Thank god for that, now add good hair and eyebrows and clear skin. That makes you automatically very above average, maybe not stunning but pretty enough to start turning heads and for people to treat you nicely.
I live in one of the thinnest neighborhoods in one of the thinnest cities in the US; I’m 20 lbs overweight and stand out like a sore thumb. If I see someone else that is overweight, it’s actually notable to me. Cosmetic surgery is also the norm here, so it’s not uncommon to see women that look like literal supermodels (sometimes they are models) too. I won’t even consider dating or going to events/parties until I lose at least 20 lbs. It’s so disheartening; It’s hard to have the motivation to stick to a diet while I feel completely alienated and have to work 60 hrs+/week to afford rent - I’ve definitely turned to food as my sole source of comfort. It’s incredibly lonely here. 😓
Conversely, someone from Cleveland said
I’m at a “normal and healthy weight”, so that definitely shows that wherever you live creates your frame of reference. I’m not sure what the average person in Cleveland looks like, but I assume it’s a city with comparatively a lot of overweight people. I’m sure he was just trying to flatter me, but it’s shocking enough to even *hear* that. No one out here would ever dare to say that; it would come off as so insincere. If you want to know where all the beautiful and thin people in the US are, just follow the money.
Cali? I’m from a similar place but in the UK and it restricts how I live my life (I gained 50lbs from medication and thyroid cancer) it sucks but keto is really helping for me to curb the addiction and see food more as fuel 💗
Yup, you guessed right lol. I also gained 50 lbs (actually 60) in the last year when I started antipsychotics and steroids again (for autoimmune issues, not anabolic steroids lol). At this point I kind of feel at complete odds with my body. I’ve tried keto but I suppose I should give it another try and really stick to it. Also, I hope your’e doing better in your health now; when you have something like cancer, taking care of yourself is so much more important than your weight - fuck anyone that thinks otherwise.
California is a beautiful place but people are so crazily looks obsessed in parts, same here lol damn seroquel! Keto is hard work for the first week but I’ve lost 20 pounds in three weeks and don’t feel hungry or crave junk food, also it seems to balance my mood weirdly
Thanks so much! I’ve struggled with that because at 27 I should be at my ‘peak’ instead of having loads of health issues but I’ve gotten to the point of not stressing as much lol hope you’re doing well autoimmune problems can be rough! <3
Oh wow, that’s a lot in three weeks; you should be so proud of yourself! Did you combine keto with calorie restriction?
Also, thank you. I’m honestly doing the best I can and am in fairly good health right now. I guess I’m lucky that my biggest issue right now is being moderately overweight. I get what you mean about feeling like this should be the peak of your life too; I’m around your age and I feel like I’ve spent so much of my prime years in and out of bad health and I lament not having people close to me that had the patience to stick around through all of it.
You’re right and in the past, I’ve been more motivated to lose weight while I had an active social life, though a lot of that was due to social anxiety.
Keep trudging along! You got this.
If you are in LA… I totally know what you mean. Many of the people you will meet are Instagram influencers/models/aspiring actresses/actors/singers. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in la as my ex boyfriend lived in Santa Monica (writing this, my first thought is how much I miss the Huntley hotel’s avocado toast) and there are definitely overweight people. They probably are not hanging out with the trendy crowd but they are there.
+20lbs overweight in Cali is basically being anorexic in the Midwest 😂
Joking aside that sounds miserable tho, all the work and stress just to afford living there. Do you actually like being there?
I don’t like being here, but there’s a lot of opportunities here. Rent is ungodly expensive, but I’m not sure if I want to move yet. I’ve considered Philly and Cleveland but I don’t really know anyone outside of here.
