"big boned"

Falcon

When most people refer to it, they refer to the "girth" of their bones. Unfortunately people of the same height and frame have relatively the same bone diameter when born. As one gains weight rapidly, the bones adjust by becoming more "dense" and adapt to the stress. People who are obese/overweight have a different gait when they walk compared to someone at an average weight with the same frame. This change in gait, can cause the skeletal structure to adapt the extra stress.

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based on what theory did you come to this conclusion?

That makes no sense

it does make sense actually. ever wonder why older people hobble and hunch over?

That we have the same size bones as a baby? When someone is pregnant, bones develop and grow. That's the way it works.

azwethinkweizm

Ah now to be fair there is some truth to this. It's not necessarily that the person is "big" boned but what they mean is that their skeletal frame is wider. Like my sister would have a very small and petite frame. No matter how much weight I lose, I could NEVER look like her because my frame is bigger - I have broader shoulders and a bigger rib cage (I am taller too though).
I agree there are people who use this as a cop out and they are just fat and making excuses but everyone is not working off the same page - people are different and diverse in their shapes so it depends on the person really!

oohmercyme

What bothers me is that people and indicator's such as BMI don't take frame into consideration. I'm 5'3, my sister is 5'2. She has a petite frame, I have a large frame. If you measure the distance between our hipbones, mine is 2 inches wider, as is my ribcage (I'm taking bones here not the extra padding). Surely 2 extra inches in all my major bones is going to add more weight because of the bones themselves, but I also need more skin, fat, muscle to cover the extra surface area. You would consider that for 2 extra inches of height, why would you not for two extra inches of bone width?

This is not an excuse for fat but surely you can't think we have all our bits loaded onto the exact same frame?

I were the same weight as my sister, I would be a bag of bones which is not the look I am after. When I get to my goal weight, I will still be in the overweight category for BMI, but having been that weight before, know that it's a good weight for my frame and I look athletic and healthy.

oohmercyme

LOL azwethinkweiz- you beat me to the punch!

Poods71

I'm shocked! Just did the calculator to see what frame I am, I always thought I was a medium at the most. Don't know if I am doing it wrong but it says I am a large frame :huh:.

People never believe that I am nearly 10 stone and only 5' 2" so maybe the big bones help hide it :laugh:

jennywren881

I too have a bigger frame, however I am also a little over weight. I know I have a bigger frame as when I have previously slimmed down, exercised to the point of having a six pack and toned all over, my hips would still never fit into a size 10. Since having a problematic pregnancy and being unable to exercise for a long time my weight has piled on and I look a lot bigger, but I would say its only the same as a small framed person slipping up to a size 12. Frame size matters in clothes size, I think it can make a lot of young girls feel fat when they compare themselves, I know as I have been there aswell. It's all well and good telling people not to go by clothes size, but to many women we still will regardless. However it won't stop me from reaching my personal goal again.

elyelyse

I can admit that I'm fat, but I can also say no matter how much I lose I'll never be a size 2, 4, or 6. These are some child bearing hips I got here! And with these breasts, I'll never fit into a top smaller than a medium-large.

laddyboy

Guess What, Big Boned is just a term your friends use to make you feel better. In their mind they are thinking.. You're fat.
I use to hear it all the time. You're just big boned. I went back to my friends and co workers and said "hey, thanks for not telling me I was fat" LOL
I'm not Big Boned anymore.

ironanimal

Some people's bones genuinely are thicker and/or denser than others, but if it was their bones making them as big as they are you would see aforementioned bones.

BarbaraC47

Geez, those pics scared me - I know I am more like the one on the right for now. Big boned? Nah, thats a myth AND an excuse

NotThePest

Someone define "Big Bone" please. Having "dense" bones or brittle bones, is not a matter of size but weight. If I went around and observed all the skeletons I could find, human skeletons, am I going to see bones that are bigger in circumference depth and breadth, or am I going to have to get out my scales and get the weight?

chivalryder

I don't know if the term can be linked to frame size, but I have a large frame.

I've met some guys who were the same height as me, if not taller, and weighed 150 lbs. Me? 150 lbs is how much lean mass i have right now, with very little muscles (compared to what I would like to have). My shoulders were a good 2" wider than his. Once in shape, I would be surprised to see my weight under 175, if not under 185.

00Melyanna00

Guess What, Big Boned is just a term your friends use to make you feel better. In their mind they are thinking.. You're fat.
I use to hear it all the time. You're just big boned. I went back to my friends and co workers and said "hey, thanks for not telling me I was fat" LOL
I'm not Big Boned anymore.

