How to Calculate Your Body Frame Size
Growing up, I always seemed to be larger than the other kids. Even though I was overweight, I can still remember receiving the comment, “She’s not fat, she’s big- boned.” So it has stuck in my head that I am big-boned. Now that I’m older, I understand what that means. It means that I have a large body frame size.
Even 20 some years later, I still believe I’m big-boned. But you know what? I have never actually checked to make sure. It’s time to find out once and for all because knowing my frame size will help me determine my ideal body weight.
I found two different methods of calculating your body frame size. One way involves measuring a part of your elbow and at first read it was a little confusing to me. The other way is simplier and it involves measuring your wrist and comparing it to your height. I like the simplier method of measuring my wrist so that is what I am going to do.
From MedLine Plus: “To determine the body frame size, measure the wrist with a tape measure and use the following chart to determine whether the person is small, medium, or large boned.”
Here’s the moment of truth…my wrist size is 6.75″ and I am 5′5″ tall.
Wow. I definitely have a large frame according to the chart. No doubt about that.
Finding this out confirms that I am a big-boned girl. I know this will affect my ideal weight (which I’m working to calculate) because I will naturally weigh more because of my frame size. I’m perfectly fine with that because my goal is to be a healthy weight.
And yes, a part of me is glad I am big-boned because it makes my current weight not seem so bad. Maybe I am closer to my ideal weight than I thought.
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Comments
I can’t wait to go home tonight and measure my wrist….just grateful, it won’t be a measurement of my rear end!!! or hips. or thighs.
I am thrilled to confirm that it is in fact true that I am “big boned”. I am also working to try to figure out what my ideal weight goal should be. Do you know the correct way to measure height? Should you include shoes?
Maggie - I’ve had troubles before with those watch bands that are stretchy. They’d always pinch me.
D - LOL, that’s why I haven’t measured my hips, waist, thighs, arms..etc, etc. I liked measuring my wrist.
Kim - You shouldn’t wear shoes when measuring your height. Socks are okay, though.
When you find out your ideal weight, please let us know–our height and wrist measurement are nearly identical. I’ve always known I have a larger frame, but it’s good to have something more concrete.
I think this kind of points to the skewed view our society takes on weight. I have always been told that my healthy weight was 135, and that just seems so impossible to me. It almost seems too thin. Then I started going to that well-known meetings program and found out that my healthy weight range actually tops out at 150, which seems SO much easier to reach and maintain. So, that’s my goal.
I think maybe that image of a super-thin after picture can be scary and make weight loss seem more daunting, when in reality someone with a healthy weight will still have curves!
If you can, you might just want to get a body fat measurement. It’s a bit more accurate than these estimates.
Gal
Maggie - I agree about society. In my head as a teen, 115 was an ideal weight. Boy, was I off!
60 in 3 - Do you have any recommendations on how to go about getting a body fat measurement? How did you get yours? A quick search online yielded a few calculators and I know my scale calculates body fat percentage.
Hi there!
Concerning the wrist circumference I was wondering what happens if you loose weight. Your wrist circumference gets probably smaller (at least happened to me). So this body frame thingi seems a bit inaccurate to me.
As 60 in 3 said, a much better indicator would be the body fat percentage. There are several methods to measure it. Here are some listed: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weight/body_fat/percentage.htm and here too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage
The most accurate one to do at home is the skinfold test. Even though the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis is quite accurate, home scales are not. The absolute value they deliver can vary a lot, depending when you weigh, how much you drank before and so on. However, it is an indicator if you’re on the right way and concentrate more on the relative changes. Just make sure you weigh at fairly equal conditions.
The weighing scale is overrated!
Even as early as 5 years ago, there really wasn’t a convenient device to measure health, other than the weighing scale.
If you come to think about it, why are we so concerned about weight? There are really 2 basic reasons:
1. Our society/culture equates beauty to being slim (there are many other cultures who believe the opposite).
2. We have come to associate that overweight = bad health.
From a health perspective, a better indicator would be:
1. blood pressure & pulse rate 9 (readily available today)
2. blood sugar (actually, measuring insulin is better, but not as easy).
3. antioxidant level (measurement of the true health of the cell; the basic building block of your body)
My point is: one could be thin and unhealthy or fat and healthy.
Of course I would rather be healthy and look good, but personally, I would put more emphasis on health.
Wow, I have a 7.5 inch wrist, and I am 5′7″…..I think they need to add an extra large frame to that list!
I’m 5′6″ and my wrist is 6.25″ im on the small end of the medium frame i guess. I weight 198lb. that means im overweight right??
Hate to burst a bubble here, but I always thought I was “large” framed also. I’m 5′6″, and at my highest weight, I was 252. I have an hourglass shape, very defined waist, large hips, big shoulders. Even at that weight, I my waist never went over 36″, hips on the other hand… But, as to wrist measurement: at 252, my wrist measurement was 7.5″. I am now 140#, and my wrist measurement is 6″. EVERYTHING gets smaller. At 252, I wore a 9-9.5 size shoe. At 140, an 8. That was probably the weirdest, bordering on creepy difference…
Wow! My wrist is 7 inches. Now wonder I have such trouble with Bracelets and watches when 6.25 is the beginning of large.