Ok so, weight charts and BMI charts have ranges based on the size of your frame. So how do you know what the size of your frame is? I mean, I assume I would know it if I were big boned, right? So I guess I'm not. But how would I know if my frame is small or medium? How'm I going to know if I've got little teeny bones? The fat covers everything up!

Someone once told me that you can tell the size of your frame by wrapping your fingers around your wrist and seeing if your thumb and pinky touch. I think that may be BS though. Is there some scientific way to figure it out, eg the circumference of your skull multiplied by the square of the hypotenuse? Or something?

I don't know the 'rule', or if there is one. I am large frame.. I know because I'm 6'0 and I can feel my frame (like my hips, shoulder bones). Even if I was at my exact ideal weight, I'm not going to me a little girl!

My doctor writes 'large frame' on all my charts too, I never thought to ask him how he decided that. I don't think the wrist thing is true. I have a large frame, but I have long fingers, so I can wrap my fingers around my wrist and touch with no problem.

Hi sleepyjean,

Funny you should post this question now! I was just taking an online exercise assessment through my employer's web site, and this was one of the questions they asked. Their instructions were to wrap your thumb and middle finger around your wrist, with the following assessment:

Thumb/middle finger overlap: small frame

Thumb/middle finger touch: medium/average frame

Thumb/middle finger do not touch: large frame

Hope this helps!

I don't know the 'rule', or if there is one. I am large frame.. I know because I'm 6'0 and I can feel my frame (like my hips, shoulder bones). Even if I was at my exact ideal weight, I'm not going to me a little girl!

My doctor writes 'large frame' on all my charts too, I never thought to ask him how he decided that. I don't think the wrist thing is true. I have a large frame, but I have long fingers, so I can wrap my fingers around my wrist and touch with no problem.

Hmmm, good point, Laura... I wonder if height plays into the equation? Maybe because you are taller, you would be considered large framed, even though you finger/thumb touch.

I'm a shortie (5'4"), and my fingers definately do not touch. I'd love to say I'm as big as I am just because I'm big-boned, but I know it's because I'm extra fluffy! LOL!

Hmmm...I'm 5'8" and my thumb and middle finger overlap by about an inch.

curiouser and curiouser...

Sleepy,

Where did you get your ticker. I really like that one. It really shows how far you've came and you have done a wonderful job. Congrats to you.

Everything is jsut kind of a guideline. I'm between 5'10 and 5'11, I have a large frame, BUT my thumb and middle finger overlap by 1/2" or more. I just happen to have relatively small wrists and fairly long fingers.

At the same time I'm in the 240s and can easily see my collar bones, neck tendons, and the lower part of my ribs, shoulderblades, etc. If I had a small frame and weighed int he 240s, that wouldn't be the case. (BTW - that comparison is not saying "I'm thin and my bones stick out", it's saying, "I'm fat and can still see my bones, so I know my frame is large" )

5ft9 big feet,lol (size10) no doubt big frame and my fingers touch.

I think you can only really tell by losing weight and seeing where you reach a healthy body fat percentage.

I was alway called large frame, I call myself large frame. For a tall person, I dont have those long graceful hands and my feet are like two flat wide flippers. I can only JUST touch my thumb and my pinky round my wrist. I'm five ft 10. Of course everyone always called me large framed.

But for a five ft 10 person, I'm still quite curvy and well covered at the top of my healthy weight range, and I have some more I could quite easily lose without getting skinny. My body fat is 24%, healthy, but not skinny. So no, I dont think I *am* a large frame, if I was I would be skinnier at this weight. I think I look better at about 72kg, right in the middle of my weight range, but even then, I'm curvy. I think I'm someone who could go low into my range, right down to 65kg and not be skin and bones.

So I'd suspect I'm more small to medium framed. I think frame size has as much to do with how much muscle your body naturally carries as well as the size of your skeleton because that affects how *fat* you are at a particular weight.

I have a large frame based on my measurements. I also know this based on my broad hips and shoulders. I'm not sure if my legs are long for my height or not- 32 inch inseam. But I do have man sized hands and feet. I also have a big head. Plus I was also always able to carry extra weight well. It takes much more than five pounds to make a dent in either direction. Now I thought I had a medium frame growing up because I figured it would make sense. I'm not that tall at all. And most people do have medium frames. But I don't. No one in my family does.

http://www.healthybykiona.com/join.htm just send some measurements and get told stuff like frame size for free

http://www.1is2fat.com/body_frame.htm this tells you all about using wrist and elbow measuremetns

http://www.iahsaa.org/Body_Comp_Methods.htm in here this even tells you how to determine frame size using ankle circuference.

I am and will always be larged frame.

Even after I get to my goal of about 180ish, I will be a "big girl". It may seem crazy but I like being a plus sized female. I just want to be a smaller plus sized female.

Women with curves are OH SO SEXXXYYYYYYY1

I dont think the wrist sizes mean anything. My thumb and pinky touch, my thumb and middle finger overlap considerably, but when I was at my top weight, my thumb and middle finger didnt touch at all.

You can see the bones on my chest, but my bum is still very ah "comfortable" looking, lol. I have size 10 feet too that are very wide, but I have very small hands.

I just found this thing online. I didn't have a tape measure, so I just wrapped a strip of paper around my wrist and then measured the paper with a ruler.I'm 5'8" and my wrist is 6.25. According to this, I have a small frame. Can someone with a good idea of their frame size try this out for accuracy?

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Body frame size is determined by a person's wrist circumference in relation to his height. For example, a man whose height is over 5' 5" and wrist is 6" would fall into the small-boned category.

Determining frame size: 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.

Women:

height under 5'2"

small = wrist size less than 5.5"

medium = wrist size 5.5" to 5.75"

large = wrist size over 5.75"

height 5'2" to 5' 5"

small = wrist size less than 6"

medium = wrist size 6" to 6.25"

large = wrist size over 6.25"

height over 5' 5"

small = wrist size less than 6.25"

medium = wrist size 6.25" to 6.5"

large = wrist size over 6.5"

Men:

height over 5' 5"

small = wrist size 5.5" to 6.5"

medium = wrist size 6.5" to 7.5"

large = wrist size over 7.5"

<p>I am also 5'8" (maybe a little bit more but definitely not more than 5'8" and 1/2"). My wrist circumpherence is between 7 and 1/4 inches and 7 and 1/2 inches. My ankle circumpherence is between 10 and 1/2 and 10 and 3/4 inches (the left side of my body measures 1/4 inch bigger). I don't remember my elbow girth measurements but I have done those before and those are always in the definitely big category too.</p>

(according to my ankle measuremets per the link I posted above, I have a large frame for even males, at least for high school wrestlers )

Oh, and I actually think if you are at the cutoff, like 6.25, you go to the above category. So you would be medium framed, not small (hey it gives you a few more pounds!)

Hi Sleepyjean,

Based on my knowing that I have a small frame and comparing it to the chart it is accurate. I'm 5'6 and have a 6" wrist which puts me in the small frame category.