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# Home > Bone & Joint > Big boned: Not a reason to be
overweight

Big boned: Not a reason to be

overweight
! Mar 3, 2016 " Bone & Joint Tags: Body mass index, Obesity,
Weight, Weight loss

$ % & '

Being big boned means having wider bones. You can figure out if
you’re big boned by measuring your wrist.

“I weigh more because I’m big boned.”

Dr. Brenda Banaszynski, a Marshfield Clinic family medicine

physician, has disappointing news if you’ve been saying this to
explain your weight.

You can be big boned, but larger bone structure doesn’t

account for much extra weight, she said

Big boned means wider bones

Some people have bigger bones, Banaszynski said. For
example, their wrists and elbows appear larger and may not be
able to wear standard-sized watches and bracelets.

Measure your wrist to find out if you’re really big boned, since
“body frame size is determined by a person’s wrist
circumference in relation to height,” according to the National
Institutes of Health.

People with the following measurements are considered large

boned:

Women

Less than 5 feet 2 inches tall and wrist size larger than 5.75
inches
5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall and wrist size larger
than 6.25 inches
More than 5 feet 5 inches tall and wrist size larger than 6.5
inches

Men

More than 5 feet 5 inches tall and wrist size larger than 7.5
inches.

Big bones don’t mean (much) extra

weight
“Larger bones might account for a few pounds of weight but
not 30 or 40,” Banaszynski said. “It’s not going to be the
difference between a healthy body mass index (BMI) and
being overweight.”

Some people might confuse bone size with bone density, which
refers to the concentration of minerals in your bones. Like large
bones, dense bones may add only a few pounds to your frame.

Focus on exercise and portion control

for weight loss
“If your BMI is in the overweight or obese category, you
probably need to make changes to be healthier regardless of
the width or density of your bones,” Banaszynski said. “Being
overweight or obese increases your risk for diabetes and heart
disease.”

So the standard advice applies, big boned or not. Do more

cardiovascular exercise, eat a well-balanced diet and pay
attention to portion size to shed extra pounds.

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30 Comments

JENNIFER H.
I hate it when my grandma would say that
woman needs to go on a diet. My dad tells
Aug 16, 2022
me you're too wide for the chair. One time
my complain to him about my pants are
being because my legs rub together. I've
been that way my whole life. I'm a swimmer
who has a disability. I try to keep my weight
at a level but covid happened. I didn't go
out as much. Not even walks and I had to
quit swimming. But I am trying to get better.

Reply

HANNAH
Mackenzie I agree. There are people who
try so hard to lose weight but their bodies
Jul 4, 2022
just have trouble letting go of the extra
pounds. And there are people who can eat
a ton of crap 24/7 and not gain an ounce.
Each situation is different. And then of
course there are different body types and
compositions. Of course I am not looking at
people who are 600 pounds and saying
"maybe it's their body type", but even then
they're a legitimate psychological issues
that cannot so simply be dealt with. Telling
someone with a severe weight problem to
"just lose weight" is like telling someone
with a drug or alcohol problem too "just
stop drinking or taking drugs". Food
addiction is real. In any case you cannot
look at someone and just assume the worst
case scenario and that they're a horrible
person because of it.

Reply

HANNAH
Kara2002 your situation is so similar to
mine! I I'm only 5'4 and have size 11
Jul 4, 2022
women's shoes, my feet and hands are
larger than many people I know who are
several inches taller than me. And I often
weigh more than them as well. And I have
always been broader and heavier than
most people my height. Body composition
really is overlooked but it's more important
than is realized. Although I do have some
weight to lose even for my frame, it's
doubtful I could get down to my "ideal
weight" to save my life. The old me might
have said "heavy bones" but I think it's just
body composition, a combination of larger
bones and a larger build.

