Why is (US) size 10 Medium??

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joinn68
joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was looking at some clothes size and it occured to me that (US) size 8/10 are medium... If I remember correctly I was always overweight at size 8 and 10.
Was any of you at a "normal" BMI when you fit in those sizes? If not what was the first size you were when you reached normal BMI?
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Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Depends on frame and height.

    I'm 5'8" and have a a larger than average frame. I can't get into 8-10 unless I am a normal BMI. I need to be near the middle of the BMI range to comfortably wear an 8. Right now my BMI is about 23.5 and I can only fit into one, vanity sized, size 8 pant. Really, I should be close to "ideal" weight (140) for my height to comfortably get into an 8.
  • LadyLallybroch
    LadyLallybroch Posts: 36 Member
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    I am at a "normal" BMI (5'7.5", 157 pounds) and I wear a size 10 or 12 depending on who makes it. I have been a size 8 at about 140 pounds. IIRC, when I was severely underweight as a college student (115 pounds or so, same height), I still wore a size 6.

    I'm sure it depends on your body, too. Someone with narrow hips might only get up to a 10 if they have a bigger belly, whereas I have broader hips and don't need much fat on me to get to a size 10. Also, for taller people like me, 157 pounds is in a "normal" range, where for someone who is, say, 5'2", that same weight might put them in "overweight".
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited October 2015
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    I have a normal BMI and wear sizes 8/10. I was size 12 when I first got to a normal BMI. I'm 5'5.5" and 148.

    BMI and clothing size do not go hand in hand.
  • starling01
    starling01 Posts: 81 Member
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    I'm 5'5" and weigh 123 pounds which is not overweight. A size 10 fits comfortably. I can barely squeeze into an 8 and definitely can't button it. I couldn't get into the size 10 until I got close to 130.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    I'm 5'8, 158lbs, BMI of 24. I wear US size 6-8 (UK 10-12, but some 8s) and would say I'm large framed (by wrist and elbow measurements) and have a decent musculature

    I'd think I was medium sized tbh
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    The range of non-plus sizes in the US has always been 0 to 14. Some stores have smaller than 0, but not all. Plus size starts at 14W, which is bigger than a 14. So, where would you put small/medium/large on a scale that includes: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14? You could make a case for 10-14 being large, but 8 is most definitely not. I would say 0,2,4 are small, 6,8,10 medium, and 12,14 large. Or if you want, XS=0, S=2/4, M=6/8, L=10/12, XL=14? Either way, 8 is still medium.
  • Linzon
    Linzon Posts: 294 Member
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    I just hit the top of the 'normal' BMI and I'm anywhere from a size 8-12 depending on the brand. Sizing makes no sense to me whatsoever.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    Linzon wrote: »
    Sizing makes no sense to me whatsoever.

    That's a whole different conversation LOL....

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    joinn68 wrote: »
    I was looking at some clothes size and it occured to me that (US) size 8/10 are medium... If I remember correctly I was always overweight at size 8 and 10.
    Was any of you at a "normal" BMI when you fit in those sizes? If not what was the first size you were when you reached normal BMI?

    I was a medium at 100Lbs, and a medium at 130 pounds.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Last time I fit an 8-10 was early high school. I had to go to an 11-12 in about 11th grade, not because of weight, but because I have really wide hip bones. >< Right now I just hit under the top end of normal BMI for me and I'm wearing a 12 because I can't find an 11 women's in pants anymore.

    US sizing is weird and not really standardized, so what's a 10 in one brand might be an 8 in another.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Linzon wrote: »
    I just hit the top of the 'normal' BMI and I'm anywhere from a size 8-12 depending on the brand. Sizing makes no sense to me whatsoever.

    Yup. Sizes vary a lot from brand to brand. I'm 5'4 139lbs (top of normal bmi) and can wear a size 8 through 12 just depending....

    Body type differs too because on average I'm a size 10 through the hips/butt, but an 8 through the waist.

  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I'm 5'3". I've always been "pudgy." I was a size ten from age 13 to age 28 and my weight probably ranged from 140-165 lbs. Can't say I was ever an 8. Currently I'm a snug 14 at 200lbs.
  • soapsandropes
    soapsandropes Posts: 269 Member
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    I have a normal BMI and wear a size 8/10. Of course I am also quite tall.
  • soapsandropes
    soapsandropes Posts: 269 Member
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    dubird wrote: »
    I'm wearing a 12 because I can't find an 11 women's in pants anymore.

    US sizing is weird and not really standardized, so what's a 10 in one brand might be an 8 in another.

    Size 11s are over in the juniors section now. I love a good size 11 sometimes.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    Sizing confuses the ever-living daylights out of me. I'm a medium and a size 6 or 8 depending on the brand. I'm short and still overweight for my height.
  • BethAnnieT
    BethAnnieT Posts: 263 Member
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    yep I'm 5'9" 157lb and I wear a size 10 in most things. In tops, I wear a Medium or maybe a Large in some, as I don't like my clothes too tight in the boobular area. I consider myself to be "medium sized" in general. Small frame (tiny wrists etc.), fairly athletic. If I robbed a bank, witnesses would probably describe me as "medium sized." :)
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    I think it all depends on height, frame, fat distribution, and body composition. That's also why BMI differs by height, and why things like waist circumference are important for checking health as well.

    But as to why it's a medium, I think that @omma_to_3 hit the nail on the head. It will also 100% depend on the store. I've seen stores where a 10/12 is XL, a 6/8 is L, a 2/4 is M and a 0 is S. I've also seen stores that have 0 as XXS, 2 as XS, 4 as S, 6/8 as M, 10/12 as L 12/14 as L, 14/16 as XL, and 18 as XXL all as "regular" sizes with asterisks of "tall" and "petite" for different heights. The way the S-M-L is divided is solely based on the range of sizes offered by the store.

    It's difficult to judge health through clothing size, because you have too many variables left - what is that persons' height? How muscular are they? What's their waist circumference? What's their frame?

    I personally was still overweight when I wore a size 10/12 because I'm 5'2" with a small frame! Which means that my "obese" is still well under 200lbs, and a size 14/16 that I can still find in a lot of non-plus-sized stores (and I'm always approached in plus-sized stores and get reminded "you know this store is for plus-sized women only" because I wasn't seen as "fat enough" to shop there, even though their size 14s were perfect for me, and their styles often more flattering!).
  • joinn68
    joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Ok... seems size/BMI effectively don't go hand in hand. My thinking was clothes manufacturers are playing mind games with us. Probably depends on frame and body type as most of you are saying
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    joinn68 wrote: »
    Ok... seems size/BMI effectively don't go hand in hand. My thinking was clothes manufacturers are playing mind games with us. Probably depends on frame as most of you are saying

    Oh, they probably are. Anything to sell you more clothes!
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I'm 5'9" 150 pounds and I wear US 10 in some cloths but mostly 8 now a days.

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