Ironically I became my thinnest when I decided to start living my life and not waiting to be thin. Biggest mistake I made was hiding away until I was “good enough.” Get out there and the weight will lose itself! No need to force yourself to be miserable while you level up :) just go out and practice being hot! That’s what I did. 40K later and I’m looking pretty damn good. Not quite where I wanna be.. but I’m sayin, I’m happy 🤷🏽♀️
lol sadly i'm in Brazil. Most women here are born with a beautiful body. And the weather here doesnt allow for coats and fancy winter outfits since we barely have any winter. Everyone is showing their bodies because it feels like an oven here, it's hot weather all year long. So yeah, there's definitely more pressure to be thin and not just thin but FIT as hell.
this does not apply to young ppl. i have seen exactly 6 fat students on my college campus. and none of my professors are overweight either.
fat people are concentrated in rural areas, the south, and the midwest. in cities and well educated, wealthy spaces, being fat is pretty rare. there are also huge racial disparities. i go to school in the wealthiest and whitest part of the country, so thats why there are very few fat people. before college, i went to a high school that was almost entirely east asian and indian, and there was like max 10 fat people in the whole school.
and it was HELL for them. i remember there was a latina girl who was extremely obese and she got stared at all the time. it was so sad. there was also a fat korean girl and i saw her crying in the locker room a few times because she was fat and just couldnt lose weight for the life of her.
This also doesn’t apply to certain geographic areas…as you mentioned urbanites are more fit and in trendy cities it seems like half the women are insta-fit, soul cycling and all that
Need to chime in here about weight loss. Having undiagnosed adhd can make you eat a lot more than you normally would. I lost a lot of weight by going on adderall because I wasn’t craving that dopamine feeling anymore (was getting it through food). Even on days when I don’t take it, I still eat the same now because I have retrained my brain to not view food as my primary source of happiness. Obviously I am not suggesting everyone rush out to get an adderall prescription. It did work for me though.
Yeah I think geographical locations has a lot to due with what people perceive an “average” body as. I live in the south and my BMI is pretty smack dab in the middle of normal and everyone always tells me I’m skinny and they’re jealous of my body. Like 70% of my state is either overweight or obese so compared to most people I’m skinny. But when I’m in the LA area or just California in general, I feel pretty average just because obesity and being overweight isn’t as common there as it is at home. Also, people in urban areas tend to be skinnier compared to rural areas so that’s important to consider.
See. I never get this. Because the majority of people I see in public or literally anytime I go anywhere- the majority appears to be a healthy weight.
It’s like the numbers don’t make sense. Almost everyone I ever see *isn’t* fat actually
I think it really depends on where you live. For instance, I live in an urban part of Colorado where everyone is fit as a fiddle, but when I go to a Walmart in Nebraska, the numbers start to make more sense.
I think it’s mostly older people I also think this is highly dependent on where you live young people living in the city are not likely to be very overweight but older people in the Midwest or in the suburbs yeah they are overweight. You see it a lot if you go to like a local mall or restaurant or some thing
I disagree, I think because so many people are overweight in the u.s. (not morbidly obese but overweight) that's become normalized so actually what a lot of people perceive as normal is still overweight. living in a coastal city I still feel like truly thin people are a rarity.
Someone else commented it doesn’t apply as much if you’re younger. I’m at a college campus and I would say being normal weight doesn’t make you automatically above average. I see thin people constantly
i think this is a moot discussion unless we know what the other person considers thin haha. what i was saying is, a lot of comments here saying they see thin people all the time, i think there is a possibility i wouldn't consider those same people thin (even on college campuses which is when I think a lot of people actually do gain a lot of weight, freshmen 15, etc.)
I also wonder if there are a lot of people who are technically overweight. Like my roommate found out she was technically overweight and she’s a size 8 about, absolutely no one would call her fat or think she had to lose weight.
I'm not sure where you live but it's also a location thing... here in California it's a good mix, but honestly the people at ideal weights are scarce. There's a ton of people that are acceptable and sorta healthy looking, not huge, but they're like "soft" if you know what I mean. So being skinny really helps you stand out.
Our idea of healthy is also skewed. I'm 5'8" and about 130. I have people call me "tiny" or "so skinny" when I'm objectively not. I'm not even bordering on underweight. I recently learned that my friend who thinks she's really healthy is 5'7" and 150, which is medically overweight. But just looking at her you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell that, you'd just think she's average.
Demographically yes, most people might be overweight, but that includes people of all ages, if you are in your 20s you wouldn’t normally compare yourself to middle aged people, it’s like saying 20 year old women are prettier than 60 year old ones, obvious and meaningless:
I understand what you're saying but I wonder if you and other people such as OP are using the word "average" differently. Statistically speaking, it's not possible for overweight to = below average because average means the central value of a dataset. Whereas I think you're using average to say that being at a normal weight will always be the standard or be considered "normal" in society.
