What do you think the size of a healthy woman would be?

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  • beets4us
    beets4us Posts: 57 Member
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    I think the size of a healthy woman should be whatever SHE wants it to be :)
  • iwillsucceed0444
    iwillsucceed0444 Posts: 432 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I don't give a *kitten* about a stupid number on a piece of cloth...healthy comes in all shapes and sizes, so beauty, so does confidence.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    I don't view certain clothing sizes as healthy or unhealthy because it depends on height and body type. A 5'10" woman could be a size 10 or 12 and be healthy...or she could be overweight. It depends on how much is muscle vs fat and where she carries the weight.

    But a 5'3" woman who is a size ten or 12 is almost certainly overweight.

    Just because a size is average doesn't mean it is healthy. 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese, so average is not a good thing here.
  • Metazoick
    Metazoick Posts: 96 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Like everybody else here said, dress size =/= health in any way. A short girl and a tall girl can be exactly the same fitness wise with very different dress sizes for example, and that's not even taking into account how unfit skinny girls can be and how fit larger girls can be: I once knew somebody decidedly in the 'overweight' category but she could run circles around me with zero effort while I was lying on the grass dying. Unless their bodyshape is at the extreme end of the spectrum health and bodyshape don't equate.

    BUT you're talking about one model in particular, and asking why somebody of an average weight was considered plus size in the fashion world. The answer is that, in that particular industry, she *is* plus sized (by which I mean over the average weight) compared to the rest of the models. Fashion models have to be skinny because the designers prefer it when clothes 'drape' off them - it shows off the outfit better and draws more attention to it. This isn't true of all designers, brands or models, naturally, but it can't be argued that there's a huge amount of pressure to be skinny in that world. This has issues, models are the Chosen Ones of beauty, so if they're all well under average weight then surely that must be the ideal look, but these criticisms are well documented and have been explained far better than I ever can in a little forum post. It could easily be that the 'plus sized' models are healthier than some of their more extreme counterparts, but modelling simply isn't about promoting healthy looks or being an accurate representation of the population. It's about selling stuff.
  • mamameaof2kiddos
    mamameaof2kiddos Posts: 6,611 Member
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    beets4us wrote: »
    I think the size of a healthy woman should be whatever SHE wants it to be :)

    I agree on you girl.. Whatever size as long as you are healthy.
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
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    I would like to point out to all the non-Australians in here, an Australian size 14 equates to about a US size 10.

    @benefiting I was a little curious, are you talking about Robyn Lawley, or the Australian plus size models in particular? I know most of the City Chic 'plus size' models are usually a 14-16, and fit in an XS in their clothing lines.
  • benefiting
    benefiting Posts: 795 Member
    edited February 2015
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    mangrothian wrote: »
    I would like to point out to all the non-Australians in here, an Australian size 14 equates to about a US size 10.

    @benefiting I was a little curious, are you talking about Robyn Lawley, or the Australian plus size models in particular? I know most of the City Chic 'plus size' models are usually a 14-16, and fit in an XS in their clothing lines.

    Thanks for that correction. I must of looked at a dodgy site for converting that. :)

    The model's name is Laura Wells. If you take a look at her, she looks healthy and fit. She doesn't look overweight and I wouldn't call her a plus size. She just has a curvy lowerhalf. It's wrong to have her classed in that caterogy.

    I'll say one more time what my question intended. It's not about health in itself as health needs more measurements than a dress size but through someone eyes without knowing all those measurements what do you view as a healthy dress size.

    Kudos to you if you don't think some sizes are more healthier looking than others but some do and it can take an impact on people who think they need to be these sizes to be beautiful and such I believe and since I am focused on this particlar model according to a website (not sure if it's accurate) she is 5"10 so base your answers off that.
  • barry1992
    barry1992 Posts: 692 Member
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    My wife always fluctuated between size 6 when she was upset / depressed to size 10 when all is well with her life. So strictly from that barometer I would say size 10 - 12.
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
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    benefiting wrote: »
    mangrothian wrote: »
    I would like to point out to all the non-Australians in here, an Australian size 14 equates to about a US size 10.

    @benefiting I was a little curious, are you talking about Robyn Lawley, or the Australian plus size models in particular? I know most of the City Chic 'plus size' models are usually a 14-16, and fit in an XS in their clothing lines.

    Thanks for that correction. I must of looked at a dodgy site for converting that. :)

    The model's name is Laura Wells. If you take a look at her, she looks healthy and fit. She doesn't look overweight and I wouldn't call her a plus size. She just has a curvy lowerhalf. It's wrong to have her classed in that caterogy.

    I'll say one more time what my question intended. It's not about health in itself as health needs more measurements than a dress size but through someone eyes without knowing all those measurements what do you view as a healthy dress size.

