From the BBC: who are you caling fat.

[Labarum]

How hard can it really be? The rolls of surplus flesh, the tight waistband, not being able to see your own feet - you don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out you're carrying extra pounds.

But many people don't consider themselves overweight, according to fitness minister Caroline Flint, who says it's one reason why nearly a quarter of adults in the UK are obese.

The government and doctors use the body mass index (BMI) to assess a person's condition; classing us as "underweight, ok, overweight, obese or clinically obese". The calculation is based on comparing a person's weight with their height and does not take into account sex or the proportion of body fat to muscle.

Some medical bodies, including the World Health Organization, say waist size is a more accurate measure, but the government has no plans to ditch the BMI.

"We are aware of criticism and that there has been talk of the hip-to-waist ratio, but this is the agreed system and we will continue to use it," says a Department of Health spokeswoman.

So what does obesity look like? The Magazine headed to Stratford, east London, to break the unhappy news to some unsuspecting men, who significantly outnumber women in the fight against fat.

Full text and comments:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6040156.stm

[ttdriver]

I so agree; and vanity sizing doesn't help people get a grip on how overweight they have become!


Betty

[Labarum]

Vanity sizing, Betty?

You mean marking clothes smaller than they are?

[ttdriver]

Yes, that's what I mean.

Depending on where you shop, especially women's clothes, are labelled 1-2 sizes smaller than they were, say, 10-15 years ago.

Betty

[Labarum]

There is another issue here - at least in Europe.

There was some discussion in the media a couple of years ago about the size and proportions of (especially) women's clothes. The standard British sizes suppose an ideal female shape from the 1920s - but we have moved from that ideal in a number of directions.

1. The image of the super-slim model dominates and distorts our view of the normal - the 1920s shape was probably more healthy allowing women more hips and breasts.

2. The average female (and male) is now significantly taller than the 1920s, and this alters the proportions across the range.

A survey by Marks and Spenser (UK's biggest clothes retailer) showed that the old size norms fitted the current population poorly.

As far as I can remember the study did not consider the outsizes for the obese.

A brief Google brings up nothing of interest, but I am sure there are folk on this list know about these matters.

[sallyseachange]

And as for all the clothing made in China... that seems to have a sizing all of its own... at least the stuff that reaches Italy does!
Nowadays I go by look rather than size.

[Vampyre]

Try cloths from India. I have a formal that's marked 6X that's actually around a 3X.

[Mothercooter]

Oh i know about vanity sizes. When I was a size 3-4 (before any of my 3 kids, haha) I wore a size "0" in abercrombie and fitch pants. Yeah it made me feel good but come on!

So had I keptwearing those brands, when i got up to a 16, I would still think im a nice 12 or so. Id rather know the truth and do something about it.