# So, are you actually big boned ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269 "2007-08-28T21:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Micro\_Dot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Micro\_Dot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Micro_Dot)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/1 "2007-08-28T21:05:54Z")
Maybe it’s common knowledge, but I never knew just what that meant, always thought it was a lame excuse, like “retaining water today”. But here’s a site that tells how they figure your bone size: You measure your elbow in a certain position. [http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/primry/life15.htm](http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/primry/life15.htm) > [@](#): > > The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company offers this method of determining your body frame size: Extend your arm and bend your forearm upward at a 90 degree angle. With your fingers straight, turn the inside of your wrist toward your body. Place your thumb and index finger of the other hand on the two prominent bones of the elbow. Measure the space between the fingers against a ruler or a tape measure. Compare your measurement with the figures in the table below. Elbow measurements less than those given indicate a small frame; greater measurements indicate a large frame. > > Women > > Height in 1" Heels Elbow Breadth for Medium Frame > 4’10" to 5’3" - 2 1/4" to 2 1/2" > 5’4" to 6’0" - 2 3/8" to 2 5/8" > > Men > > Height in 1" Heels Elbow Breadth for Medium Frame > 5’2" to 5’7" - 2 1/2" to 2 7/8" > 5’8" to 6’3"- 2 3/4" to 3 1/8" > 6’4" - 2 7/8" to 3 1/4" Unfortunately for me, I’m small boned, so my most healthful weight is even 10 pounds less than I thought :sigh: ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/2 "2007-08-28T21:16:59Z")
Measure the space between the fingers and what? ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/3 "2007-08-28T21:49:12Z")
[QUOTE=bluethree] Measure the space between the fingers and what? [/QUOTE] It’s not described very well, but I believe it’s saying to use your fingers as calipers on the bones in your elbow. Your thumb on one bone, index finger on the other and then measure the space between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/4 "2007-08-28T21:58:01Z")
I’m a half inch over the high end of the range of “normal.” I’m still 35 pounds overweight according to that site. I haven’t weighed what I should since 10th grade. Nobody I know considers me overweight. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/5 "2007-08-28T22:14:47Z")
Hoo boy. At 6’2" and an elbow breadth of just about 2-3/4", I’m borderline “small framed” according to this (I also have quite thin wrists and delicate, ring-size-8 fingers). I currently weigh 193 lbs. or so, which puts me at 24.9 BMI (1 lb. away from being “overweight”) and way over what that site says is my ideal range based on my “frame”. On the other hand, I have a 34" waist and 39" hip measurement, and a 15% body fat as measured by [Accu-Measure suprailiac calipers](http://www.accumeasurefitness.com/descript.html). Body fat percentages and Waist-to-Height and Waist-to-Hip ratios are both more likely to tell you something useful about the shape you’re in (i.e., how FAT you are, and not just how HEAVY you are) than BMI or “ideal weight” tables based on “frame size”, both of which assume some kind of low muscle mass type of person. I’m not a bodybuilding mass of muscle, either… In fact I’m now wearing the smallest jacket size I ever have as an adult. So I totally don’t see how that “frame x height” weight range puts me at a 175 max ideal weight, if I lost 20 lbs. of fat (and kept all my muscle) I’d look like an Olympic swimmer. (Which ain’t happening.) ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/6 "2007-08-28T22:14:55Z")
Well, what people “see” as overweight has changed so much and is so out of proportion to what is actually overweight it is crazy. My friends tell me I’m not overweight, but I am a good 30 lbs over what is recommended. I have bit of a belly and my legs are thicker than normal. I am overweight, yet my friends call my skinny still. (I am 5’9 and right at 200 lbs) I’m not saying you aren’t proportioned right, but generally the recommendations are pretty good. (though maybe 5-10 lbs of variation) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/7 "2007-08-29T06:40:58Z")
Am I the only one who thought this was a Ron Jeremy thread? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/8 "2007-08-29T06:58:12Z")
