Why Are We So OBSESSED With Dress Size And Not Other 'Body Statistics'?

Why Are We So Obsessed VWith DRESS SİZE And Not Other 'Body Statistics'? 10 What's in a Number? Clothes sizing, body shape and the implications that vanity sizing have on our health is a discussion that has been around for years. Why is sizing important? Condensing sizes into a simple number may seem convenient, but the media focus on appearance has given certain sizes golden status. 62% 'ideal' A YouGov study shows that 62% of women aspire to have the 'ideal' dress size (size 12, UK). We asked 500 we in the UK: "Are your clothes shopping habits influenced by the size on the label?" (i.e. if an item fits but is bigger than your usual size, are you less likely to buy that item?) 1 in 4 said "Yes" So How Did Sizes Originate? moo? Bizarrely, the first US sizing study was organised and funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the 1940's in an attempt to standardise working women's clothes - yep, seems a bit crazy doesn't it? Let's take a closer look at how sizing standards have evolved since then. 222 Dress Size Timeline: 1932 The bra was one of the first items of clothing to 1941 gain a sizing standard that remains almost universal. The USDA publishes first guidelines. Through customer feedback, mail order stores developed SEARS their own sizing. 1955 Sears Catalogue sizes were published for the fırst time. 1958 The US National Bureau of Standards took the 1941 data, combined with data from clothing catalogues and the US Airforce to refine the charts. 1970 The USA guidelines were once again revised, reflecting changing fashion and cultural trends. ISO 1977 European ISO standards for clothing sizes were developed, although most countries continued with their own 1982 The British Standards Institute practices. introduced their own guidelines, making a British size 10 equal to a US size 14. 1983 USA standards were withdrawn as stores and catalogues continued to use 1995 An independent body in America (ASTM) began publishing charts. At this time, the disparity their own data. between a 1958 12 and a modern day 12 became notable, with a typical ideal 12 of the 1950s now being deemed a size 6. 2002 UK British Standards Institute - BS EN 13402-3 - shows that even with ISO standards and EU sizing, there remains a requirement for national sizing to reflect a specific country. More Recently... By the 2000's, the size 0 debate was brought to the forefront by national media after the numbers of young men and women with eating disorders rose by unprecedented amounts. The morality of vanity sizing was questioned as it became apparent that high end designers were using models on their runways that sometimes reached a size 00. High Street Dress Sizes So let's take a look at how modern high street brands compare in terms of dress sizes. We'll then check these against the 1955 standards set by Sears: Key: Dress Size 10 12 14 16 No Data Waist Size (Inches) Bust Size (Inches) 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 French Connection The variation in dress size ranges from slight to huge amongst high street retailers Karen Millen M&S Next Topshop Dorothy Perkins Here's a difference LK Bennet of over 3 inches! Gap Zara Reiss Jaeger New Look Sears Catalogue (1955) That's a But things get really interesting when you compare modern brands against the Sears Catalogue 1955 leap of almost 2 dress sizes! sizes... which have increased by 3 INCHES PER SIZE on average - that's an 8% INCREASE! Hip Size (Inches) 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Modern (Inches) French Connection Bust Bust Average 34.5 | 36.2| 38.2| 40 Karen Millen Waist M&S Waist Average 27.3| 29|31|33.5 Next Hips Hips Average Topshop 37.2| 39 | 42 |43.5 Dorothy Perkins LK Bennet 1955 (Inches) Dress sizes have increased in size by 8% since 1955 Gap Bust 32.5| 34 | 35.5| 37 Zara Reis Waist 24.5 | 25.5 | 27| 28.5 Jaeger Hips 34 | 36| 38|40 New Look Sears Catalogue (1955) Confused? So despite dress sizes being dreamed up for convenience it appears there are huge variations amongst high street stores. Not very convenient at all! And if we're so hung up on dress size numbers, shouldn't we be as concerned about other, more important numbers in our lives? 10 :: Numbers Worth Paying Attention To: Blood Pressure: High blood pressure leaves you at risk of heart disease, strokes or atherosclerosis. 120/80mmHg HEALTHY AVERAGE Waist Size: The risk of metabolic syndromes and insulin resistance goes up massively when you carry an excessive amount of extra fat on your body. Women: 35" Men: 40" HEALTHY AVERAGE Daily Calorie Intake: It probably goes without saying that too many calories can lead to weight gain and too little leads to weight loss. However, people of different sizes have different requirements. Women: 2000 Men: 2550 HEALTHY AVERAGE Triglycerides: Triglycerides result from the consumption of fat and carbs. They also are released from fat tissue when your body needs extra energy. A high level of them in your blood stream is linked to artery disease. 1.7 mmol/I HEALTHY AVERAGE Resting Pulse Rate: Simply the number of times your heart beats in a minute. Anything too high or too low is not good news. 60-90 bpm HEALTHY AVERAGE Cholesterol: High-density lipoprotein is commonly known as 'good cholesterol'. Low-density lipoprotein is the bad stuff. Below 5.2 mmol/I HEALTHY AVERAGE You Are Not a Number! Ultimately, it is not the number on the garment that matters. You are not a size 6 or a size 14, the clothes are. Choose the ones that fit well and look good and make time to look after the body you have wrapped within them. Remember that these numbers only exist for convenience in the shops. Well Fitting Lookin' Good Stay Healthy Brought to you by: Sources: musclefood dailymail.co.uk time.com mentalfloss.com Premium nutrition for healthy living yougov.co.uk www.musclefood.com 11111||1|111111||||| 111||||||||||||||| II ||||||| II||||||| 1II||||