h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Having read this, I'm getting worried. I don't look unhealthy. I have muscle (or so my friend says), and I have a hard stomach. I take this to mean I don't have much fat there. In fact, although I eat an awful lot, I never gain any weight. I haven't grown at all in about 18 months. My BMI is about 16ish, and I'm 5 foot 5 inches tall.

I have never been able to buy clothes at all. I tried on a size six skirt yesterday and it was nearly 5 inches to big. According to this, I should be a size zero: my waist is 22 inches, my hips about 31 and my bust 32. Apparently, this is unhealthy, but I would never have said that I was unhealthily skinny. I eat more fat than my size 14 friend. Now I am getting a bit worried about my size: am I unhealthy, and where on Earth can I get clothes to fit?? I have never seen a "size zero" on the shelf.

Hi there crown_of_thorns *waves*

If you read the entry again, you will see that there is nothing to worry about in being a size zero if that is your natural shape and size. My old Mum used to say 'You can't fatten a thoroughbred', and I imagine some people are like that too.

So long as you are eating a healthy, varied diet you shouldn't have any trouble - and there certainly isn't anything to worry about.

Regarding the BMI, even your GP will tell you that this is just an indication ...... muscle weighs more than fat and this can often result in BMIs either too low or two high - the best indication of how healthy you are is how you feel, not tired all the time lacking energy, that sort of thing - and of course how you look.

If you're in the UK you won't find a size zero as it's size 4 over here.

Hope this has cleared some things up for you.

Hmm OK then. But here in the UK you can barely ever get size 8, let alone size 4... I have to buy clothes and make them smaller, or get things made, which is expensive.

TopShop and the like offer size 4 & 6, I'm sure there are others out there .... perhaps if you posted on <./>Askh2g2</.> some other thin people could answer that one ..... I'm afraid I'm a rather larger lady.

Yes, someone else told me topshop sold thjose sizes, but last time I went they didn't seem to exist! I can get a way with petite skirts, but not trousers because I'm not short enough! Grr. Thanks anyway, and I think I'll post it in the forum thingy soon. I'm trying to get fitter this summer: I hate how I can see my ribs somedays.

I'm not sure how healthy it is to see your ribs, not knowing you in RL that is, but you should get checked out by your doctor before embarking on any further exercise regimes.

I think I might go to see the doctor, or I'll say something about it when I go next. I really don't do much exercise at all except for digging the garden, trampolining at home, going on walks, and swimming once a week on tuesdays. There's nothing to show me that I'm not healthy - all the signs of poor health due to low body mass are absent, except that I don't thermoregulate properly. I have already seen the doctor about this, and was told I should grow out of it by the time I'm 20. Thanks for all your help.

Well probably best to listen to the professional

and good health.

Based on the measurements given in that article, I too am a size 0 according to American sizing.

I measure 33" bust, 23" waist and 34" hips, so not only do I have the problem of being thin, I also have a natural hourglass figure - something clothes sizes don't cater for. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh 7 stone and 10 lbs, I lost an inch of my measurements (and 3lbs weight) as a result of being quite depressed when I finished university and had to move away from my boyfriend of 3 years (he lives 7 hrs away from me now!) but I've recovered from that and am putting the weight and the one inch back on.

But the thing is I have always been naturally thin. Even as a baby I was classed as underweight and the doctors thought that my Mum wasn't feeding me, yet the truth was that I would hardly let her stop! I've never had a problem with food or eating - I eat a lot, just like you do but never gain weight. I only lost that 3lbs and 1 inch due to being unhappy and now I've solved that, my weight is increasing again. I am not unhealthy in any way and when I do get colds, they last half the time that anyone else suffers from them. I get over illnesses very quickly. The only thing that isn't quite so "normal" is that I am not able to thermo-regulate either. If I get at all cold, I stay that way for a very long time. The only temperature I've ever felt properly warm and comfortable at was on holiday in Spain when temperatures reached 35 C!

I know your pain when trying to buy clothes. Over here our size is a 4 to 6, bordering on an 8 in some places, so luckily we don't need to go and buy something with such a degrading image attached to it. But it is very difficult to find clothes to fit. My regular size - the pre-depression size - of 34", 24", 35" used to be equivalent to a clothes size 10 about 5 years ago - I have the clothes to prove it - they FIT! Now, that same size in a 6 or an 8. It is ridiculous that just because I'm naturally thin, I should be lumped in with a size that is associated with anorexia and bulimia. I have seen someone who is truly anorexic, and she is far far smaller than me - she had no muscle at all, just skin and bone. Whereas I, despite my thinness am still curvy in the right places - I still have boobs (a 32B) I still have thighs! I am by no means a stick.

People who are anorexic are far smaller than our size and are unhealthy. Our size doesn't equal unhealthy, but its the image of a size 0 that is unhealthy - people imagine a size which is much smaller than it really is so assume that anyone of this size is immediately anorexic and unhealthy.

Personally I wouldn't worry about your size. Make sure you eat (or continue to eat) a balanced diet and maybe just up the portion sizes. I find that I can eat whatever is placed in front of me no matter how big, so maybe if you eat bigger portions your (and my!) body will get forced to start getting a bit bigger than it is. As for you growing out of the inability to thermo-regulate at 20, don't count on it - I'm 21 and still have the problem! You may be stuck with that for life. Oh well, you'll just have to move somewhere hot and sunny!

As for where to buy clothes, I've found one pair of size 6 trousers in New Look that fitted me without falling down. They are perhaps an inch or two big for me at the waist, though my hips are big enough to keep them up! I have the extra problem of having a 34 1/2" leg measurement - apparently I can only have long legs if I have a bigger waist measurement. So trousers are nearly impossible to buy. I tried topshop, but they didn't have my size in so I couldn't try them to see how they fit. I'd say that your best bet for finding clothes which fit is to go for the teenage range at some stores since an age 13 to 14 still fits me. Since kids are now being dressed the same way as adults, you may find a few things that aren't obviously childrenswear that will fit you nicely. Who cares where its from if it fits you? Other than that, the only option really is taking in clothes or getting them made to measure, both of which are time consuming and potentially expensive.

Hope that helped a bit - at least to make you feel not so alone in your smallness!