Many women, and to a lesser degree men, struggle with body image due to society’s definition of beauty. Disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are the result of this definition, and to a broader degree creates an environment conducive to body shaming.
I believe the fashion industry bears most of the responsibility by creating an unrealistic perception of beauty. The average woman in the U.S. is a size 16, yet ‘plus’ sizes begin at size 12. Consequently, many women feel ‘fat’ and unattractive, which results in low self-esteem.
I am not familiar with specific sizes but I do believe that Hollywood and the fashion industry paint an unrealistic picture of what is beautiful and acceptable as far as body types go. I hate the fact that eating disorders are so rampant, especially among the youth, due to these images that come at us daily through the media. Obesity is a problem in America, to be sure, but not everyone is fat who thinks they’re fat.
Plus a size 12 is different for every height and shape of a person. Someone who is short, say 5’1’’ looks much different in a size 12 short than I do in a 12 tall. When I was a size 12 I was also a 34x33 at 5’11" tall. I look much bigger than most people at my height but seems skinner than a short person of the same size.
I’m concerned that the medical profession encourages people to be at an unhealthy weight. BMI (problematic anyway) standards were shifted in the 90s so that what used to be considered “normal” became “overweight.”
But major studies have shown that people who fall into the high “normal” and “overweight” categories live the longest, while people who are “normal” and on the low end of “obese” have comparable longevity.
I understand the interest the medical profession has in fighting morbid obesity, but it seems like they’ve gone too far in the other direction, to where they’re actively encouraging less healthy lifestyles and stigmatizing more healthy ones.
That’s what makes BMI so problematic - it doesn’t take individual people into account. As long as your daughter is eating well, getting exercise, and taking whatever precautions are prudent in avoiding infections, she’s doing exactly what she should be doing. It would be so unwise for her to sit around eating to excess just to get her weight up.
I can’t really tell what a 12 is because I only am familiar with mens sizes and not the voodoo that they do to make women’s size so small. I know that it doesn’t mean 12 inches circumference. However I have seen some plus sized models who are attractive. Some that aren’t.
I would say that size 12 ( european 44-46) is on the verge of overweight… Of course depends on the height and body type…
I watched a fitness coach on TV saying that "everything above 220 pounds is not healthy ". I could agree with that.
