14 DAY TRIAL // Despite all the criticism directed at size 0 women and at the fashion industry that is actively promoting it, it is still a standard, and will probably continue to be so for a while longer. However, it seems that regular women are most happy when plumper. A recent poll on 3,000 British women showed that being curvier did not mean for them extra stress and anxiety, but quite the contrary, a plus in happiness and contentment with both their personal and professional life.
Of all the women queried, those with a 14 dress size were the happiest, with a quarter of them saying they were positively thrilled by the way they looked, over a half saying their careers were just what and where they wanted them to be, while a third of all stated that their love lives were extremely satisfactory. Second came size 12 women, who claimed that they were satisfied with the personal lives, including friends and lovers (almost three quarters), as well as with their careers (a little under a half of all).
Size 8 women came in at number three in the happiness poll, closely followed by 16s and, on the fifth position, size 10 women. Going to prove that bigger is not always better and that, as far as weight is concerned, it’s all about finding the weight one is most comfortable with, sizes over 20 ranked lowest in the poll. Of all women included here, 18 percent admitted they were “extremely unhappy with their lives,” the Daily Mail reports. While more than one in ten of these women was also unhappy in their love lives, a little over 4 percent claimed to be content with the way their careers were going.
Size 24 women stated they were most dissatisfied with the way they looked, admitting to being willing to change anything to shake off the extra pounds. The first three positions were rounded up by size 20, placed second, and size 22, which came in third. Size 6 and 18 women placed fourth and fifth in the poll for most unhappy women.
“It's great to discover that being a size zero doesn't necessarily bring you happiness. Our data shows that the curvier size 14 woman is much more comfortable with her shape and has a happier outlook on life.” a spokesperson for the company that undertook the poll, Special K, said. To help women better relate to the results of the poll, she also offered the famous examples of Kate Winslet, thought to be a size 10 or 12 and always voicing her happiness with her appearance, and Angelina Jolie, believed to be a 6 or an 8 and recently often criticized for being too skinny.