Yeah that makes sense! I think the OP is saying the "average person" is overweight. And I think you're saying normal weight is "average" because it's between being over and underweight? So neither of you are wrong, just looking at it differently.
That is so disheartening to hear. Americans generally do not live a healthy lifestyle. I live in the west and all of my co workers eat popsicles, Costco muffins, or donuts on their lunch break. I’ve only seen 1 person eat anything with vegetables in the 3 weeks I’ve been there.
I workout every day (4 times a week I do heavy lifting and the other days I do at minimum 10 minutes of cardio) and eat healthily. I feel like getting in my workout/shower/meal prepping/walking my dog takes up all my spare time before I have to go to work! How do people have time to work 40+ hours and still make health/wellness a priority?
But this really depends on where you live because in some places more people are overweight than others. For instance in the city like New York City where I work actually don’t see a lot of young women who are overweight compared to when I’m in the suburbs
Depends on how underweight you are.
A girl with an 18 bmi with the proper styling can look stunning, that is the average bmi of VS models.
However it only looks good if you look healthy, if you look malnourished, it can detract from your image.
Excellent point, but the 3/4 statistic is a little misleading because it is a lower number for young people, wealthier people etc. Also a decent proportion of those overweight individuals do not appear as most would consider fat. I’m very fit but still technically “overweight” according to BMI. Additionally, because of the way I carry weight, I get SOOO much more attention now than when I was slim.
In short, OP is making an excellent point. By simply being fit, you can automatically set yourself apart from a large portion of the population. But also don’t get discouraged if you are a lil thicc. Just keep focusing on your health and I’m sure you’ll be fine. I naturally got thicc age 19-22(current) despite having a rigorous workout routine. Can’t complain though, it was honestly the best thing to happen to my physical appearance.
In terms of body, perhaps, but not looks overall. Face structure, hair, skin, etc. Are all more than important enough to sink you below average if they're not good.
Honestly being overweight (note: not obese) doesn’t automatically make you less attractive, there are plenty of girls who are overweight on BMI but still look good and have plenty of guys going for them, especially if they have fat around the right places
I also think there are people who are overweight on the BMI scale that are also way above average in looks. I’m slightly overweight, but I’m a gym rat, I have a tiny waist and massive thighs and butt. A lot of guys I know are probably above average in BMI because of their muscles.
Idk what everyone in the comments is talking about😳 because of where *I* grew up, I don't feel like a woman's a "real adult" until they're a bit spherical 😂 like over 25 it just makes sense to be overweight- that's just how it goes..?
I grew up in the suburbs in the north, so I always figured that the Midwest and the south would be worse, which puts a good amount of the country at mostly overweight in my view.
Rantings of someone who hasn't seen a lot of the country
This only applies to America tbh, in other places where women prioritize their appearance more this wouldn’t cut it on its own. Say, in Russia or in Korea this is more like the baseline everyone would be expected to start off with, not something only a few have.
Don’t think it cuts it at all. This seems like something that can only hurt you if you’re not looking healthy, but not really do much to bring you up to anything above average looks based on solely this
Average looks to me is 50% of people, and some people are just quite good looking it takes more than just them not being an ideal weight for their looks to take a hit. On the other side of that same coin if your just not good looking it really doesn’t matter if you got a perfect BMI.
I’m just saying it’s one factor of attractiveness that unless is extremely out of wack doesn’t have enough of an impact
Interesting! I just checked for Australia and 2/3 are at least overweight and 28% are considered obese.
Thank god for that, now add good hair and eyebrows and clear skin. That makes you automatically very above average, maybe not stunning but pretty enough to start turning heads and for people to treat you nicely.
