Do you think today's standards are based on an overweight na

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Froggeh
Froggeh Posts: 148
in Health and Weight Loss
Sorry, I wasn't sure exactly where to post this. I just wanted to see what other people felt. Do you think the idea of "skinny," "average," "overweight," and "obese" are based off of a nation that has grown? For example, a Medium drink at McDonald's used to be consdiered a Large... Have clothes done the same thing? Are we as people growing more and more accepting of weight problems as the nation as a whole grows heavier?
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  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    No, if anything I actually think it's the opposite. These days models wearing a size 8 are "plus size" models - but a size 8 is below the national average! It's ridiculous. No wonder people are so insecure about weight and appearance.
  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
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    Clothes have definitely changed in sizing - it's called 'vanity sizing' - I think there's at least a 1-2 size difference from the 80's.

    I think the media is less tolerant of weight issues and obesity, as the previous poster mentions, but clothing manufacturers are well aware of the trend toward increased weight and obesity, and they just care about selling clothes, so they've changed the sizes so people don't freak out about what size they really are, and keep buying clothes...
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
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    I don't know about the charts, but sizes are definitely different.

    As a teen (25 plus years ago), I was a size 8. Now I weigh probably 10 more pounds than I did then, and I'm a size 4. doesn't make sense, does it?
  • missfluffyuk
    missfluffyuk Posts: 245
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    I think people hold the general populations & models to a completely different set of standards. Models are shrinking, general population is growing.

    If somebody sees a size 8 model, she's "average", or even "chubby". A size 8 normal person, they think they're "skinny".
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,411 Member
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    I don't know about the charts, but sizes are definitely different.

    As a teen (25 plus years ago), I was a size 8. Now I weigh probably 10 more pounds than I did then, and I'm a size 4. doesn't make sense, does it?

    I agree, I have some of my older clothes from 25-30 years ago and the sizes are different. Frustrating!
  • DenverKos
    DenverKos Posts: 182
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    Clothes have definitely changed in sizing - it's called 'vanity sizing' - I think there's at least a 1-2 size difference from the 80's.

    ^^^This - the view has definitely changed. What we see as "normal" IS bigger, and designers are in on it, too, making us "feel good" so we can wear smaller numbers even if our size is bigger.
  • hollyeverhart
    hollyeverhart Posts: 397 Member
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    My husband got a medium drink from burger king and I thought they gave him a extra large. It was way to big. Sizes have definilty changed for the worse. Portion sizes are out of control. I rarely eat at restaurants I would rather cook. But when I do I normally could get 3 meals out of the one plate! Like at olive garden or somewhere, who the hell can eat a entire plate of pasta there, I get through like 25% and feel full. At home I use smaller plates so then the plate still appears super full but its really not.
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    I don't know about the charts, but sizes are definitely different.

    As a teen (25 plus years ago), I was a size 8. Now I weigh probably 10 more pounds than I did then, and I'm a size 4. doesn't make sense, does it?

    I agree, I have some of my older clothes from 25-30 years ago and the sizes are different. Frustrating!

    ^THIS & THAT^
  • marekdds
    marekdds Posts: 2,211 Member
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    Forty years ago as a teenager, I wore a 13-14 at 148lbs. Today at 148lbs, I wear a size 8?????????????????????
  • Froggeh
    Froggeh Posts: 148
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    My husband got a medium drink from burger king and I thought they gave him a extra large. It was way to big. Sizes have definilty changed for the worse. Portion sizes are out of control. I rarely eat at restaurants I would rather cook. But when I do I normally could get 3 meals out of the one plate! Like at olive garden or somewhere, who the hell can eat a entire plate of pasta there, I get through like 25% and feel full. At home I use smaller plates so then the plate still appears super full but its really not.

    I went out with a friend a few weeks ago and ordered a chicken salad dinner... the salad could have fed 4 people!!!
  • ninyagwa
    ninyagwa Posts: 341 Member
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    That is a loaded question, but I'm almost certain the answer to " Are we as people growing more and more accepting of weight problems as the nation as a whole grows heavier? " is an emphatic no.

    It is up to a manufacturer to determine how their clothes are made, you could go to a dozen different stores by a basic pair of blue jeans in the same size from each, and all of them will have different measurements as far as inseam, waist, thighs, etc. It's the same at restaurants, I don't know how many times I've ordered a large Orange Juice at a restaurant and was taken aback when this 8 oz glass comes out instead of the "bucket o' drink" you get at McDonalds.

    We as a Nation have become much more accepting of excess material things, but as far as weight goes I really don't think we've "accepted" fatness. I think the reason we see more obesity is we live an increasingly sedentiary lifestyle as a nation combined with a lack of nutrional knowledge, sure we learn sex ed in school, but I remember being taught way more about my body than about the food that went into it...I don't think the fat kid gets picked on any less now than he/she did when I was a fat kid.

