How fat are we getting in this country? Interestingly, I seem to be getting smaller while getting bigger. Sound impossible? Not accordingly to today’s clothing manufacturers.

I used to buy large size men’s shirts, at least when they were long-sleeved. Flannel shirts, for example. I’m just under six feet and have a thin build. I had to buy large because medium was too tight at the shoulders and the sleeves weren’t long enough. Yesterday I bought some long-sleeved shirts and had to buy medium. This is counter-intuitive since my waist size has actually gone up by one inch in the last year or so, and I’m the same weight I have been for the last 40 years.

The explanation, of course, is that Americans are getting so fat at so young an age that clothing manufacturers and retailers are using the increased average size as the basis for sizing. Yesteryear’s large is today’s medium.  Part of it may also be that kids are wearing baggier clothes than they used to, but I think obesity is the greater culprit.

Personally, I prefer to think of it as proof I am slimming down despite my increased waist size!