What Does The Average Brit Look Like?
The UK is a multicultural country and in huge cities, such as London, you can easily see this being reflected. Although it’s stereotypical to bundle all our looks into one pot, today we’re going to learn about the average British appearance to learn all that key appearance vocabulary.
The Body
The average British height is just that – average-height – in comparison to our European counterparts. The average height is increasing year-on-year and stands at around 5ft 9in for men and 5ft 4in for women. In terms of weight, there is a similar trend with the numbers increasing annually. The average woman weighs 11st 2lb whilst the average man weighs 13st 3lb. Of course, there are correlations between height and weight so we’re just talking average.
The UK is classed as one of the “largest” countries with regards to weight. Studies suggest 64% of the population are classed as overweight, having a BMI of 25 or over and 26% of this is clinically obese. Again, these numbers are rising year-on-year.
The Skin
Brits are known for their fair skin and inability to tan. A high proportion, around 86%, of the UK is white, whilst the remaining proportion is made up of Asian, black and mixed ethnicities. Although some of us go golden in the sun of Southern Europe, the majority of us turn as red as a lobster! This leaves the fake tan market to be extremely successful in the UK, with around 40% of women admitting to using fake tan products. Tattoos are also quite popular with around 20% of the population having some form of tattoo. This statistic is much higher among the younger population.
The Face
When it comes to the face, there are huge variations. Facial hair seems to be fashionable at the moment and the number of people growing moustaches, beards and goatees is rising. The stereotype for British people is that we have bad teeth, however, statistics suggest that our teeth aren’t actually too bad! Most of us brush our teeth at least twice a day and look after our teeth and interest in using braces for straighter teeth is growing.
When it comes to eyes, the most popular colour by far is blue. 48% of Brits have blue eyes. This is followed by 30% with green eyes and 22% with brown. A huge proportion of us require glasses too, around 90% of over 50-year-olds use glasses. The average percentage for the entire population is 57%.
The Hair
The most common hair colour in the UK is brunette, with around 48% of the population a natural brown. Blonde is also common to see on the streets but only 29% are natural blondes, blonde is the most common colour to choose when dying hair. Finally, black runs in third with around 8% having this colour. Less common colours include white, grey and red, although the percentage of redheads in Scotland and Northern Ireland is considerably higher than in England and Wales.
Hairstyles are trends so they are constantly changing depending on the latest fashion. As of 2021, wavy and straight hair seem to be the market leaders.
- https://www.onaverage.co.uk/body-averages/average-male-height
- https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet/england-2020/part-3-adult-obesity-copy
- https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest#by-ethnicity
- https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/oct/26/how-tattoos-went-from-subculture-to-pop-culture
- https://beachwaveperm.com/most-common-hair-color-in-uk/
- https://moderngentlemen.net/beard-statistics/
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49550353
- https://www.optimax.co.uk/blog/common-myths-eye-colour/
- http://newsnuggets.co.uk/barnes/uk/many-wear-glasses/
Is this similar to your country? Let us know in the comments below!
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