What does "solidly-built" mean for a body type?

[margecat]

Please don't tell me it's a polite term for "fat"! 

    Today, I was described as being "pretty solidly-built" by my doctor (I was there due to an injured knee).  I'm a 5 ft. tall woman.  I don't know if I should be flattered or saddened by the comment!  I have an hourglass shape, with broad shoulders and a large bone structure. DH says it means "fat". I always thought it mean a person with a large bone structure, and/or a curvaceous shape, but with a strong body frame size for a woman.

 

[fhicat]

It depends on who says it.  If it's your doctor, it means you have an athletic body I would kill for. 

If it's described on a dating site profile, for example, then it's probably not what it's supposed to mean. 

 

[mingking]

I've never heard of this expression before. I've heard of "big boned" however and that means someone is large or tall, but proportionate and not fat.

The "built" part of that expression makes me think that he's saying you're very muscular, perhaps large and muscular in that way?

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i would tend to think that since you were at your doctor's and there for an injured knee, that your doctor may have meant more like you're 'structurally sound'. that your body frame, bones and musculature are well proportioned and support each other well. i certainly would not think the doctor meant fat or such, because doctors tend to simply say a person could use to lose a few pounds or are "__" pounds over ideal weight range. i would take your doctor's comment of you being "pretty solidly-built" as a compliment, and i don't think doctors don't give out many compliments.

i think that (we) women generally feel very aware of our weight as well as our appearance, irregardless of whether we're slender, average weight, or have extra weight on us. i think this can sometimes lead us to assume someones comment is meant to say that we're "fat", when that can be the furthest thing from what that person meant.

it also doesn't matter if your doctor is a man or woman. men don't always understand how aware of our weight women generally are, and a woman doctor (and doctors in general) can tend to say what they mean bluntly and not bother to explain what exactly they're meaning unless we press them about it.

 

[AbbysMom]

If your doctor meant "fat", I think they would have told you to lose a few pounds, no? Most doctor's don't beat around the bush like that. :lol3:

I think it has more to do with your makeup and body structure/type. My husband and I were just having a conversation about this. Both of my brothers have daughters. One brother's daughters are very petite, and have a slight frame. I think they all weigh between 90-105 pounds. They are all size 0 or 2. My other brother's daughter while short, has a completely different makeup, more like her father and I. We tend to have larger bones and build muscle more easily. She is constantly dieting, but in order to get to a size 0 or 2 would have to be emaciated. It's just not her body type.

 

[jcat]

He probably was referring to your body structure. My doctor said the same thing a couple of years ago and then told me I could stand to gain 5 - 10 lbs. When I asked him what he'd meant by "solid", he said I had very broad shoulders like a swimmer.

 

[stewball]

Please don't tell me it's a polite term for "fat"! :lol3:     Today, I was described as being "pretty solidly-built" by my doctor (I was there due to an injured knee).  I'm a 5 ft. tall woman.  I don't know if I should be flattered or saddened by the comment!  I have an hourglass shape, with broad shoulders and a large bone structure. DH says it means "fat". I always thought it mean a person with a large bone structure, and/or a curvaceous shape, but with a strong body frame size for a woman.

at least you have shape. Do you look fat to yourself? I would imagine a large solidly built woman isn't an insult. You don't have fat parts do you?
At least it's better than being called obese as I was and I wasn't then. .....
try not to worry.

 

[swampwitch]

At least he didn't tell you that you're falling apart. 

I really dislike when medical doctors use subjective terms like that. The bad dentist I used to go to, before I knew he was a hack, fitted me for a mouth guard for teeth grinding. While he was measuring he told me, "You have a small mouth." What's that supposed to mean? My face / head aren't large, either, if I had a wide mouth I'd look like the Joker. Another  doctor told me once, "But you look good" when I was very ill. Doctors, please, keep those comments to yourself, they are not helpful.

I'm not sure what your doctor meant, either, unless you are made of Legos. If he thought you needed to lose weight, he would have told you that. You should ask next time you go in.

 

[stewball]

i would tend to think that since you were at your doctor's and there for an injured knee, that your doctor may have meant more like you're 'structurally sound'. that your body frame, bones and musculature are well proportioned and support each other well. i certainly would not think the doctor meant fat or such, because doctors tend to simply say a person could use to lose a few pounds or are "__" pounds over ideal weight range. i would take your doctor's comment of you being "pretty solidly-built" as a compliment, and i don't think doctors don't give out many compliments.

i think that (we) women generally feel very aware of our weight as well as our appearance, irregardless of whether we're slender, average weight, or have extra weight on us. i think this can sometimes lead us to assume someones comment is meant to say that we're "fat", when that can be the furthest thing from what that person meant.

it also doesn't matter if your doctor is a man or woman. men don't always understand how aware of our weight women generally are, and a woman doctor (and doctors in general) can tend to say what they mean bluntly and not bother to explain what exactly they're meaning unless we press them about it.

