TimesToCome

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The Incredible Shrinking Miss America — Or Not?

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I’ve been listening to complaints about the shrinking size of Miss America and models, who could miss them? So I gathered figures from the Miss America Contest online, at least which numbers they are not afraid to put out. I do not in any way endorse the Miss America pageant. I find it demeaning to women and am disappointed every year when contestants actually show up. I guess in a nation of 300 million people there are bound to be a few willing participants?

We have all heard how fashion models and pageant contestants are getting anorexically thin. This is not true. Not even a little. Miss America has an average age of 20 years, a height of 5’7″, a weight of 121 pounds, measures 35″-25″-35″ and has a BMI of 19.

The younger, shorter girls have the highest BMI 19.5, the tallest and oldest have an average BMI of 19. Probably if you are taller that means you are leggier and legs weigh less than trunk space. Also older girls probably have more fat and younger girls more muscle so this would make the younger ones weigh more and have larger BMI’s.

You can see lower BMIs in the decades that the winners are taller and older than in the times they were younger and shorter. Also it is very clear that Miss America’s chest, waist and hips have stayed about 35-24-35 for the last 80 years so how thin could she be getting?

Miss America Numbers

Year Age Height Weight Chest Waist Hips BMI
(years) (inches) (pounds) (inches) (inches) (inches)
1921 16 61 108 30 25 32 20.4
1922 16 67 140 35 26 36 22.0
1924 18 66 137 34 25 34 22.2
1925 19 66 138 34 26 37 22.3
1926 18 64 118 33 25 34 20.3
1927 17 65.5 115 33 25 34 18.9
1933 15 64.5 112 32 26 37 19.0
1935 17 66 120 33 23 35 19.4
1936 22 66 114 34 23 34 18.4
1937 17 66.5 120 32 26 36 19.1
1938 20.5 67 128 34 26 36 20.1
1939 19 67 126 36 25 34 19.8
1940 19 69 120 34 23 35 17.8
1941 18 65.5 120 34 24 36 19.7
1942 18 65 118 34 22 34 19.7
1943 19 68 130 36 23 35 19.8
1944 19 67 125 36 25 37 19.6
1945 21 70 135 35 25 35 19.4
1946 21 68 123 35 25 36 18.7
1947 21 67 130 35 25 35 20.4
1948 18 69 140 37 27 36 20.7
1949 18 63 106 34 22 34 18.8
1951 19.5 65.5 119 35 24 35 19.5
1952 25 70 143 36 24 36 20.6
1953 19 66.25 118 35 23 35 18.9
1954 20 68 132 37 24 36 20.1
1955 19 68.5 124 34 22 35 18.6
1956 18 66 116 35 23 35 18.8
1957 19 65 120 35 23 35 20.0
1958 20 68.25 130 35 25 36 19.7
1959 21 65 114 34 22 35 19.0
1960 20 67 120 36 24 36 18.8
1961 18 66 116 35 22 35 18.8
1962 19 65.5 118 35 24 35 19.4
1963 20 65 115 36 22 36 19.2
1964 21 66.5 124 35 23 35 19.8
1965 21 66 124 36 24 36 20.1
1966 19 67 115 36 23 36 18.0
1967 19 66 116 36 24 36 18.8
1968 20 69 135 36 24 36 20.0
1969 18 67 125 36 24 36 19.6
1970 21 65.5 110 34 21 34 18.1
1971 21 68 121 36 23 36 18.4
1972 22 67 118 36 24 36 18.5
1973 23 68 120 36 25 36 18.3
1974 23 69 125 36 24 36 18.5
1975 21 68 119 36 23 36 18.1
1976 18 70 128 36 24 36 18.4
1977 20 67 120 35 23 35 18.8
1978 23 65 105 34 24 35 17.5
1979 22 64 108 35 24 35 18.6
1980 22 67 114 35 23 36 17.9
1981 21 64 110 35 24 35 18.9
1982 20 69 129 36 24 36 19.1
1983 25 67 115 35 22 35 18.0
1984 20 66 110 34 24 34 17.8
1985 20 68 120 35 25 36 18.3
1986 21 69 114 35 22 35 16.9
1987 21 68 116 17.7
1988 24 70 131 18.8
1989 22 63 108 19.2
1990 23 68 118 18.0
1991 25 66 110 17.8
1992 24 70
1993 21
1994 18
1995 21
1996 24
1997 23
1998 21 71 145 20.3
1999 24 69 133 19.7
2000 24 66
2001 24 64 118 20.3
2002 21 63 110 19.5
Average All 20.3 66.74 121.2 34.86 23.88 35.33 19.2
weight chest waist hips bmi
Averages for young girls 18.54 66.49 122.14 34.73 24.03 35.3 19.46
Averages older girls 22.27 66.97 120.31 35.1 23.7 35.4 18.92
Averages for young and short 18.12 65.31 118.5 34 23.95 35.05 19.57
Avgerages young and tall 19.05 67.88 126.06 35.56 24.17 35.61 19.27
Average older taller 22.52 68.2 124.67 35.42 24.08 35.75 18.85
Average older, shorter 22.18 64.92 112.92 34.63 23.13 34.88 18.93
By decade Age Height Weight Chest Waist Hips BMI
Average 1920′s 17.33 64.92 126 33.17 25.33 34.5 21.01
Average 1930′s 18.42 >66.17 120 33.5 24.83 35.33 19.3
Average 1940′s 19.2 67.15 124.7 35 24.1 35.3 19.47
Average 1950s 19.97 66.97 124.07 35.1 23.41 35.33 19.47
Average 1960s 19.5 66.5 120.8 35.7 23.4 35.7 19.24
Average 1970s 21.4 67.15 117.4 35.4 23.5 35.5 18.33
Average 1980s 21.6 67.1 116.7 35 23.43 35.29 18.26
Average 1990s 22.4 68.8 126.5 No info No info 18.93
Average 2000′s 23 65 118 No info No info No info 20.3

and just for fun…

Mr American winners are between 64″ and 73″ tall averaging 69.3″;
with a chest varying from 47″ to 53″ averaging 48.5″;
a waist between 29″ and 36″ averaging 31 1/2″;
and a BMI from 27 to 39 averaging 29.6.
(and he didn’t look to be at death’s door any more than the Misses did )

Written by Linda MacPhee-Cobb

March 20th, 2007 at 6:00 am

Posted in Geekiness

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