A new study reveals women and men with higher BMI and body weight opt for a particular type of clothing. Clothes say a lot about personality, state of mind and most important weight. According to a study done by the European Association for the Study of Obesity, the choice of garment colour is a predictor of body mass index (BMI). The findings reveal darker and multicoloured clothes are preferred by women with higher BMI, while men with higher BMI are more likely to choose black or white garments.

Charoula Nikolaou, Stuart Gilmour and Mike Lean examined the relationship between BMI and the size and colours of clothes purchased from a global online retail service. In the middle of October and December 2017, data on body weight and height, clothing size, and colour were collected from over 34,000 customers who completed feedback forms. Clothing colours were also grouped by dark, light, metal, pastel or print colours.

Results revealed clothing size was closely related to BMI and waist circumference. Women with a higher BMI were more likely to buy black/blue or dark coloured and floral dresses, and multicolour and dot-patterned skirts. Men with a higher BMI tended to stick to black or white trousers. Clothing size is a reliable indicator of BMI so non judgmental messages about weight-management could be provided with purchases of large size-garments.