If you’re curious about what having 38 inch hips means for your body and your appearance, then you’re in the right place. This article will let you know if 38 inches is an average hip size for women and men or if it’s actually big or small.
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How big are 38 inch hips for a woman?
Are 38 inch hips big for a woman? Statistically, 38 inch hips are two inches smaller than average for an American woman. However, many people would consider 38 inch hips to be quite large for a female, especially if you also have a narrow waist in comparison with your hips.
The size of your frame also influences how big your 38″ hips actually look. For example, if your hip bones are wide, then your 38 in hips will naturally look quite big from the front and back.
Additionally, short women with 38 inch hips will have bigger-looking hips than tall women with 38 inch hips because when you’re short, your 38″ hips are condensed over a smaller surface area and therefore look larger and more bunched up (as opposed to slim and stretched out).
Your body composition also affects how your 38 inch hips look. For example, if you have well-developed glutes, then your hip area will look very prominent from the side and from behind because the glutes are a muscle that really protrudes out when they’re developed.
As alluded to, one of the biggest determinants of how your 38″ hips look is the size of your waist and, more specifically, your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Having a low WHR makes your hips look bigger and can actually increase your perceived attractiveness.
Moreover, research shows that people with a high WHR are more likely to seek health care than those with a lower ratio. [1] So if you want to enjoy your best health, then it’s good to have a fairly significant size difference between your hips and waist.
Are 38 inch hips big for a man?
Are 38 inch hips big for a man? According to published anthropometric research, 38 inch hips are one inch smaller than average for an adult male. However, depending on your height and build, many people would say that 38 in hips are actually fairly large for a man.
Your hip measurement is derived from the fat and muscle content of your glutes and also from the width of your hip bones. So those with less developed glutes and a smaller frame will naturally have slimmer hips than those with more muscular glutes and a larger frame.
I wouldn’t say that 38″ hips are slim for a man. After all, if you have muscular glutes and relatively little body fat, then there’s a good chance that you might have a 38 inch hip size.
Indeed, many of the men who have hips that are bigger than 38 inches likely have them due to excess body fat and not because they have muscular glutes.
So as with women, if you have well-developed glutes and a narrow waist, then your hips/glutes will look more prominent.
Is it good to have a 38 inch butt?
If you have a healthy body weight, then it’s completely fine to have a 38 inch butt from a physical health standpoint. However, whether or not your 38 inch booty is “good” or not depends on the kind of body that you want.
Many women who want to achieve a more fashion-model kind of look want to slim their hips. In this case, light resistance training and regular cardiovascular exercises are the best workout regime for slimming your 38 inch butt.
On the other hand, many women (and some men) actually want to expand their 38 inch butt by growing their glutes. In this case, exercises like squats, hip thrusts, lunges, and hip abductions are your best bet.
Since the glutes are one of the strongest muscles in your body, they usually have a lot of growth potential. [2] So if you want to make your 38 inch booty even bigger, there’s a good chance that you can quite easily add a couple of inches in circumference over the course of 6-12 months.
On the other hand, due to the size of the glutes in comparison with other muscles, they tend to hold a lot of fat (although this does differ per individual). In this case, you can experience a reduction in glute size by slowly decreasing your body weight, which is best achieved by a combination of calorie restriction and cardiovascular activity.
What size are 38 inch hips?
What size are 38 inch hips in women’s clothing? It depends on the garment type, the size of your waist, and the brand of clothing, but, in many cases, 38 inch hips are equal to a size small or a size medium, generally around a US size 6 or 8.
Conclusion: Should you be okay with having 38″ hips?
Providing that they don’t negatively affect your physical health in any way, you should definitely be happy with your 38 inch hips regardless of your build, body composition, or gender.
There are plenty of healthy men and women out there who have 38″ hips, so you’re definitely not alone—a 38 inch hip size is actually very common.
Of course, it’s generally considered preferable to have a waist that’s significantly smaller than your hips. So without knowing your other measurements, it’s quite hard to say definitively what kind of body shape you have.
But since the hips consist of a big muscle, namely, the glutes, you can always reduce or increase the size of your hips as you see fit. Large muscles have a lot of opportunities for muscle development and body fat removal.
References
- Andreacchi, A. T., Griffith, L. E., Guindon, G. E., Mayhew, A., Bassim, C., Pigeyre, M., Stranges, S., & Anderson, L. N. (2021). Body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat in relation to health care use in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. International journal of obesity (2005), 45(3), 666–676. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-00731-z
- Neumann D. A. (2010). Kinesiology of the hip: a focus on muscular actions. The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 40(2), 82–94. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2010.3025