--- title: How Much Do You Subtract For Clothing When You Weigh Yourself description: Call it the clothing effect, or the clothing discount – we all do it. We make allowances for the fact our clothes are probably pretty heavy canonical: https://time.com/2799870/good-news-you-weigh-less-than-you-think/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-30T16:38:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:08:11.621Z article:section: Health og:title: No, your clothes don't weigh 5 lbs. og:description: Call it the clothing effect, or the clothing discount – we all do it. We make allowances for the fact our clothes are probably pretty heavy og:url: https://time.com/2799870/good-news-you-weigh-less-than-you-think/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ed51a0d1751e811/69869580361760951390c5de/96210904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5175 og:image:height: 2911 og:image:alt: 96210904 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: No, your clothes don't weigh 5 lbs. twitter:description: Call it the clothing effect, or the clothing discount – we all do it. We make allowances for the fact our clothes are probably pretty heavy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2ed51a0d1751e811/69869580361760951390c5de/96210904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Good News! You Weigh Less Than You Think > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=7c259297-a70f-4ff3-bbdf-8a19cf5b4ee2&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 30, 2014 4:38 PM UTC  Woman's feet on scale Woman's feet on scale Dkal Inc.—Getty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 30, 2014 4:38 PM UTC As swim suit season gets underway, more of us are probably stepping on the scale and squinting at the number that flashes back at us. Then, we do some quick mental math and adjust for the fact that we’re wearing jeans, maybe a robe, and oh, yes, that heavy sweater. So, minus 5lbs? It turns out that scientists have actually done a real study, published in the _International Journal of Obesity_, to figure out how many pounds we should be subtracting for what we wear. Led by a team at University of North Dakota (because it gets really cold there, and they’re probably pretty bundled up when they step on a scale), not only did they set up an experiment to weigh people, both clothed and nearly nude, at various times of the year, they also wanted to answer the critical question of whether weighing yourself in the winter gives you more leeway to do this kind of math than in the summer, when we tend to wear less. It turns out that, as with so many things, men and women are different when it comes to how much our clothes weigh. Men, it seems, prefer to swathe themselves in heavier garments while women tend to adorn themselves more lightly. Men can lop off nearly 2.5 lbs to account for their clothing while women can only subtract around 2\. And this holds true, unfortunately, no matter what the weather outside. So no more making allowances for that thick wool sweater. 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