When I was obese I couldn't pull off crop tops because of my body size, it was incredibly unflattering, and now that I'm a healthy weight I still can't pull off crop tops because of my body proportions, I have a short torso.

Body type encompasses both scenarios, so it's often thought of as a polite way to tell someone something is unflattering without singling out specific "flaws" in their body.

[–] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

Until its only used for this because our society sucks and just becomes a euphemism, because we can't have nice things.

[–] anyhow2503@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

That makes a bit more sense. I was initially reminded of the various pseudo-scientific attempts to classify variations in human body shapes, which usually don't factor in great variations in body fat content. The way it's used in the image made me think this was an attempt to frame an unhealthy lifestyle as something inherent that can't be changed.