Are clothes manufacturers to blame for the rise in obesity?

Marilyn was 8st 4lb.

....and 35 22 35. 5'5".

The size 16 idea is a myth.

old, surely she cannot have been exactly that weight all her life?

@less her Hollywood profile stated between 116-120 pounds. So pretty stable during her acting years. She was also into jogging and exercise.

I think she may have been slightly plumper as a very young adult woman.

I bought a pair of trousers in 14 from M&S 2 years ag which fitted perfectly. Last year I bought the same pair but in a 12. When I put them side by side they were exactly the same.

Yes I think the manufacturers lull us into a false sense of security.

I can get into a size 8 in skinny jeans.

In reality, I'm more like a vintage 12, and struggling to stay at that!

It's not just the sizing: today's clothes are stretchier and sloppier. T shirts are boxier and less fitted. It's easier to disguise a muffin top.

Great for vanity.

I have to admit that I am influenced by the size on the label. I know it makes no difference at all to my size, but the psychological boost of buying a smaller size, to my shame, does affect me. I am sure I’m not unique and therefore I am pretty sure the manufacturers have done it to boost profit.

Clothes manufacturers can't be blamed for the rise in obesity. Clothes don't make people fat. What people eat and drink, and how much, does that. Most people drink more alcohol than was usual say 50 years ago. 'Food' manufacturers and retailers need to maximise profits; so they have persuaded us we NEED snacks and crisps and biscuits and fizzy drinks, and coffee almost intravenously. (We have even been persuaded to buy bottled water... not that that adds to obesity, of course.)

So much fat shaming here. If the clothes manufacturers have done something to make women feel a bit better about their bodies, good for them. Most cruel suggestion - that fat women should only be able to buy frumpish clothes to encourage them to lose weight. More likely to make them feel miserable and comfort eat.

I have read that M & S have inflated their sizing because they say that their customers like it. When I was 15 and 5'6" I weighed 11 stone (the doctor put me on a diet) and was M & S size 16, which was then bigger than most of the girls in my class. Now I am 70, weight 11 stone, height 5'6", BMI within the normal range, and I am M& S size 12. Yes, sizing has changed, but a healthy weight is down to me. I have lost 35 pounds since January, with some way still to go.

Thank heaven for Lycra, Jersey dresses and stretchy jeans so I can dress well without agonising about being an unattainable dress size.

I think they call the current sizing 'vanity sizing' don't they? Probably makes some people feel better.
I weighed 7st 2lbs when I was 18 and right now weight the same at 64. I started being aware of my weight when I was around 12 and a friends mother made a comment about me being fatter than her daughter, up to then I had never thought about weight at all.
I've been as heavy as 8½ stone and as light as 6¼ stone but find around the 7st mark is best for me. I am probably a size 8 but find that in some shops even a size 6 is too big for me and I know for a fact I'm not skinny so it has to be the stupid sizing they use.

Woop de doo for you.

Are you fairly short Mercedes?

If my 5' 7" DD goes under 8 stone I worry about her as she looks far too thin.

Sizing does vary from store to store.

May I just add that overeating is not simply greed. A lot of people use food to self medicate and there are psychological reasons behind the addiction to food.

Everyone knows eat less move more and if it was really that simple we would all have a perfect vim.

I've noticed that Marksies' are stocking size 4 now. .

I suppose a store will do what it has to to sell. Including psychological tricks to make a customer think she's thinner than she is!

I can’t see many men agonising like this......

Women’s clothes sizes have definitely gotten bigger. In my late teens and early 20s I was a size 12 - I weighed 7 1/2 stone. Now 30+ years later at just over 9 stone I’m in a size 10!

Marilyn was rarely an "old" 14 anyway and when she was she was rumoured to be pregnant

Its not the sizing IMO that "contributes" to obesity, its the cuts and fabrics! In my teens if you put on a few pounds your favourite jeans wouldnt fit, you HAD to watch your diet if they started to get tight!

Now, most outfits have some stretch to them meaning you can gain a stone and still wear the same outfit! You dont get that tight feeling when you gain a few lbs so it can "creep" on and it can be quite a large gain before "nothing fits"

Also the availability of fast fashion means you dont HAVE to fit into your clothes as they are cheaply replaced.

I was talking to DD about vanity sizing a couple of days ago and we were saying how frustrating it is that different shops have different sizes. I rarely shop online because of it as you can't know if something will fit without trying it on. And yes sizes have got bigger but then so have I!

Sueki44 The difference is that men's sizes are actual measurements not a 'random number' so there is less to agonise about!

When I was younger the main high street stores did not stock clothes above a size 16 and I think this helped keep weight in check. Larger sizes were only available from specialist stores or mail order. I think the OP is correct.

And had anyone even heard of size 6 or 8 when we were young?

Marilyn Monroe was an American size 12 which is a Uk 16

I do agree however that sizes (and women) are bigger these days than they used to be. All those wartime rations?

I just wish that manufacturers could give us standard suzes so that we know a size 10 in one brand will be the same size as another brand. Some in between sizes would be useful too.

She was never a UK 16! You can see her clothing they go on travelling exhibitions. At most she was a 14 when pregnant or ill!