Women's "average" size

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  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I'm 5'9.. and when i was at my heaviest of 180, I wore between an 8 and a 10. Slimmed down to 150 and I wear between a 4-6 depending on brand and style.

    I was reading yesterday in a different thread how a women was baffled that people who weighed 180 could wear a size 8.. and that their pants must be hanging on for dear life. Made me angry cause it's not true..it all depends on body size, height, style of pants, etc etc.

    Sizes are SO weird. Like you, I'm 5'9" and at my heaviest was 180. I wore a size 16 then. When I was at 150 I was a 10.

    Now at 120 I wear a 2 - 4 depending on the brand.

    True! People are always surprised at how much I actually weigh compared to how I look. I think it's muscle.
  • Moonbeamlissie
    Moonbeamlissie Posts: 504 Member
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    I am 4' 11 and wear a size 4-6 and I still have some to go before I am considered healthy. At this point I am considered over weight still .. although, I will take this considering I was extremely obese when I started this journey. My sister however wears the same size as I do but is 5'9 ish and I think she looks unhealthy. It all depends on your body type!
  • auntdeedee87
    auntdeedee87 Posts: 706 Member
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    The problem with going by size instead of weight or inches, etc, is that every brand is different. I have shirts from medium to 2x. And jeans from a size 11 to a size 18! It's maddening.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I am currently a size six. I used to be four. I was wondering the normal/average size for women (not teens) so I looked it up. I found some which said 12 was while others say that 10 is most healthy. Others say 8 and some 6. None of these were blogs or anything. They were all on medical and/or health sites but nobody seems to agree. I'm six like I said but all my fat is on my stomach, making me appear larger. I know what medically may be said is good is different than what society tends to say is good. With all the "be happy as you are" and "as long as you are healthy, it doesn't matter" set aside please, what do people here think or have heard?

    "Average" does not mean "healthy." It just means when you add up all the sizes and divide by number of people, that's what you get.

    You'd have to be a pretty healthy weight (even if slightly overweight) to be a size 6, I'd say.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    America: the nation where the two biggest fads are fast food and crash diets....no wonder we're so messed up. :grumble:

    I read somewhere that the US spends 5 times as much on diet products as the entirety of Europe combined.
  • theoneandonlybrookie
    theoneandonlybrookie Posts: 341 Member
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    Clothing sizes vary so much from store to store...

    I'm 5'8. The first size I pick up in a store is a 6. That's my "average." However, I have to wear an 8 in J Crew because their pants are cut so straight and I have big badonkda donk. :bigsmile: In the Gap, I can wear a 4. That's ridiculous because I am NOT a size 4, really.

    Comparing sizes is just like comparing weight. Yeah, I weigh 140 lbs and that's good for my height, but for someone who is 5 feet even it might not be. And someone else who weighs 140 and my height might have much more muscle and less fat and thus be in much better shape.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I am now a "normal" size: not super skinny and not overweight. I am 5'7", pear shaped and size 8, though I also have a pair of size 6 pants and a pair of 10s, so technically I span 3 sizes. Body composition plays a huge part, as a friend of mine who is a bit shorter looks heavier than me but is a size 4-6. Reason #1,295 not to get hung up on size.
  • Sweet_Southern_Tea
    Sweet_Southern_Tea Posts: 63 Member
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    The study is not saying a size 12-14 is good. It means a lot of women wear that size regardless or weight, height, and race. I read it several times myself about the "average size for women," They are NOT saying the size is healthy and that's the size to strive for.
  • TamsinEllis
    TamsinEllis Posts: 293
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    In the UK 12-14 is the average size. However, like some other people have said, just because it's the average doesn't mean it's healthy. I'm 5'2 (on a good day) and I'm a size 10 and by both BF% and BMI I'm overweight, so If I were to gain weight to become the average UK size I'd be (most likely) very overweight or even obese. But saying that my friend is 5'10 - 5'11 and a size 14, she dropped weight and got into a size 12 last year and became (quite badly) underweight so for some people it's healthy for them to be over the national average same as it's healthy for others to be under it.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    In 2011, the "average" UK dress size was 16, which equates to a US 12. However, sloppy reporting means you'd be hard pressed to find out whether they got this figure from the most sold (mode) or from averaging out the measurements of a sample group of women (median). What about the fact that when many of us get bigger we squeeze into smaller sizes rather than admitting we're bigger? I certainly did!

