 me saw my body in the mirror they would consider themselves big

In about 1981 I put on weight and became a size 12. I was absolutely disgusted with myself, and embarked on a life time of yo-yo dieting. Madness. I'd love to be a size 12 now.

Same here. I am 5' and top heavy. 12 top, 10 bottom is overweight for me.
I used to be 10 top and 8 bottom, and trying to get back there.

No I'd say it's average, still in the slim zone but bordering on slightly big. Especially when there seems to be so many women size 20 and I up round where I live.

What depressing thread and so dangerous for anyone reading with disordered eating

That's interesting because I'm 5ft 10 and a size 12.and my bmi is 24

I remember watching an old episode of "Fat Friends" recently and one of the characters had a 26 inch waist but was a size 12 in jeans

I'm 5'3" and when I was a size 12 in present day sizes, I was still a bit over BMI 25. So there's room to be slimmer. And size inflation means it's several inches bigger than a 1980s size 12. 36-29-39 (M&S) Vs 34-26-36.

Depends on height. Worth remembering that around 64% of British adults are overweight or obese. So if a 6-8 is being touted as the preference on social media it is by no means the norm. You can be a 12 and not be overweight so I struggle to see how a 12 is classed as big.

I don't think it is. I wear a size 10 in most things, but for coats and clothing where I want a bit more room I will buy a size 12. I'm 5ft 8, unsure of weight, around low 70 something Kg, BMI normal range.

I find generally that clothing labelled "Medium" is a size 10/12, so I would say size 12 is a medium.

It also depends on how you wear your clothes. A size 12 might think they are fat compared to a person who wears a size 10 but it can depend on whether you prefer clothes to be tight fitting or looser

Depends on your age. 10 was always the ideal when I was young. 12 felt more like a mum size.

I’m 5’5” and a size 12. I’m quite big boned so I can drop to the top end of a size 10 and look good but bottom of a size 10/size 8 and I look scrawny and ill. Size 12 suits me well and people describe me as “averagely slim”. I prefer being a 10-12 but being bang in the middle of it feels fine too.

The 'average dress size is a 16' line has been said for years, but I don't think there's any recent data or research on this. And size 16 a few decades ago was probably a size 12 today.

It would be interesting to know what size is brought most regularly from shops. Surely the likes of M&S have the data on this (but it would only represent their customer base of course).

If I creep to a size 12 I start cutting back on treats and watching my weight. But I’m not tall and look quite large around the middle with the extra lb.