Reply

JACQUE
BMI is crap. Body builders are not fat and
most have high bmi numbers. If you are
Apr 24, 2022
happy with yourself and healthy, forget
weight, bmi and live your best life

Reply

DEE
I am 5’6 and not overweight at all. I train 5
days a week. What brought me here is I’ve
Feb 4, 2022
always had a larger frame and felt
overweight even though I’ve never truly
been. (I fluctuate between 140-150lbs on
average) So I started wondering if maybe I
just have large bones because how else
can I look relatively thin but be so dense
and heavy for my size. I’m what some
might call solid. With clothes on I can look
slim but naked I look thicker and I could
never quite get down below 135lbs no
matter how hard I trained or dieted down.
So a google search brought me here and I
guess it really is a thing! It’s actually a relief
to know I have large bones. I’ve always
suspected it looking at my calves which
are super wide but don't appear to have a
ton of body fat or muscle on them. But it’s a
relief because I know I have to adjust my
expectations for my weight loss goals. I’ll
never healthily be 120 lbs and thats ok!

Reply

ISHMAELLLLL
I find it very hard to eat a healthy diet,
because I always stop being hungry before
Oct 16, 2021
I've finished the thing that was supposed to
be healthy for me. I find it so extremely
hard to push through and eat more, is there
any way I can slowly increase the amount I
eat? Although I'm not underweight, I get
sick very easily due to not having a very
good diet. On the months I eat properly I
manage pretty OK but the second I start
eating less fruits and vegetables and
healthy stuff I start getting sick often…It
feels really unfair because everyone else,
with reaaally terrible diets, even though
they are often not even of a healthy weight
(overweight), are getting less sick than
me…Yet my body can't manage the same.
And by less fruits and vegetables, I mean,
not shoving in them whenever I can – I
often make myself eat a bowl of fruit as a
snack even if I don't really want to…At
gatherings, I'm always the one who eats
the least, at all-you-can-eat restaurants, my
'all i can eat' is rather low, and I gaze
longingly at the plates of reaaally yummy
food my stomach is hurting too much to try.
I just want to be able to have my body at
least work, because getting sick often due
to finding it hard to eat is just terrible for my
upcoming in a year exams, and if I fall sick
during them them, I'm screwed.

Reply

ROSA
Andrew shut it! So your telling me you
know the bone density of the fat people
Aug 3, 2021
you’ve seen?I didn’t think so! Stop tearing
other people down!

Reply

LILIY
Sick of people of who say “fat is a choice”
or tell fat people their lazy. We live in a
Aug 3, 2021
society that naturally favors thin over fat.
Why? When will society start to change
such things? Fat is not a bad thing so
people should stop characterizing it as
such. I’m sick of the beauty standers and
Ideals that tell us what’s a good and bad
weight. I struggled for eight months with an
eating disorder (Anorexia) that could have
killed me, all because of this way of
society. Does that sound healthy to you? If
this being fat will kill you phenomenon is
nothing more than a beauty standard when
will people start to realize that it’s just a
concept! Beauty is nothing more than a
concept and it is more than skin deep.
Every 10 years there’s a body slandered
people are expected to follow. A 100 years
ago being fat was idolized for xyzed
reasons. I mean honestly, just be whatever
weight you are because if you come to
know your beautiful than you will always be
in trend. And your probably asking, “how
does that relate to the fact that being fat
can actually kill you!”. Well, can someone
actually give me a list of people who have
died from being overweight or obese?? The
United States has a population of 328.2
million people and counting of which 42.8
percent is obese and 32.5 percent
overweight. Don’t you think the population
would be much less if the 75.3% of the
population were randomly having heart
attacks because of their weight? I mean
seriously, I’m not sure if being fat is as
dangerous as it’s hipped up to be,
especially if their naturally bigger
boned/endomorphs. And please don’t say
that doesn’t exist because of your
ignorance and lack of knowledge!! It’s
disgusting how people try to tear each
other down.