I wouldn't put it that way.

There IS a difference in frame size and it can be measured (usually measuring the wrist), however, this fact is very often used either as an excuse to avoid admitting that a person is fat, or as a way, as you said, to make people feel better.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepages/17182.htm

I have a small frame, with tiny wrists and I am rather short. That means that "big boned" doesn't work for me either as an excuse or a way to feel better.

Usually, you can tell if any "ideal weight" online calculator is serious, if it asks you to measure your wrists.

dhakiyya

Someone define "Big Bone" please. Having "dense" bones or brittle bones, is not a matter of size but weight. If I went around and observed all the skeletons I could find, human skeletons, am I going to see bones that are bigger in circumference depth and breadth, or am I going to have to get out my scales and get the weight?

It's already been defined on the thread a few times. Yes you will get people with bigger pelvises and rib cages than others, and also people where the girth of the bones are wider. If two women have the same healthy body fat percentage but one is 4 inches bigger around the chest (as in the rib cage, not the breasts) then she has a larger frame size (at a healthy bf% there is not very much fat around the ribs). Wrist and elbow size (as in the size of the bones, not any fat on top of them, there's a specific measurement you can do on the elbow for example, to measure the distance between the bony bits on each side when the elbow is bent, which you need a caliper for, but people with wider bones will have a wider measurement here. So large frame is a combination of the two, and someone could have either of these things going on, i.e. wider bones and/or bigger pelvis, rib cage etc.

These things do not make a huge difference in someone's weight or dress size though. They make a small difference. Someone with a large frame size would not be able to be size zero without being and looking starved, however someone with a small frame size may be a size 0 while also being a healthy body fat percentage and having a fair amount of muscle. Frame size does not explain someone being a size 20, no-one's skeleton is that big.

The density of bones is an entirely different thing, and that can change, i.e. you can make your bones denser by getting enough calcium and vitamin D and doing weight bearing exercise). Some of the weight that people put on from starting exercise programs, which is assumed to be muscle, includes an increase in bone density. Some people have naturally more dense bones than others, but everyone can increase their bone density by doing more exercise and eating a healthy diet. Denser bones = healthier = less risk of osteoporosis. When it comes to bone and muscle, heavier = healthier, which is yet another reason to focus on body fat percentage rather than weight, and what's a healthy body fat percentage is the same regardless of frame size.

Pimpmonkey

I happen to be fat and big-boned, however being big-boned, has nothing to do with me being fat.

I was "big-boned" too. In reality I was just fat.

Erisad

frame size makes a difference, two people of the same height would not necessarily look good at the same weight.

i like this calculator
http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/fsz

I have a large frame, so I guess I am big boned. :laugh:

Pimpmonkey

I have been down to 174 and looked like a crackwhore, so ya'll can call it what you like. I call it big boned.

SuperSexyDork

I have been down to 174 and looked like a crackwhore, so ya'll can call it what you like. I call it big boned.

I hear you! I have a large frame and when I was 205 my doctor told me she would no longer consider me overweight but if I wanted to continue to lose weight I should only plan on losing another 20 pounds.

ninerbuff

When most people refer to it, they refer to the "girth" of their bones. Unfortunately people of the same height and frame have relatively the same bone diameter when born. As one gains weight rapidly, the bones adjust by becoming more "dense" and adapt to the stress. People who are obese/overweight have a different gait when they walk compared to someone at an average weight with the same frame. This change in gait, can cause the skeletal structure to adapt the extra stress.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

based on what theory did you come to this conclusion?

That makes no sense

Actually study done on the femur bone of individuals.

Gina M. Agostini, Ann H. Ross. The Effect of Weight on the Femur: A Cross-Sectional Analysis*. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2011; 56 (2): 339 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01648.x

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

When most people refer to it, they refer to the "girth" of their bones. Unfortunately people of the same height and frame have relatively the same bone diameter when born. As one gains weight rapidly, the bones adjust by becoming more "dense" and adapt to the stress. People who are obese/overweight have a different gait when they walk compared to someone at an average weight with the same frame. This change in gait, can cause the skeletal structure to adapt the extra stress.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

based on what theory did you come to this conclusion?

That makes no sense

it does make sense actually. ever wonder why older people hobble and hunch over?

That we have the same size bones as a baby? When someone is pregnant, bones develop and grow. That's the way it works.

Lol, reread the statement I made. When 2 people with the same size and frame are BORN, the bone diameter (barring any other issues such as being a preemy or disease) is relatively the same. As one AGES from that point, weight can change how bones adapt.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition