I'm sure we'll never all agree on which terms best quantify "average", "fit", "fat", etc... but that doesn't mean a close approximation of each does not exist. Come on now, let's be real. We are on a dating site, wherein we trust that the photos & words we read are an accurate portrayal of who we're meeting/talking to. That is why it matters how someone describes themself. And sure, we've all got our own preferences (no fatties, no shorties, no redheads, no convicts, no baldies, etc..), and our own ideas as to what those mean. But there's still a reasonable standard, for body composition.

I think people take this measurement far too personally... as though it's a value statement about them, as a whole. If we're all being intellectually honest, then we'd agree that there are two basic extremes... then there's a middle-ground(average). Forget the fact the the larger number of the population is terribly overweight. That fact doesn't make a chunky beast, the "average". Well... it does, but only in terms of volume. It also doesn't mean that you suck at life, just because you're not entirely lean.

I'm a fit/large man (6'-3 @ 256lbs), and a competitive athlete/cyclist, but the BMI index considers me obese. I can run 22.6, averaging 7:45 miles, swim 1.5 miles at a good pace, do as many pullups as my years in age, and can see muscle/abdominal definition(even if vaguely). I call myself "fit"/above average.

I'd venture to say that an "average" person would be something a bit less defined than myself. Figures like those of John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe come to mind. People you wouldn't immediately think "athlete", nor couch potato, when you saw them.

If you're a fatty... just own it! Say you're fat. If you're shaped like a stove pipe... you're NOT average. If your gut can conceal a credit card... you're NOT average. If your back has rolls in it.... Nope, still not average.

It's laughable that people make such a stir about the issue of body composition. You'd be hard-pressed to find a forum where people are soooo diametrically opposed to the variances in height, eye color, income... though they're very clear preferences, for some.

The idea of each person on here being allowed to describe their body type, in their own words, sounds good.

Just my 2 cents.