Overweight in the UK vs Overweight in the US

I agree with this.  I am considered pretty slim in Chicago then I arrived in London and I got pretty self conscious about myself when I see how thin some of the girls are on the train.

I actually thought the opposite: how normal-sized most people seemed. It was refreshing. And I'm not sure this is gonna sound like a compliment, but it is: I like that younger girls who carry a bit extra baggage on them aren't self-concious about it. At least not in the way they dress. In NY it kinda drew my eye when a woman who thought herself bigger than normal, would constantly be fiddling with her clothes: pulling the shirt down, positioning the purse just right, etc. Young girls here just look and behave like they're so comfortable in their skin -- and dress to match, that it just makes me happy to see it.

Rachel Ray comes up alot in arguments about normal-sized people on TV. And a friend of mine said it didn't matter what size she was because she even ended up on the cover of Maxim! And yeah, she did. But not before they airbrushed about 20lbs off her!

Husband and I were watching Jonathan Strange and for the first half of the series, his female sidekick is played by a woman who's...umm..substantial in size. I was so surprised to see that! There are big women on TV and movies in the U.S. but they usually play distantly supporting characters, not main characters, much less love interests! I can't even remember a movie or a TV show starring a woman bigger than size 6 other than Hairspray and that god-awful Ricky Lake flick.

What is a normal size anyways?

12? 14?

They always seem to quote the UK average woman is a 14.  No idea how true that is.

They always seem to quite the UK average woman is a 14.  No idea how true that is.

Which would be about 10-12 in the US, in which case I'm not sure that I believe it. 

I think the average woman in the US is 5''4' and a size 14.  I am that height and when I fit into a 14 I weighed about 180, which made me obese according to the BMI at 30.9

According to a 2003 nationwide US survey which involved measuring people with a 3D scanner.

White women ages 18 to 25 came in, on average, 38-32-41, with white women ages 36 to 45 coming in at 41-34-43. (Barbie, long the plastic bane of body image, is said to have measurements that project to about 39-18-33.) In that same age group, black women measure, on average, 43-37-46, Hispanic women 42.5-36-44, and "other" women, which researchers said meant mostly Asian, 41-35-43.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/01/national/01SIZE.html?ei=5007&en=53ff6ded884c073f&ex=1393563600&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position=

I fidget with the calculator a bit and found that a normal weight for a 5'4 woman according to the BMI is around 145 but how that translates into size, I have no clue

On the other hand when i put my height and number I come up with being underweight and not healthy.  I don't particularly feel unhealthy.... how accurate is the BMI in calculating someone's health?

I fidget with the calculator a bit and foudn thata normal weight for a 5'4 woman according to the BMI is aroudn 145 but how that translates into size, I have no clue

on the other hand when i put my height and number I come up with being underweight and not healthy.  I don't particularly feel unhealthy.... how accurate is the BMI in calculating someone's health?

Depending on your fat percentage and given how widely sizes vary, anywhere between six and ten US.

It's certainly not ironclad. It's supposed to be used as a rough guideline not a religious edict. The more muscle tone you have, the less accurate it is.

Hee hee...personally, I think the whole fixation with numbers (either higher or lower or in between or...) - clothing sizes, BMI, weights & measures, what is 'normal', etc to be a crock.  If you feel happy and healthy in your own skin, you don't have any health problems, you're doing your best to care for yourself, etc...what's the problem? 

The definition of underweight in terms of BMI is unclear and varies depending on where you read it.

I've heard of underweight as being defined as less than 18 BMI up to less than 20 BMI, depending on who says it.

I agree that overall BMI isn't that accurate.

Thank you for all the input!  I'm a guy so I didn't quite clue in with all the clothing size references but I think I understand the situation rather clearly.  UK & US are similar.  If you go to places in either country where skinny, fashion-centric people live, then you will feel heavier than normal and clothing sizes may not be available. 

Husband and I were watching Jonathan Strange and for the first half of the series, his female sidekick is played by a woman who's...umm..substantial in size. I was so surprised to see that!

Do you mean Caroline Quentin in 'Jonathan Creek'?  She is a seriously funny woman, was also in 'Men behaving Badly' and is a bit of a hero of mine.

I am not sure I agree with this idea that women in London are less likely to be big.  I think there are socio-economic factors which mean that there won't be so many shopping in Harrods or on the King's Road, but there certainlt are in Brent Cross on a Saturday afternoon.

I am a big lass, as with LuckyCuz drifting between 16 and 20 for most of the time.  I was between a 12-14 once, but Jesus, was I miserable.  I'm much happier now.

As for clothes, it can be tricky, but Next Online is your friend.


Vicky

Hee hee...personally, I think the whole fixation with numbers (either higher or lower or in between or...) - clothing sizes, BMI, weights & measures, what is 'normal', etc to be a crock.  If you feel happy and healthy in your own skin, you don't have any health problems, you're doing your best to care for yourself, etc...what's the problem? 

Amen!

I am a big lass, as with LuckyCuz drifting between 16 and 20 for most of the time.  I was between a 12-14 once, but Jesus, was I miserable.  I'm much happier now.

I managed to get to a size 10 once, but due to my hight and frame, I looked liked skelatore and I was constantly catching colds etc...plus I had equal difficulty with clothes fitting, just diffent problems.

I am much happier and healthier the size I am now. Plus I think I look better..

Do you mean Caroline Quentin in 'Jonathan Creek'?  She is a seriously funny woman, was also in 'Men behaving Badly' and is a bit of a hero of mine.

Yup, that's the one! Thank you, I got the title wrong. What a great show! I was so sad when she left, even though I'm a fan of Julia Sawalha.

To everyone who said that it's easier to find large sizes in regular stores in the US--What stores were you going to?  Aside from Old Navy, I never found a regular store that carried higher than a 16, and usually stopped at 14.  Here in the UK, everywhere I go the sizes go at least to 18, many to 22!  I feel a lot more comfortable here with my larger size, like I can go into clothing shops and not face nonverbal snubs from the sales staff.