    Interestingly, the average weight of a British woman is 11stone (154lbs, 70kg) which seems at odds with the sizing. I was a size 16 at 13 stone and I'm already in size 14 at 12-ish.
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    I think average size is larger in most places than ideal healthy size. I've heard 14 is average but that doesn't mean it's the most healthy. I've heard people with a BMI of 23 get sick least often. :wink: So whatever size gets you there!
  • JoolieW68
    JoolieW68 Posts: 1,879 Member
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    Sometimes I wish women's pants sizes were like men's. Their sizes are their true waist size, not some designer's skewed perception of reality.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Apologies for citing the Daily Wail, but here are pictures of women who are all the average UK weight and the different shapes and sizes they are:
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2071870/The-average-weight-British-woman-comes-shapes.html
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    In 2011, the "average" UK dress size was 16, which equates to a US 12. However, sloppy reporting means you'd be hard pressed to find out whether they got this figure from the most sold (mode) or from averaging out the measurements of a sample group of women (median). What about the fact that when many of us get bigger we squeeze into smaller sizes rather than admitting we're bigger? I certainly did!

    Interestingly, the average weight of a British woman is 11stone (154lbs, 70kg) which seems at odds with the sizing. I was a size 16 at 13 stone and I'm already in size 14 at 12-ish.

    That is weird. I am a size 12 at 11 stone. I think you would be hard pressed to find an 11 stone size 16.
  • jenrobyoung
    jenrobyoung Posts: 37
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    The thing I look at is there is Average size and Healthy size for your body type and height. Average size in America will be larger because our overall population is heavier then a lot of others, this is going to vary depending on tread within the population over the years. Focus on what is considered a healthy weight and BMI for your height and age, don't worry about size!
  • jenrobyoung
    jenrobyoung Posts: 37
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    The thing I look at is there is Average size and Healthy size for your body type and height. Average size in America will be larger because our overall population is heavier then a lot of others, this is going to vary depending on tread within the population over the years. Focus on what is considered a healthy weight and BMI for your height and age, don't worry about size!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    That is weird. I am a size 12 at 11 stone. I think you would be hard pressed to find an 11 stone size 16.
    I know, right? I wonder if the weight survey was self-reporting and the ladies fibbed?
  • LisaMariaCallow
    LisaMariaCallow Posts: 170
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    I always hear on tv & magazines that the "average" American woman wears a size 12; the problem is, Americans in general are overweight. It doesn't really matter as much about what size you wear, it's more about your weight, % of body fat, BMI, and how YOU feel. I'm currently 120 lbs, I'm 5'5", size 4, BMI just under 20. I feel AMAZING !! :bigsmile: I lost 30 lbs in 2011 :happy: , and 2012 is the year I'm gonna kick up the intensity of my strength training; I want to carve out some more muscle!! I'm now smaller than most of my friends and co-workers; I'm even smaller than my teenage daughters!! :noway: My bff is about the same size, as is my younger sister, although she's more muscular than me; hence my wanting to up the workouts!!

    Again, that was a long-winded way of my explaining "average"!! :laugh:

    How do YOU feel about yourself?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    The average size of a woman and a healthy size could be very different, given the rate of obesity. I've never known a medical organization to name a "healthy size" as that could vary greatly from person to person. What is a healthy dress size for a 5'3" woman with a small frame would certainly be different that a healthy dress size for a 5'10" woman with a large frame.

    Other factors like body type (apple vs. pear or hourglass) could also affect what is a healthy size.
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
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    I'm thinking what you're looking for is the size that a woman would be if she appeared not particularly fat or thin, which I would say is a 6-8. Unfortunately, the true average in the US is bigger than this by a few sizes.

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