No really... I AM big boned..?

omma_to_3

There is a big difference to claiming you're overweight BECAUSE you are big boned (which I don't see anyone here doing) and claiming you're overweight AND big boned. People can have wider and larger frames. Frame size will affect what size clothing you can wear. The amount of extra weight it adds to your body, is small and so not the reason for people being classified as overweight/obese. But the OP was asking about clothing sizes.

KiltFuPanda

Just to "weigh in" on this one -

I've considered myself big-boned. I'm 6'3" My wrists have little to no fat on them, and they're 8 1/2 inches in circumference. I can't wear most hats because my head is too large. I wear size 14 to 15 (depending on width) shoes.

Does this justify being overweight? No, not at all. But it does affect how much is a healthy weight. At my current weight bodyfat (22% at 340 lbs), a healthy weight goal is just around 300 lbs. That's a BMI of 38.

Maybe I'm an outlier in the data set, but it IS possible to be big boned.

Cindy873

I would love to see a girl with a 12 - 10% body fat claim she is big boned.

Only fat people make this claim.

Uh no. Have you never seen a woman with relatively low body fat with broad substantial shoulders? They might care to claim they are big boned but their frame is a different size and shape than another woman with narrower shoulders and this does have an impact on the size and shape you'll end up even if you do lose a lot of weight. Some people will never be a size 0 no matter how low their bodyfat percentage is, simply because their ribcage and hips are more broad, with or without fat coming into it. This is because of how their body is structured. Why is this such a hard thing to understand?

Fine lets take you for example, you are not big boned from what I can see in your photo, but you are fat, from what I can see in your photo.

Do you consider yourself big boned, because from a bystanders view you are just over weight.

Well, that was just plain rude and uncalled for. As for the validity of your comments, you can see from my profile picture that I am NOT overweight, however from a medical standpoint I have a large frame. In other words I am "big boned." And skinny.

EmilyTwist1

There are very real differences in frame size, even between people of the same gender and height. These differences don't make a lot of difference in terms of weight (ie, having a large framed skeleton by itself won't make you obese), but it can have a big effect on how you look and what size clothes you wear.

For example, my brother and one of my exes are both about the same height and neither are over weight. My brother has a 28" waist, and my ex's waist is about 35". My brother has a very narrow build while my ex has a much broader build.

Because of this I think it's more important to focus on being healthy (reaching a healthy bf%, building good muscle tone, etc.) than on wearing a certain clothing size.

Shannota

Bone structure, as well as body composition have a lot of influence on what size you can wear.

Ok, to an extent, I can agree

I was VERY fit in high school, but bone and muscle structure like a line-backer, and my smallest size was a 14 U.S.

Wow that is definitely evidence that for some people CAN be big boned.

I was also overweight

welp never mind.

Did I say what my body fat percentage was? O wait, you are an expert and probably already knew that one, huh? At least you are a friendly person. Also, my doctor has told me that because of my frame and tendency to put on muscle, despite my body fat percentage, I will probably be "overweight", since all that measures is height/weight. But thanks for attacking me. That helps Reminds me why I hate these forums...a bunch of mean people waiting to attack rather than discuss. Thanks!

Gratz you have the testosterone levels of a man apparently... It is your duty to now train for weight lifting in the Olympics to represent our country. Yeah right you put on muscle easily.

Wow, who took a dump in your Cheerios? You have insulted half the people on here who have been trying to have a decent discussion. Interesting to attack folks who have differing views or evidence...nice!

pg3ibew

I've never seen a big fat skeleton... I am pretty sure that line is just another excuse used like, 'Fat runs in my family'...'It's in my genes' or 'I have a slow metabolism'.

This exactly. And if it was written by a man, he would have been attacked as rude and insenesitive.

WendyTerry420

Regardless of size and shape I don't think anyones bones could be heavy enough to account for their bmi being in the obese range,, IMO

Well that goes without saying! Bones may vary slightly in size, but the difference in weight would not be enough to "tip the scales." :laugh:

gibsy

I would love to see a girl with a 12 - 10% body fat claim she is big boned.

Only fat people make this claim.

