Are 28 Inch Hips Too Small?

Considering that the average male hip size is 10 inches larger than our 28-inch example—the same holds true for women—is it realistic for anyone to have 28 inch hips?

As you’ll soon find out, the answer, for most people, is a resounding no. But, like many things in anthropometry, there are also exceptions to the rule. More on those in a sec.

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Are 28 inch hips too small?

First and foremost, it’s important to clarify whether we’re talking about hip width or hip circumference, which are two very different measurements.

If you have 28 inch wide hips, then that’s virtually a guarantee that you’re morbidly obese. Indeed, most overweight people don’t have 28 inch hips in terms of width or anywhere close to it.

Now, when most people talk about having 28 inch hips, they’re talking about circumference. In this case, 28″ hips are very small indeed and are an impossible size for most adults to achieve.

After all, 28 in hips are a normal size for a 9-year-old-child. So it’s just completely unrealistic for an adult to slim down to the point where their hips measure 28 inches around.

But as I said, there are exceptions. If you’re well under 5 feet tall and you have a low body fat level, then it’s conceivable that you could get 28 inch hips. But for anyone else, their body weight wouldn’t be able to go low enough for them to have 28″ hips.

How does a person end up with 28 inch hips?

Everyone has 28 inch hips at some point during their physical development. But how does someone end up with 28 inch hips as an adult?

Only those who are extremely short and incredibly thin will be able to have 28 inch hips as an adult. And even then, there are plenty of short and skinny people who have hips that measure much more than 28 inches!

As for how a person actually ends up with such small hips, this is often down to a lack of calories as a result of their body dysmorphia. Yet even people who suffer from anorexia tend not to have 28 in hips.

In case it’s not clear, no person should feel like they need to have what are—quite literally—impossibly small hips.

How can you increase your 28 inch hips?

The best way to increase the size of your 28 inch hips is to consume more healthy calories and train the muscles that are responsible for your hip size—the glutes—with weights.

I realize that many people with body image issues dread the thought of increasing their weight. However, many are also delighted with how their body ends up looking once they gain lean muscle mass and a healthy amount of fat.

Lifting weights—or even just using your body weight as resistance—is a fun activity that can help you to sculpt a more curvaceous body. Indeed, when you make your hips and glutes larger, you’ll naturally make your waist look even smaller.

So if you’re conscious of how your body looks, training your lower body (and, ideally, your entire body) with some kind of resistance is a great way to improve your body image.

Conclusion and practical advice

As I explained throughout this article, no healthy adult should have 28 inch hips of any description—whether that be width or circumference.

Perhaps you’ll see examples from time to time of people who supposedly have 28″ hips. But the truth is that these supposed measurements are just someone’s unrealistic guesses.

Honestly, you could go your whole life without ever meeting an adult who has 28 inch hips, so don’t feel like you need to sculpt an impossibly slim body.