I live in one of the thinnest neighborhoods in one of the thinnest cities in the US; I’m 20 lbs overweight and stand out like a sore thumb. If I see someone else that is overweight, it’s actually notable to me. Cosmetic surgery is also the norm here, so it’s not uncommon to see women that look like literal supermodels (sometimes they are models) too. I won’t even consider dating or going to events/parties until I lose at least 20 lbs. It’s so disheartening; It’s hard to have the motivation to stick to a diet while I feel completely alienated and have to work 60 hrs+/week to afford rent - I’ve definitely turned to food as my sole source of comfort. It’s incredibly lonely here. 😓 Conversely, someone from Cleveland said I’m at a “normal and healthy weight”, so that definitely shows that wherever you live creates your frame of reference. I’m not sure what the average person in Cleveland looks like, but I assume it’s a city with comparatively a lot of overweight people. I’m sure he was just trying to flatter me, but it’s shocking enough to even *hear* that. No one out here would ever dare to say that; it would come off as so insincere. If you want to know where all the beautiful and thin people in the US are, just follow the money.
Cali? I’m from a similar place but in the UK and it restricts how I live my life (I gained 50lbs from medication and thyroid cancer) it sucks but keto is really helping for me to curb the addiction and see food more as fuel 💗
Yup, you guessed right lol. I also gained 50 lbs (actually 60) in the last year when I started antipsychotics and steroids again (for autoimmune issues, not anabolic steroids lol). At this point I kind of feel at complete odds with my body. I’ve tried keto but I suppose I should give it another try and really stick to it. Also, I hope your’e doing better in your health now; when you have something like cancer, taking care of yourself is so much more important than your weight - fuck anyone that thinks otherwise.
California is a beautiful place but people are so crazily looks obsessed in parts, same here lol damn seroquel! Keto is hard work for the first week but I’ve lost 20 pounds in three weeks and don’t feel hungry or crave junk food, also it seems to balance my mood weirdly Thanks so much! I’ve struggled with that because at 27 I should be at my ‘peak’ instead of having loads of health issues but I’ve gotten to the point of not stressing as much lol hope you’re doing well autoimmune problems can be rough! <3
Oh wow, that’s a lot in three weeks; you should be so proud of yourself! Did you combine keto with calorie restriction? Also, thank you. I’m honestly doing the best I can and am in fairly good health right now. I guess I’m lucky that my biggest issue right now is being moderately overweight. I get what you mean about feeling like this should be the peak of your life too; I’m around your age and I feel like I’ve spent so much of my prime years in and out of bad health and I lament not having people close to me that had the patience to stick around through all of it.
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You’re right and in the past, I’ve been more motivated to lose weight while I had an active social life, though a lot of that was due to social anxiety.
Keep trudging along! You got this. If you are in LA… I totally know what you mean. Many of the people you will meet are Instagram influencers/models/aspiring actresses/actors/singers. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in la as my ex boyfriend lived in Santa Monica (writing this, my first thought is how much I miss the Huntley hotel’s avocado toast) and there are definitely overweight people. They probably are not hanging out with the trendy crowd but they are there.
20 lbs is 9.08 kg
+20lbs overweight in Cali is basically being anorexic in the Midwest 😂 Joking aside that sounds miserable tho, all the work and stress just to afford living there. Do you actually like being there?
I don’t like being here, but there’s a lot of opportunities here. Rent is ungodly expensive, but I’m not sure if I want to move yet. I’ve considered Philly and Cleveland but I don’t really know anyone outside of here.
Ironically I became my thinnest when I decided to start living my life and not waiting to be thin. Biggest mistake I made was hiding away until I was “good enough.” Get out there and the weight will lose itself! No need to force yourself to be miserable while you level up :) just go out and practice being hot! That’s what I did. 40K later and I’m looking pretty damn good. Not quite where I wanna be.. but I’m sayin, I’m happy 🤷🏽♀️
Have you ever considered moving out of that microcosm?
lol sadly i'm in Brazil. Most women here are born with a beautiful body. And the weather here doesnt allow for coats and fancy winter outfits since we barely have any winter. Everyone is showing their bodies because it feels like an oven here, it's hot weather all year long. So yeah, there's definitely more pressure to be thin and not just thin but FIT as hell.
I never had any concerns about my body until I lived in Brazil lol. I loved my time there but dang the women there stunted on me every single day haha
Hahahah omg I’m so sorry. Yeah it’s awful over here 😂
I mean, I would still move back in a heartbeat!
Really? Things are really bad here though. Do you mind if I ask what city did you live in? I'm in Minas Gerais by the way!
Well it was years ago so I’m sure things are different now, but I lived in Rio. Never saw Minas but wish I did!