Uh no. Have you never seen a woman with relatively low body fat with broad substantial shoulders? They might care to claim they are big boned but their frame is a different size and shape than another woman with narrower shoulders and this does have an impact on the size and shape you'll end up even if you do lose a lot of weight. Some people will never be a size 0 no matter how low their bodyfat percentage is, simply because their ribcage and hips are more broad, with or without fat coming into it. This is because of how their body is structured. Why is this such a hard thing to understand?

Fine lets take you for example, you are not big boned from what I can see in your photo, but you are fat, from what I can see in your photo.

Do you consider yourself big boned, because from a bystanders view you are just over weight.

lol wow classy move there, scrutinizing my body instead of actually responding to the actual content of my argument. If you'd read my previous post you would have noticed that, in fact, I do not consider myself "big boned" by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, I said I have a rather small frame. I have a narrower frame than many other women of my height, in fact. I'm just carrying some extra weight on it, as you've so aptly observed. I have the potential to be thinner than many other women of my height simply because of the shape of my frame.

So yeah, you fail, dude. Try again. Next time you might try to read and respond to the content of a person's post rather than attacking them personally.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I don't think that bone size should be discounted, but I also don't think you can possibly know for sure what you are until you get to a healthy bodyfat %. Even wrists grow fat cells.

castadiva

Regardless of size and shape I don't think anyones bones could be heavy enough to account for their bmi being in the obese range,, IMO

Bones weighed in isolation - no, it is unlikely. However, frame size/skeletal structure does affect clothing sizes, which is what the OP asked about. It may also have an effect on what weight is/looks 'healthy' on an individual, which can mean that their BMI - not a good measure for individuals in any case - is comparatively high, while their actual physique/physical health is very good. For example, my doctor-dictated 'healthy weight' will still have me in the high reaches of 'Overweight' according to the BMI chart. My doctor knows that with my frame/body type, a 'healthy' BMI would be anything but healthy for me.

I agree what is healthy for one person varies isn't necessarily what is healthy for another person.
Which is why I said the obese range and not overweight.

( and yes my post was off topic to what the OP asked)

Yes, but the point is that some people, even larger-framed and more muscular than I, might have a healthy weight that puts them in the 'obese' category, according to the BMI chart. Humans come in a remarkable range of sizes and configurations. I'm sure you know that many elite athletes and male film stars who have very high levels of muscle are considered 'obese' in BMI terms, yet virtually everyone would agree that they are very healthy. It's always dangerous to make generalisations about physical structure, especially in the judgemental tone adopted by many in this thread (not you specifically), because there will always be people who sit, very healthily, outside the populational averages that things like BMI are based on, whether by nature, or deliberate design.

126siany

I would love to see a girl with a 12 - 10% body fat claim she is big boned.

Only fat people make this claim.

Uh no. Have you never seen a woman with relatively low body fat with broad substantial shoulders? They might care to claim they are big boned but their frame is a different size and shape than another woman with narrower shoulders and this does have an impact on the size and shape you'll end up even if you do lose a lot of weight. Some people will never be a size 0 no matter how low their bodyfat percentage is, simply because their ribcage and hips are more broad, with or without fat coming into it. This is because of how their body is structured. Why is this such a hard thing to understand?

I understood what you meant. Sometimes I have to size up in certain coats or blouses because the shoulders are too narrow and the sleeves too short. Then I get them tailored to fit the rest of me.

I still don't call myself big-boned, but I have wider shoulders than some women of the same chest/waist/hip measurements.

BrunetteRunner87

You may or may not be big-boned, really you won't know for sure until you are in the healthy weight range for your height. If you've overweight, than can actually effect the measurement of your wrist.

I'm 5'3.5", 127lbs and my wrist measurement is 6" - that makes me medium framed.

However when I was overweight at 165lbs, my wrist measurement was 6.5" - large framed.

I agree, before I lost weight my fingers just barely touched around my wrist, now they overlap, so I do think you can have some weight there.

HisShadow

I recently had a bilateral pelvic x-ray. The tech said "You know how some people say they're big boned, but they're not really"

I said "Yeah, I'm not really big boned either?"

