Let's go ahead and debunk the whole "I'm big boned" theory...

BinaryPulsar

It can get pretty ridiculous in the forums when people don't understand the variation in frame size and the reasons for why that leads to a difference in weight. It's a missing piece in the education for a lot of people. But, it's completely logical when you take the time to think about. It's something that neandermagnon and i have discussed a lot. And was the topic upon which we became friends. Her being large framed, me being small framed, but both of us the same height (within an inch). We have both encountered the ignorance on this issue. And it is absolutely true that organ size will be different for a person that is short with a small rib cage and small waist. A person with smaller organs can't donate a kidney to a larger person. People do call me small boned, I don't have a problem with that. It only bothers me when strangers on the internet want to diagnose based on stats they don't understand. Every doctor I have had says I have a small frame. It's part of my personal and genetic health profile. I saw diminutive frame on my medical chart when I had to go to a specialist. A smaller framed person has less space for body mass. They can build muscle, but they will still weigh less than a larger framed person at a comparable fitness level. And will usually have to work harder to bulk up, if that is their goal.

llUndecidedll

My doctor said I had a large frame for a woman.

I have a huge head. ( are all bones the same size minus the skull and jaw? Im curious.) My back is also wider than most males my height, even at a healthy weight. My feet and hands are also huge for a female my height.

I feel like it's silly to even 'debunk' this myth because I've never met a single person who was referring to the actual size of their bones but instead their overall frame when calling themselves 'big boned' .

Its silly to think I could be the same size and weight as say yoona from snsd who is the same height as I am. My hands and feet are literally twice the size of hers. My torso is literally twice the size of hers.

Carlos_421

The OP could have avoided a lot of controversy if the post contained something other than just the image and a statement of "you're just fat."

Because of that, I think a point is being missed. The image posted doesn't refer to weight (as in numbers on a scale) so it isn't meant to say that if you have a different shape or higher weight than someone else that you're automatically fat. It is simply an illustration of how the average skeletal frame compares to the body it supports when in a state of obesity.
This is to point out that body composition and especially obesity are not the unavoidable results of a large skeletal structure. You could change the shape of that skeletal frame; make it broader, wider, narrower, shorter, taller...whatever you like. In any of the skeletal variations you can imagine, there's no way a human skeleton is going to fill out that body shape. So to an overweight or obese person, the message is that just because you feel that you have "big bones" doesn't mean you are stuck. You can still lose fat and transform the way you look and feel.
Many people have been obese for so long that they start to believe that the way they look now is just the way they're built due to their frame or genetics or whatever reason. They have no idea that their lean body mass is shaped much different than they imagine. That's why so many success stories are so inspiring! Seeing what is possible to attain, what is hidden underneath the skin is just amazing every time!

Also, one body type is not better than another. There's nothing wrong with broad shoulders or wider hips or a larger rib cage. Every body type is beautiful!!!

That said, another point is to be made about the image posted (the one I believe the OP intended to convey but sadly didn't exactly get across).
The point to be made is this: a large or broad skeletal frame will not cause you to look fat. It will not cause a gut or give you big, soft arms. A person with a large, broad frame with a bf% of 9% may have broad shoulders or be in the 95th percentile for rib cage size but they will still look lean and fit.
Say there are two 30 year old men. Both have 8% body fat and are 5' 10" exactly and they carry the same amount of muscle. However, one has a significatly larger frame than the other. He will weigh more (due to both slightly more bone mass as well as more organ mass) and will most likely appear larger than the other. However, he will not look more fat. He will still look lean because he IS lean. With broader shoulders he may even appear in better shap due to the tapering effect from his wide shoulders to his lean midsection.
Now let the slighter framed man increase his body fat to 30%. You now might assume that he has a larger frame than his bigger boned friend due only to his increased size.

I'm not fat shaming by any stretch when I say this but there really are a lot of people who don't even realize how out of shape they are because they're living under the pretense that they're big boned. I grew up with a guy who was about 5' 11" and he weighed 270 pounds. He never lifted weights and wasn't strong so it's safe to say he didn't have much muscle mass. However, he maintained the belief that he was just big boned. I'm sorry, but having a broad skeletal shape did not add 100 lbs of weight to my friend. If he had taken control of his health he could absolutely have attained a lean, fit body.
Would he have still been broader than me? Maybe, maybe not. Would he have had a body that some would call ideal? Maybe, maybe not.
But that's why I said what I did earlier. It doesn't matter what you're frame is because they're all beautiful. Personally, I wish I was taller but I can't control that any more than you can control your foot size and that's fine!

What's not fine is saying that a large person is hopeless and can't get in shape just because they think they have big bones or that they don't even need to get it shape at all because all it is is a case of having a large frame.

Take all that to say this: you CAN be fit, lean, athletic and look great no matter what frame shape you have!! Your skeleton is not in charge of your fitness. You are! And if you're lean and fit but still don't like your shape that's a shame because God designed it just right and it's perfect.

BinaryPulsar

meridianova wrote: »

wilsoncl6 wrote: »

How wide your shoulders are is determined by your musculature, not your bones.

uh, no, i'm pretty sure that's determined by the placement of your shoulder joints, how long your collarbone is, the width of your scapulae, etc. while you can build the muscles in your neck, upper back, shoulders, and upper arms, nothing is going to change how far apart your shoulder joints are... or the length of your legs, or the circumference of your rib cage.

i use the terms "big boned" and "large framed" interchangeably. as per the NIH and BMI guidelines, i have a very large frame for a 5'3" girl. it makes a difference as to how much muscle my body is capable of carrying, and how low i'm willing to let my weight go.

Anyone can be any size they want to be given the right diet and activity level and the skeleton plays absolutely no role in that process.

bull. my bra band will never be less than a 38 because that's how big my ribcage is. even if i eliminated ALL the fat AND muscle from my waist, hips, butt, and thighs, and probably calves too, my hipbones are placed too wide to fit into a size 2. telling someone "you can be a size 2 if you work hard enough" is only perpetuating an unattainable societal stereotype and causing more people to hate their bodies.

Yeah, I missed this one earlier and completely agree. It's such a myth that every person has the same exact skeletal frame. A harmful myth. And lacking in common sense.