Overweight is not attractive and what we deem to be attractive is largely built into our subcontious because it's how we select a mate and we generally want a healthy mate. What we deem to be "beautiful" or "good looking" is generally the recipe for a healthy person which for thousands of years was a very desirable feature for a mate to have given that modern healthcare systems are just that: a modern invention.
Being overweight is not healthy but being a bit over is better than a bit under. I was rather over - not obese or anything but the NHS BMI calculator put me at 32. I have lost a bit through just thinking about what I eat and avoiding snacks considering i am not the most active person.
The problem here is 'what is overweight'? Seriously, I weigh heavy, in fact my BMI is around 28 which is into the overweight category. I wear size 10-12 jeans have a 28 inch waist and 37 inch hips. My friend weighs nearly 2 stone less than me and wears 14 jeans and looks much fatter. Ideal weights were set by Insurance companies not doctors and do not take into consideration muscle mass (which weighs much heavier than fat)
I guess most people want to lese weight because they do a weight calculator and it says they need to -its all rubbish.
Hmmm.... I managed 30" once, decades ago. Long before I got there folk were telling me to look at my legs, arms, face, how obvious it was that I'd gone too far. I reckon most measurements need to approach zero before the waist manages 28". IMO clothing manufacturers' idea of small, medium, large waist sizes are far off the mark.
Mens waists are always much bigger than womens though. I'd say an average mans waist is about 34 -36 inches isn't it? My youngest son is like a string bean but wears 32 inch trousers.