Reply

DAWN
Anne – my idea of beauty is not me either.
It takes work when one is not happy with
Jun 5, 2021
their appearance. Not to be mean but it lies
in our head and our sense of confidence in
ourselves. Depending on your background
it can be a lifelong struggle to approve of
ones self. I was bulimic for over 20 years
and at 62 still work at accepting myself and
how I look on the outside. We are all ok,
really, work to be healthy and fit. Wear
clothes that flatter you and you like, and try
to be good to yourself, treat yourself like
your best friend… be kind to her

Reply

DAWN
Andrew, I agree in general but , bone size
is real. I’m 5’4” w a wrist measurement of
Jun 5, 2021
7”. My friend is same height as wit a wrist
size of 5.25”. She has a much more slender
frame than I do. We are both overweight.
Also, if you have never had a weight (fat)
problem it is hard to imagine why other
people are overweight. And, yes, most of
us are defensive about it. Because most
people do not want to be overweight. I
know some people who genetically are
bigger people (plump) and people who are
broader and big like Tongan people. It is a
medical fact Tongans are the the broadest
people. Just pointing these things out
because even tho you believe it, everything
is not black and white, there are in
betweens!

Reply

ANNE
I'm trying to lose weight, but as I lose
weight (which I'm thrilled about), I notice
May 5, 2021
the shape of my body frame and it doesn't
look flattering no matter how much weight I
lose. Being overweight covered it up, but
don't want to put on unhealthy unflattering
pounds just to hide it.

Reply

EC
MACKENZIE, I completely agree with you
on your reply to ANDREW’s, fat-shaming
Feb 18, 2021
post. It makes me so happy to see that
there are so many well educated and well
informed folks, like you, who comment on
here.

If ANDREW, here, can not even spell

correctly ( its “ themselves” not
“themselfs”…. are you in grade school?),
then he has no business giving his
polarizing advice on such a delicate topic!
Perhaps, he’s just a troll?

Reply

COREY G.
technically (in very very rare cases) a
natural genetic modification on the same
Feb 16, 2021
gene that causes osteoperosis can cause
extreme bone density and therefore weight
otherwise though its diet and excercise –
expend more calories than you intake (at a
healthy rate, no superslim in 6 weeks diets,
those can really hurt you) possibly an
overactive thyroid can contribute between
5 and 10 pounds.

Reply

MACKENZIE
Andrew, I disagree. Larger people can still
be healthy. I feel that you are misinformed,
Jan 11, 2021
and tbh, I’m a little offended by your
comment. Yes, people can and do gain
weight from inactivity or poor diet, but I
refuse to believe that that is the only
instance in which people are overweight.

Reply

KANDISS L.
J , I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU FEEL
LIKE. I know some techniques that can
Dec 13, 2020
make your ankles appear slender or
smaller, how much I want to say just be
comfortable in your own skin and love your
body can be hard . We think oh " if only I
could have a tummy tuck " or " breast
implants " , I would be so much happier ,
thats just a temporary fix . We have to love
ourselves withing and be happy. I know its
easier said than done. I hope you feel
better and wish we had more uplifting
women each other

Reply

KANDISS L.
To Annie hope you get to your goal and
lose the 50 lbs , its a lifestyle and can be
Dec 13, 2020
challenging. I am in the same boat and
getting older, I suppose its time for me as
well to start a better and healthier lifestyle.
I'm rooting for you Annie!!

Reply

J
I have always thought I was big boned as I
just didnt have the slender ladylike frame
Nov 14, 2020
other women have. I am 5'3 and my wrist
measures 6.75 inches. I wear size 3 pants
but I still hate the way I look. I cant even
pull off flip flops like literally every other
woman and man because my ankles look
thick compared to my foot length. My
shoulders are also on the bulky side. No,
not wide. Just bulky. Hard to wear feminine
clothes with their wide collars with that
going on. The worst is it's hard to put your
finger on what's different when you're not
big. You just look odd and dont know why.
It bothers me so much I looked it up and
found this article.