    Kudos to you if you don't think some sizes are more healthier looking than others but some do and it can take an impact on people who think they need to be these sizes to be beautiful and such I believe and since I am focused on this particlar model according to a website (not sure if it's accurate) she is 5"10 so base your answers off that.

    Thanks, I was curious as to which model it was, because I've read a few articles that have been smack talking the 'plus size' models recently. I bet my buttons that if you asked Laura Wells, she'd say she was a 'real size' model, which I think might be a better turn of phrase. Granted, if you popped almost anyone next to a catwalk model, they'd look like a plus size.

    I think a woman is healthy at whatever 'size' (considering the variations in womens clothing sizes from store to store, it's not a great measuring stick anyway!) she looks her best at, which will always vary from woman to woman. If her 'internal' health is clear, then it shouldn't matter.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    This is an unanswerable question because women are all shaped differently and fit different size dresses. My Thai friend has a very slight build and wears very small sizes. She would be big at size 4. Another friend is more Amazonian in stature and I am guessing a 12 when she is on point fitness-wise.

    You can't measure health with a fashion yardstick.
  • Melissa90xo
    Melissa90xo Posts: 1,020 Member
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    Laura Wells has a banging body! I'd kill to look like her :heart_eyes:
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    When you're talking models and what is normal, healthy etc., this does not apply to the general population. Model's must have a certain bone structure and height. An average woman knows when she's healthy---someone with an ED does not. I, for one, do not like models used as examples. The beauty of us girls is our diversity. :)
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
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    why does the word 'inciting' keep popping in my head right now?
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
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    kojiro44705 wrote: »
    I would judge by the amount of fat around their heart and other organs.

    This basically, it really depends where you put your weight, I have a perfectly healthy BMI and wear UK size 10 (US6) jeans and12 (US8) dresses and tops but I put on all my weight around my tummy so my belly measurement (at the thickest part) is technically over the British heart foundations recommended healthy circumference of 31.5". However there's women out there with hourglass figures who are technically in an unhealthy BMI and a size 16 but with barely any fat around their middle. I think the latter is technically deemed healthier.

    Dress sizes are manufactured nonsense and BMI's are just a guide, there is no one size fits all, you've just got to figure out where you are on the spectrum. :wink:
  • ChicagOH
    ChicagOH Posts: 75 Member
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    kamakazeekim wrote: »
    Size per se does not matter when talking about health. What does their blood panel show? Are they able to be physically active without too much pain and huffing and puffing? How much fat is around their internal organs (even skinny people can have really fatty organs)? I know that I for one was "healthier" when I was larger. Now that I've lost 130 pounds I feel weak and tired...I throw up all the time....I'm constantly getting sick...and my heart is not able to maintain a high enough blood pressure. I'm tired of seeing people equate weight with health...the numbers on the scale are not a good indicator of what is going on internally.

    This is a lot like saying "my great aunt Ethel smoked like a chimney and lived to be 95". Yes, one can have some extra weight and be quite healthy. But that is a matter of genetics, and being slimmer is generally better on all your parts. I can feel the difference just ten lbs makes to my knees and hips- and we sure are replacing a lot of those. Some people have a stockier build, but fat is still fat.
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
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    Size varies on so many things. So does weight. It's simply impossible to pick one size or one weight that equals healthy. You have asked an unanswerable question.
  • HeidiHirtle
    HeidiHirtle Posts: 126 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    This is an unanswerable question because women are all shaped differently and fit different size dresses. My Thai friend has a very slight build and wears very small sizes. She would be big at size 4. Another friend is more Amazonian in stature and I am guessing a 12 when she is on point fitness-wise.

    You can't measure health with a fashion yardstick.
    This is the correct answer.

  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
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    Healthy:

    adjective
    in a good physical or mental condition; in good health.
    "I feel fit and healthy"
    synonyms: in good physical condition, in good health, well, all right, fine, fit, physically fit, in good trim, in good shape, in fine fettle, in good kilter, in top form, aerobicized, in tip-top condition;
    indicating or promoting good health.

    For some reason the words "healthy" and "curvy have become interchangeable in most aspects of the media in recent years; "curvy" is simply a euphemism for "fat". (see Daily Mail, TMZ et al)

    It's all gotten rather skewed. Your "healthy size" is a size which falls naturally to you when you don't over or under eat for your bodies needs. Most people have no idea what this is, usually because excuses, but also because of being told constantly about what body type is currently en vogue.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    _John_ wrote: »
    iJIW89B.gif

    I'm totally doing this with my chair next time I'm at my son's football game! Love it!

  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    You have to look at things besides their size. I'm a US size 12, but I'm definitely not ideal sized since I'm only 5'3" and I weigh 188lbs. I still need to lose 13 more pounds to be classified as merely overweight instead of obese. However, I do consistently run 15-20 miles a week. If you are 5'10 like most models than a size 10/12 is probably right. But you could still be unhealthy.

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