Body Shape Calculator

The most common body shape is a rectangle, which makes up 46% of women. A rectangle is a woman whose waist is less than nine inches smaller than their hips or bust. Next are the bottom-heavy 'spoons', whose hips are two or more inches larger than their busts. These account for approximately 20% of the female population. Third are the inverted triangles, making up about 14% of the population. These are women whose busts are three or more inches larger than their hips. Finally are the hourglasses, women who have a roughly equal hip and bust, with a narrower waist. These women make up about 8%.

Yes, as a woman ages, the concentrations of hormones in her body will alter, causing her body shape to change. The first changes occur at puberty. Pre-pubescent boys and girls have a similar hip-waist ratio, but the large amounts of estrogen produced at the onset of puberty cause a female's hips to widen and breasts to develop. Estrogen also causes fat to be stored in the buttocks, thighs, and hips. Pregnancy causes estrogen levels to rise again, causing the breasts to enlarge, although this is generally reversed after pregnancy. At the onset of menopause, the decreased estrogen levels cause a woman’s breasts to shrink, as well as the redistribution of fat to the waist or abdomen.

Once you have finished puberty, it is largely impossible to change your body shape - your bone structure and proportions are mostly defined. There are however some changes that can be made. Gaining or losing fat will change the size of your buttocks, thighs, and hips if you are a premenopausal woman, or the size of your waist and abdomen if you are a man or post-menopausal woman. Gaining muscle mass is another way of altering your shape - by targeting particular muscle groups you can accentuate them, e.g., your shoulders to look more athletic, your hamstrings and glutes for longer-looking legs.

There are three body types: ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. If you are lean and long, find it challenging to build muscle, and have ever been accused of being a ‘beanpole’, you’re probably an ectomorph. If you tend to be on the heavier side and find it difficult to lose body fat, you are likely an endomorph. If you find it easy to gain muscle and have a high metabolism, you may be a mesomorph. However, please be aware that you are unlikely to be strictly one of these body types, and they exist as a scale between all of them. Think of it as a triangle.

The three main somatotypes are ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. Ectomorphs tend to be tall and slight of build and find it difficult to gain weight. Your favorite basketball player is most likely an ectomorph. Endomorphs, on the other hand, have no problem gaining weight and tend to have a lot of muscle and fat. They are not always overweight, though - Marylin Monroe was an endomorph. The last type is mesomorphs, what you will typically picture when you think of an athlete. They are strong and tend to have a high metabolism. Don’t forget, though, that everyone exists as a mix of different proportions of all three types.

The 5 main female body types are as follows:

• Rectangle - A rectangle is a woman whose body shape has waist measurements less than 9 inches smaller than the hip or bust measurements. So, you are not particularly curvy, your waist is not well-defined, and your weight is fairly distributed throughout the body. This shape of the body is also called the straight or ruler body.
• Triangle - Aka pear, hips wider than bust, defined bust but not waist, proportionately slim arms, and shoulders, weight is distributed to bottom and legs rather than upper body.
• Hourglass - Hip and bust measurements are nearly equal, while the waist is narrower.
• Spoon - Hips are much larger than bust, with a clearly defined waist. Hips are shelf-like.
• Inverted triangle - Narrow waist with shoulders and bust much wider than hips.

A 36 24 36 figure is a type of hourglass figure. The three numbers each refer to a specific measurement of a woman's body. The first is the bust, measured around the fullest point of the chest. The next measurement is the waist, which is the narrowest part of a relaxed torso. The final measurement is around the hips, the widest point below the waist when both feet are together. The 36 24 36 figure is measured in inches, and in centimeters is known as the 90 60 90 figure.

A healthy waist size will depend on your height, but if your waist exceeds 31.5 in (80 cm) as a woman or 37 in (94 cm) as a man, you should try to lose weight, regardless of your height or BMI. The waist is defined as the narrowest part of the body between the hips and ribs. The World Health Organisation states that an absolute waist circumference greater than 40 in (102 cm) for men and 35 in (88 cm) for women means that that person is obese. Obesity is also defined as a waist-hip ratio greater than 0.9 for males and 0.85 for females. You can check yours with our waist-hip ratio calculator. People who are obese suffer from an increased risk of diabetes, asthma, and Alzheimers, among other problems.

Yes, your body shape does change when you lose weight. If you are female, your body will naturally store weight on your buttocks, thighs, and hips due to the estrogen present in your body. By losing weight, these areas will become slimmer. If you are male, your body will store its fat on your stomach. Losing weight can help you shift that beer belly.

A zero figure, or a size zero is a women’s clothing size in the US clothing sizes system. It is a size that fits measurement of bust/waist/hips anywhere between 30 22 32 inches (76 56 81 cm) to 36 28 36 inches (90 71.5 90 cm), depending on the style and make. Originally a size 8 in 1958, it is now known as a size 0 due to vanity sizing. Zero figure is often associated with anorexia. If you or others around you are worried that you may be underweight, please consult a doctor.