    I don't know if that's really an answer or not...just some of my thoughts on the subject.
  • D446
    D446 Posts: 266 Member
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    Yes. Vanity sizing! 50 years ago a size 8 was smaller then a size 8 these days. Anyone who has shopped at vintage stores would notice this.
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    Clothes have definitely changed in sizing - it's called 'vanity sizing' - I think there's at least a 1-2 size difference from the 80's.

    ^^^This - the view has definitely changed. What we see as "normal" IS bigger, and designers are in on it, too, making us "feel good" so we can wear smaller numbers even if our size is bigger.
    My husband got a medium drink from burger king and I thought they gave him a extra large. It was way to big. Sizes have definilty changed for the worse. Portion sizes are out of control. I rarely eat at restaurants I would rather cook. But when I do I normally could get 3 meals out of the one plate! Like at olive garden or somewhere, who the hell can eat a entire plate of pasta there, I get through like 25% and feel full. At home I use smaller plates so then the plate still appears super full but its really not.

    Hope that answers your question
  • Hayesgang
    Hayesgang Posts: 624
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    I believe the clothing industry has changed it's standards regarding sizing it's called "Vanity Sizing".

    Gap admitted doing it years ago, they said their sales went up because it made woman feel good to be able to wear a size 4-6 in their jeans when in other brands they were an 8-10, other companies caught on and jumped on the band wagon. Adding "stretch" to jeans also allows people to go to a smaller size.

    Personally, I prefer jeans with no stretch that go by waist size and not 2,4,6 etc sizing. I tried on a dress the other day that was a "size 4" and it fit like a glove but wasn't right for the occasion - I was thrilled BUT I know I'm not a 4 - the dress I'm wearing in my profile picture is from a highend store and it's an 8, a 6 was too tight in the bust. I am not silly enough to think I'm a 4 but it did something for me for a minute.
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    I believe that obesity is the modern equivalent of what leprosy was in the middle ages. The difference is that people who are obese can most often than not reverse their obesity, whereas people with leprosy were just ******.

    You get treated about the same though regardless.
  • Froggeh
    Froggeh Posts: 148
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    That is a loaded question, but I'm almost certain the answer to " Are we as people growing more and more accepting of weight problems as the nation as a whole grows heavier? " is an emphatic no.

    I wasn't trying to make it a loaded question. :frown: I was just genuinely curious to see how other people felt and to hear their opinions on the matter.
  • tjpinch
    tjpinch Posts: 87 Member
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    I think sizes in the states are bigger than in Canada. Last time I was shopping down there, I was buying size 4, when here I wore 6/8
  • TamsinEllis
    TamsinEllis Posts: 293
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    Sizes have been getting bigger (at least in the UK they have). My mum (now 55 years old) has been a size 12 since she was 18, and she herself will admit she's a lot wider now then she was at 18. Ignoring models since they are 90% of the time underweight and unhealthy (I'm sure some aren't but I'm not going to bother educating myself right now), we have come to accept bigger sizes as the norm but never stop to consider how big our sizes actually are, my mum gave me (years back now) a skirt from when she was 18 for a fancy dress party, size 12, was smaller then my size 8 skirts I wore at the time, not by much but by enough for me to feel a bit of a pinch. So over the course of say 40 years, a size 12 has increased to what was once a size 16, does that mean by 2050 a size 12 will be what is currently a size 18? If you look at the national average sizes over the years you will notice how they got up, as being overweight becomes more and more accepted, by that I don't mean being overweight is a crime and you shouldn't go out in public if you are, I just mean that people might think about weight issues more now then they did 40 years ago, but I think they do less about it, making it "okay" to be overweight (unhealthy overweight I mean not overweight because of your frame) and from it being okay to be overweight it becomes "okay" to be obese because a certain percentage of people already are, and so on so forth.
    Sorry if I've insulted/offended anyone with this, I myself am overweight so it's a criticism of me as much as it is of you, but it's just what I think.
  • AnarchoGen
    AnarchoGen Posts: 400 Member
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    During WWII we were also encouraged to grow our own foods, in some places now you can't grow food on your own property! & if you can't grow food, try to buy it local
  • hollyeverhart
    hollyeverhart Posts: 397 Member
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    I'm not to sure about the clothing sizes changing. When I was younger I was chubbier and wore a 7-9 in juniors, now I wear a 3-5 in juniors, but a size 7-9 is huge on me now so I think juniors sizes have remained the same for the most part.. I refuse to start wearing women's sizes in clothes. lol. Not really I just don't shop anywhere currently that goes my women's sizes so I can't relate if they have changed or not. For the record SIZE 8 IS NOT PLUS SIZE! thats crazy!

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