Find Out If Your Body’s Normal

Men and women alike can look in the mirror and see something totally different than their best friend or spouse would see when looking at the same reflection. Both sexes find fault with themselves and wonder if they stand out as the only person around with something that’s too big or too small or too lopsided or crooked. While you’ll find statistic that say anything and everything about national averages, here’s what one survey tells us about what’s “normal” and why you may or may not want to be so normal after all.

Research shows that at least 80% of women over the age of 18 are unhappy with what they see when they look in the mirror. Meanwhile men report that they don’t really become dissatisfied with their appearance until the age of 45 – 55. The same research reports that 80% of women don’t even see an accurate reflection. Even those at a healthy weight and height see ugliness and fat. It’s no surprise that women focus mainly on their waist, hips and thighs, while men are mainly concerned with height, their stomachs, chests and hair loss. Even given those world-wide statistics, other surveys show that while most men and women would change something about their appearance if they could, 57% of women and 68% of men are generally satisfied with their shape and size.

Do you think these self-image issues have affected the standard sizes of men and woman over the years? You bet. The average woman’s bra size is 36C, that’s up from an average size of 34B less than 10 years ago. Guys, you’re coming in at “normal” if your chest size as an adult is 40 inches. While experts say that it’s healthier to keep your waist under 35 inches, ladies, the average woman’s waist size in inches around is 36.5. Guys, your average waist size in inches around is 34.

Here’s an interesting point to consider, doctors say that for almost all women a half-cup difference is nothing to be worried about and most women are lopsided. Huh! Even stranger, most men are too.

Even though we seek perfection in our appearance in so many areas, a large number of men and women say they love their scars. "They’re like the illustrations to my life story. I think they’re cool," said one girl. When asked, what are the oddest parts of your body and how do you feel about them, there was an amazing cornucopia of answers ranging from long toes to big noses, thick eyebrows, knocked knees, lopsided shoulders and hips, one eye larger than the other, thin lips, crocked teeth and just about everything else you could imagine. The encouraging thing was that 70% of those who answered said they were okay with their less-than-perfect feature. It even made some laugh to talk about it. That gives “normal” a new twist.