Maybe our doctors aren't so delicate I've been told I'm obese. Now my next door neighbour is obese. I have a bbbbiiiigggg stomach but a flat bottom. Jiggle arms but I am nearly 71. I hate my stomach. It's like a pregnant stomach. Not in the right place at all. Oh dear. I wish I was told what you were told

 

[tammat]

In Australia we say " built like a brick out house" ( we actually use another word for out but that's a tad rude). It has the same meaning as solidly built. Muscle is solid. Fat is soft. I think you must look awesome.
I agree with AbbysMom. Drs these days seem to just tell it as it is.if they think you need to lose weight they tell you so.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Maybe our doctors aren't so delicate I've been told I'm obese. Now my next door neighbour is obese. I have a bbbbiiiigggg stomach but a flat bottom. Jiggle arms but I am nearly 71. I hate my stomach. It's like a pregnant stomach. Not in the right place at all. Oh dear. I wish I was told what you were told

i think it depends on the doctor, if/how tactful they are. some doctors have good 'bedside manners', while others (at least in my experience) have none or are the opposite (almost confrontational).

i'm a big believer in two things:  that if you want someone to do something, it's best to use tact and reason -- like the saying goes, 'you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'. and the second thing is that as we get older, it's best to have some extra 'padding' (weight) on us. i've seen some older people who have been average weight or slightly slender become ill and not be able to or have trouble gaining back the weight they lost during their illness. some have become quite frail. i'm not saying we should become obese, but just that some extra pounds as we get older is not necessarily a bad thing. those extra pounds give us a little 'extra' in case we become ill, which gives our bodies better strength to be able to fight off the illness and then recover more easily.

heck, i'm 53 years old and have some 'jiggle' in my upper arms. and i do a lot of things that work (-out) my arms on a regular basis all year long. it's just a natural part of aging.

 

[stewball]

i think it depends on the doctor, if/how tactful they are. some doctors have good 'bedside manners', while others (at least in my experience) have none or are the opposite (almost confrontational).

i'm a big believer in two things:  that if you want someone to do something, it's best to use tact and reason -- like the saying goes, 'you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar'. and the second thing is that as we get older, it's best to have some extra 'padding' (weight) on us. i've seen some older people who have been average weight or slightly slender become ill and not be able to or have trouble gaining back the weight they lost during their illness. some have become quite frail. i'm not saying we should become obese, but just that some extra pounds as we get older is not necessarily a bad thing. those extra pounds give us a little 'extra' in case we become ill, which gives our bodies better strength to be able to fight off the illness and then recover more easily.

heck, i'm 53 years old and have some 'jiggle' in my upper arms. and i do a lot of things that work (-out) my arms on a regular basis all year long. it's just a natural part of aging.

My sister is very thin and frail and I worry about her. I'm almost double her size. I know I'm overweight and don't exercise but I'm not going to diet.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

My sister is very thin and frail and I worry about her. I'm almost double her size. I know I'm overweight and don't exercise but I'm not going to diet.

i understand. thin and frail can leave us more vulnerable.

i don't exercise per se. instead i do things in the normal course of my life that provide exercise for me. like moving, stacking, and moving again a heck of a lot of firewood. like trimming down firewood with my chainsaw, and moving it and re stacking it. like mowing the lawn (push mower) and raking the grass clippings, and raking the leaves then carrying around the leaf vacuum to suck up/mulch the leaves. then there's house cleaning and laundry, putting up cat furniture, and moving (human) furniture. there are many more things i do just in the normal course of life that provide exercise without having to do sit ups or push ups or run/jog -- i really don't like exercising like that.

i won't diet either. i simply try to eat a good variety of the healthiest foods i'm able to (that i enjoy eating). i limit myself to one serving of (a homemade) dessert each day, and the closest to junk food i generally get is pretzels and occasionally corn chips (sometimes with homemade hummus) and nuts. i'm far from perfect, i definitely don't eat enough vegetables and leafy greens. but i'm aware of that and i work on it. all in all though, i do a whole lot better than people who eat most of their meals at fast food places. heck, it's extremely rare that i even eat out at all.

 

[stewball]

You do wonderfully. If i dif half the things you do/eat I'd be in fine shape.