I’ve got a good 3’’ of elbow-bone width, which would support the conclusion that I’m big-boned. But, I’ve always known this. I am 5’ 2’’, and probably 20lbs overweight by their definition (I am 160ish lbs.) I’ve long sought a healthy target weight for myself, but everything they give me is unrealistic. According to the BMI Index, I need to be 124 lbs to be considered ‘‘normal weight.’’ I am a 38 DDD with wide hip-bones and a very sturdy frame (both in bone and muscle)–no way I could be 120 lbs and healthy. At 160 I am a size 8 Misses. When I look at my body, I could see realistically having 20 lbs to lose, but even 30 would be pushing it. Overall this seems like a much more realistic way to assess target weights. I just wish they accounted for bust size too. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/9 "2007-08-29T08:45:34Z")
Elbow bone width (or whatever it’s called) is 3.5inches and I’m about 6’3 in shoes (I’ve never measured height in shoes before, but whatever). It says I should weigh between 176 and 202. I guess I’m big boned, who knew. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/10 "2007-08-29T08:58:46Z")
And then there’s freaks like me… when I was 15, and I’m cutting the story short, a doctor’s nurse measured and weighed me, the doctor examined me without actually ever _looking_ at me and without seeing me standing up at any time, then the doctor measured my wrist perimeter and declared that I needed to lose several pounds. I was to follow the same horrible diet my mother was on. Then I stood up - and for the first time, he saw me. My hips. Spanish hips. Short legs. Tiny hands and feet, yes, but these hips “were made for birthing babies.” So, he said “waitaminute” and completed the measurements… he measured me all over, as if he was fitting me for a pantsuit. And then he stared at the numbers, stared at the tables of “normal measurements” and said “ok, according to these tables you’re a shapeless monster - no way, I got eyes!” Tiny wrists, ankles and elbows. My torso is too long for my legs or my legs too short for my torso, your pick. And my hips definitely count as big. Yet a lot of males of my species find me more than moderately attractive, so either there’s something wrong with the tables or with the guys. My pick? It’s the tables that are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/11 "2007-08-29T11:13:47Z")
Small. However, my _lean body mass_ is higher than what the ‘small’ on the table calls for. That means, if I weighed what that table says, I’d need to cut off my arm or something. ---
**Author:** ![MovingTarget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@MovingTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovingTarget)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/12 "2007-08-29T12:25:12Z")
At 5’9", my elbow’s at 3 3/4". I’ve always known I was big boned though. My shin bones are like freakishly large as are my thigh bones. I’ve had a couple different doctors tell me that if I ever broke my femur, it would take enough force that pretty much the rest of my leg would be completely destroyed. Eh, go figure, I’ve got every other medical thing wrong with me, this just seems to be icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/13 "2007-08-29T12:48:31Z")
You damn right, I’m big-boned, baby! (Well, at 6’1" and 3 1/4" elbow thingy, I’m probably about at the big end of average.) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/14 "2007-08-29T13:19:48Z")
Legitimately big-boned here, which I knew all along. I have broad hips and take after my mom in that aspect, while my sister has our dad’s slim frame. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/15 "2007-08-29T13:54:35Z")
Taking several measurements, I get values from 2" to 2 1/4". At 5’6" (if I stand reeeeealy straight) that makes me fairly small framed. It also says I’m 3 pounds under the ideal small frame weight. Hmm…and I’m still trying to lose 4 more pounds. Not sure I buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/16 "2007-08-29T15:53:40Z")
Yeah, it turns out I am. If I’m doing it right, I’m just under 3" (I’m 5’2.5"). I always kind of thought I was medium boned, but I’ve always been “overweight” on those stupid charts despite having low-normal body fat. I wonder if this test really means anything, though. It seems kind of random. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/17 "2007-08-29T17:04:49Z")
Medium boned. And I’m 182 now; their ideal for 5’10" is 142-156. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/18 "2007-08-29T17:47:30Z")
I’m about 5 lbs. away from being within healthy weight range according to that table. (Go me!) ---
**Author:** ![akira5822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@akira5822](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akira5822)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/19 "2007-08-29T18:03:01Z")
Just Fat :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269/20 "2007-08-29T18:18:11Z")
Big-boned, as I always knew. Got my farmer grandma’s salt-of-the-earth broad shoulders & hips, large hands & feet, big head. Still, it’s all more or less in proportion and symmetrical, so who am I to complain. Oh damn. I just realized I’m never going to be a super model, am I? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-are-you-actually-big-boned/417269.md?page=2)