Reply

GRAMAJANE
I am 72 year old great grandmother of 5'5"
with shoe size 11 1/2 and wrist
Sep 29, 2020
measurement 7 1/2 and I presently weigh
186 which has me barely in the obese
area. I look best these years at 165 though
that on the charts says I am still over
weight but at that weight I have no muffin
top but only saggy skin on my upper arms!
There is such a thing as amount of muscle,
big bones and age effecting optimal weight
!

Reply

CHRISTINA W.
Im not over weight, I have large frame, I'm
wear about a size 9 women. But I do
Aug 7, 2020
weight more than I did when younger. My
frame was much smaller, but using my
body, working, exercise and etc. I have
changed.

Reply

KARA2002
I’m 5’3 and have an 8” wrist. This is
considered large even for men who
Sep 2, 2020
are over 6”0. So when people say
large frames arent real they forget
there are always outliers like me. My
friend adds at least 15 pounds to my
weight. I’ve proven it time and time
again because I had friends that I
weighed more but I was smaller in
the size I wore. My friend didn’t
believe me when I told her how
much I weigh because I was three
sizes smaller than her but sure
enough I weigh 20 pounds more
than her and I was shorter than her.
There’s no other explanation for that
other than my extremely large frame.

Reply

BONBON99
I totally agree with this
Kara2002. Most of the time
Sep 8, 2020
people say that “big boned” is
a euphemism for being fat or
it’s just a weird myth. But it’s
actually true. I consider myself
big boned. When I was in
grade school, I was one of the
smallest person in the class
and we had to weigh in at the
nurses' clinic. The nurses were
shock that I weighed totally
higher than what I actually look
and higher than some of my
taller classmates. They
weighed me again but it
showed the same result. Since
then, I knew that I was big
boned so I'm often overweight.
Sometimes when my weight is
normal, my friends tell me that
I'm so so thin and boney. They
tell me that it doesn't suit me
well and to go back at my
usual weight (overweight)
which I totally agree. But a lot
of people doesn't get this and I
hope someday that there will
be proof that "big boned" is a
real thing and it totally adds
weight.

HANNAH
Hi. I can understand how "bigger bones" in
themselves wouldn't have a high influence
Apr 29, 2020
on weight. However, people could still have
naturally wider frames due to how their
built; not so much "big boned" as just
having naturally larger bodies. Just as
there are people with very tall, slender
frames who might be "underweight" on the
charts when they really aren't; who's to say
someone with a naturally stocky build
wouldn't experience a unique situation
themself, and yet the term "overweight" is
tacked onto them even with a healthy
lifestyle. If bones can't "dictate" weight, who
is to say height alone does, and why aren't
we calling very slender people
underweight while we're at it (not that they
are). Weight is a very complex situation
induced by many factors that is way
simplified and treated with ignorance in the
medical industry.

Reply

ANDREW
Being fat is a choice there is no such
thing as wider frame because ive
May 27, 2020
seen it for a fact that fat people are
fat because they did it to themselfs

Reply

FIONA
So thyroid and hormonal
problems can’t be factors in
Jun 6, 2020
being “fat”, according to your
statement, Andrew? Not
everything can be controlled.
Metabolism can’t be controlled,
either. “Fat” people can have
the same lifestyle as someone
50 pounds less than them, and
“skinny”, and stay the same
weight their whole adult life. I
feel as if your a very
judgmental person, so maybe
instead of judging someone
(especially women) and basing
their value on their weight,
show kindness and actually get
to know them. Also it’s
“themselves” not themselfs.

DOMANIQUE
Not true there's medical
conditions that causes weight
Jul 14, 2020
gain. Everybody always think
it's because someone is lazy or
the eat too much not always
the case.

DR.PEPPER
To all the people people
responding to Andrew a
Jul 16, 2020
majority of the time there’s
neglect or bad management of
said persons body which
allows this weight gain due to
hormones or thyroid problems.
It’s not really happening to a lot
of people who work out
consistently and receive
necessary vitamins and
calories

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