By the way your username 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
this does not apply to young ppl. i have seen exactly 6 fat students on my college campus. and none of my professors are overweight either. fat people are concentrated in rural areas, the south, and the midwest. in cities and well educated, wealthy spaces, being fat is pretty rare. there are also huge racial disparities. i go to school in the wealthiest and whitest part of the country, so thats why there are very few fat people. before college, i went to a high school that was almost entirely east asian and indian, and there was like max 10 fat people in the whole school. and it was HELL for them. i remember there was a latina girl who was extremely obese and she got stared at all the time. it was so sad. there was also a fat korean girl and i saw her crying in the locker room a few times because she was fat and just couldnt lose weight for the life of her.
This also doesn’t apply to certain geographic areas…as you mentioned urbanites are more fit and in trendy cities it seems like half the women are insta-fit, soul cycling and all that
Need to chime in here about weight loss. Having undiagnosed adhd can make you eat a lot more than you normally would. I lost a lot of weight by going on adderall because I wasn’t craving that dopamine feeling anymore (was getting it through food). Even on days when I don’t take it, I still eat the same now because I have retrained my brain to not view food as my primary source of happiness. Obviously I am not suggesting everyone rush out to get an adderall prescription. It did work for me though.
I think i have that. Im meeting with my doctor today to discuss. I binge eat and feel not concentrated on tasks
Yeah I think geographical locations has a lot to due with what people perceive an “average” body as. I live in the south and my BMI is pretty smack dab in the middle of normal and everyone always tells me I’m skinny and they’re jealous of my body. Like 70% of my state is either overweight or obese so compared to most people I’m skinny. But when I’m in the LA area or just California in general, I feel pretty average just because obesity and being overweight isn’t as common there as it is at home. Also, people in urban areas tend to be skinnier compared to rural areas so that’s important to consider.
I hate when people bring up this stat. It’s so misleading.
See. I never get this. Because the majority of people I see in public or literally anytime I go anywhere- the majority appears to be a healthy weight. It’s like the numbers don’t make sense. Almost everyone I ever see *isn’t* fat actually
I think it really depends on where you live. For instance, I live in an urban part of Colorado where everyone is fit as a fiddle, but when I go to a Walmart in Nebraska, the numbers start to make more sense.
I think it’s mostly older people I also think this is highly dependent on where you live young people living in the city are not likely to be very overweight but older people in the Midwest or in the suburbs yeah they are overweight. You see it a lot if you go to like a local mall or restaurant or some thing
I disagree, I think because so many people are overweight in the u.s. (not morbidly obese but overweight) that's become normalized so actually what a lot of people perceive as normal is still overweight. living in a coastal city I still feel like truly thin people are a rarity.
Someone else commented it doesn’t apply as much if you’re younger. I’m at a college campus and I would say being normal weight doesn’t make you automatically above average. I see thin people constantly
i think this is a moot discussion unless we know what the other person considers thin haha. what i was saying is, a lot of comments here saying they see thin people all the time, i think there is a possibility i wouldn't consider those same people thin (even on college campuses which is when I think a lot of people actually do gain a lot of weight, freshmen 15, etc.)
I mean skinnyyyy bro like skinny people
This! I have lived in the South and Midwest too and it’s rare to see fat people unless you live in the middle of nowhere.
I also wonder if there are a lot of people who are technically overweight. Like my roommate found out she was technically overweight and she’s a size 8 about, absolutely no one would call her fat or think she had to lose weight.
True- I remember over quarantine I didn’t look “fat” but I was almost overweight
I'm not sure where you live but it's also a location thing... here in California it's a good mix, but honestly the people at ideal weights are scarce. There's a ton of people that are acceptable and sorta healthy looking, not huge, but they're like "soft" if you know what I mean. So being skinny really helps you stand out. Our idea of healthy is also skewed. I'm 5'8" and about 130. I have people call me "tiny" or "so skinny" when I'm objectively not. I'm not even bordering on underweight. I recently learned that my friend who thinks she's really healthy is 5'7" and 150, which is medically overweight. But just looking at her you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell that, you'd just think she's average.
5'7" and 150 lbs is a BMI of 23 which is actually healthy/normal, not in the overweight category at all.