He replied, "No, you're one of the really big boned ones. Your pelvis is enormous, and won't fit on one slide."

So there you have it. I'm big boned.

WendyTerry420

I would love to see a girl with a 12 - 10% body fat claim she is big boned.

Only fat people make this claim.

Actually, in 6th grade, I was barely over 100 pounds and was measured as having a large frame. That was the year we did the Presidential Fitness challenge, and I was one of the few girls in my grade that received the award for fitness. I was playing volleyball, soccer, basketball, and softball. I was not overweight, yet had the largest wrist size of any of the girls in class.

So no, fat people may say it as an excuse for being fat, but there are people in a healthy weight range that realize they have a larger frame/structure than others. We are not clones of each other.

iplayoutside19

Yes, a person can be big boned, and there is a difference in skeleton size....how else are we different hieghts?

However, bones & muscles don't jiggle. Fat does. No matter your frame type you'll look better, feel better, and be more healthy the less jiggly you are. Don't worry about your weight, pants size, or any other abritrary number we put on being healthy. Just get less jiggly.

animatorswearbras

I think there can be differences in frame sizes but I think they only come into play when your into healthy bmi range (bmi based on a moderatley active adult not a body builder) for example I'm 5' 5" would consider myself a medium frame and I'm aiming for 126 pounds I have been 116 pounds before but looked gaunt, however I've seen some girls on here 116 and they look fab and still have some curves, but I don't think there should be any skeletal frame barrier for anyone getting into the higher side of a healthy BMI. (which was 150 in my case)

Obviosly skeletons differ as a 5ft and 6 ft person will have a different skeleton, but it's mostly irrelevant.

Long story short though if I can grab a fist full of fat round my tummy (like I still can), I can't blame it on my skeleton 'caus that ain't bone.

melb2003

Myself, right now I weight 234 lbs and I'm a little taller than 5'7'', I'm a size 18. Before when I tried to lose weight, I got down to 200 lbs and I dropped to a size 13/14. My doctor has told me that a weight of 175 would be perfect for my bone structure and because I do have a lot more muscle than the average girl (I've played sports since I was 4) and the fact that he said my bone structure is larger than normal. HOWEVER, you may be very surprised that as you start to get closer to your goal weight, I have known people that thought they were big boned but they would thin out even more.

I would say this, don't set yourself up for failure, give yourself a modest big boned goal, like 180 or so. When you reach your goal see how you like it, if you find that you think you could lose even more, try it out. If your body wasn't meant to be smaller than that, you'll have an extremely hard time getting lower. Case and point, my husband has lost almost 90 lbs, he's 6'4''. He really wants to be in the 190's but the lowest he has been able to get is 206 in the last 2 months. I think he looks amazing, but he still wants to lose more. After 2 months of him just not being able to drop more whether he kills himself with hours of exercise and eats super healthy, since he is in a healthy weight range, he has come to accept that 206 is a goal weight for him.

If you are able to lose more, keep trying and try to get as low as you can go.

smwade01

I am a 6" tall female. I weigh 170 pounds, and according to my BMI that is a healthy weight for me. I have very wide hips too. At my smallest I weighed around 153 and could get into a size 10, But I was grossly underweight for my height. My wide hipbones were sticking out and people kept telling me I looked sick. Now I dont worry about my weight as much as I focus on weather or not I am in shape. Check your BMI and aim for that weight. Good luck!

GabyG69

I'm not sure if I am big boned either but I'm pretty sure I am.. I am 5'8" and currently weigh 166 lbs. I am a tight size 8 (a few more lbs. to go, yay!) so u can definitely go down to a size 10

sherisse69

If people have EXACTLY THE SAME skeletons then how is it possible to identify male from female when fossils are discovered from ancient cultures?

Why are some women to 'narrow' for childbirth if the skeletons are EXACTLY the same? is the fat making their hips closer together?

If all skeletons are the same please explain Osteoporosis and the other skeletal disorders. By this thinking then it would be impossible to have any differences in structure at all.

Here's one from the American Journal of clinical nutrition : http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/6/1012.long which discusses frame sizes.

It is utterly ridiculous to say that everyone has the same size of skeleton.

AGREED!