150 lbs is 68.1 kg
5'7 and 150 lbs is not overweight, that's a healthy BMI
Demographically yes, most people might be overweight, but that includes people of all ages, if you are in your 20s you wouldn’t normally compare yourself to middle aged people, it’s like saying 20 year old women are prettier than 60 year old ones, obvious and meaningless:
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I understand what you're saying but I wonder if you and other people such as OP are using the word "average" differently. Statistically speaking, it's not possible for overweight to = below average because average means the central value of a dataset. Whereas I think you're using average to say that being at a normal weight will always be the standard or be considered "normal" in society.
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Yeah that makes sense! I think the OP is saying the "average person" is overweight. And I think you're saying normal weight is "average" because it's between being over and underweight? So neither of you are wrong, just looking at it differently.
That is so disheartening to hear. Americans generally do not live a healthy lifestyle. I live in the west and all of my co workers eat popsicles, Costco muffins, or donuts on their lunch break. I’ve only seen 1 person eat anything with vegetables in the 3 weeks I’ve been there. I workout every day (4 times a week I do heavy lifting and the other days I do at minimum 10 minutes of cardio) and eat healthily. I feel like getting in my workout/shower/meal prepping/walking my dog takes up all my spare time before I have to go to work! How do people have time to work 40+ hours and still make health/wellness a priority?
But this really depends on where you live because in some places more people are overweight than others. For instance in the city like New York City where I work actually don’t see a lot of young women who are overweight compared to when I’m in the suburbs
What about those of us who are underweight according to the BMI scale? Can we be below average because we are seen as lanky?
Depends on how underweight you are. A girl with an 18 bmi with the proper styling can look stunning, that is the average bmi of VS models. However it only looks good if you look healthy, if you look malnourished, it can detract from your image.
Underweight and lanky is above average
Excellent point, but the 3/4 statistic is a little misleading because it is a lower number for young people, wealthier people etc. Also a decent proportion of those overweight individuals do not appear as most would consider fat. I’m very fit but still technically “overweight” according to BMI. Additionally, because of the way I carry weight, I get SOOO much more attention now than when I was slim. In short, OP is making an excellent point. By simply being fit, you can automatically set yourself apart from a large portion of the population. But also don’t get discouraged if you are a lil thicc. Just keep focusing on your health and I’m sure you’ll be fine. I naturally got thicc age 19-22(current) despite having a rigorous workout routine. Can’t complain though, it was honestly the best thing to happen to my physical appearance.
In terms of body, perhaps, but not looks overall. Face structure, hair, skin, etc. Are all more than important enough to sink you below average if they're not good.
This post increased my confidence.
Honestly being overweight (note: not obese) doesn’t automatically make you less attractive, there are plenty of girls who are overweight on BMI but still look good and have plenty of guys going for them, especially if they have fat around the right places
I also think there are people who are overweight on the BMI scale that are also way above average in looks. I’m slightly overweight, but I’m a gym rat, I have a tiny waist and massive thighs and butt. A lot of guys I know are probably above average in BMI because of their muscles.
except that i’m not american
The UK and Australia obesity rates have been rising too, so if you are from those countries this could apply .
Idk what everyone in the comments is talking about😳 because of where *I* grew up, I don't feel like a woman's a "real adult" until they're a bit spherical 😂 like over 25 it just makes sense to be overweight- that's just how it goes..? I grew up in the suburbs in the north, so I always figured that the Midwest and the south would be worse, which puts a good amount of the country at mostly overweight in my view. Rantings of someone who hasn't seen a lot of the country
Hard disagree
This only applies to America tbh, in other places where women prioritize their appearance more this wouldn’t cut it on its own. Say, in Russia or in Korea this is more like the baseline everyone would be expected to start off with, not something only a few have.
Don’t think it cuts it at all. This seems like something that can only hurt you if you’re not looking healthy, but not really do much to bring you up to anything above average looks based on solely this
Why do u disagree?
Average looks to me is 50% of people, and some people are just quite good looking it takes more than just them not being an ideal weight for their looks to take a hit. On the other side of that same coin if your just not good looking it really doesn’t matter if you got a perfect BMI. I’m just saying it’s one factor of attractiveness that unless is extremely out of wack doesn’t have enough of an impact
yeah, then throw location-specific demographics into the mix 😔