A new national survey of the average American body that looked at more than 240 measurements from head to toe confirms previous findings -- Americans are getting larger.

The SizeUSA survey used a light-pulsing, 3-D scanner to measure more than 10,000 people in 13 cities. It's the first time since World War II that a national survey has taken stock of the average American body. The survey was sponsored by several universities, the Army and Navy, and a number of clothing and textile manufacturers, The New York Times reports.

The survey found that 19 percent of men are "portly," while another 19 percent have "lower front waists." That's a polite way of saying those men have to lift up their belly to find their waist. Men older than 45 are most likely to have potbellies and older men have thinner thighs than younger men.

Among women, the survey found that black women are larger than other women. But black women are more likely to have a classic hourglass figure. Overall, the survey found that 64 percent of women are pear-shaped and 30 percent have a "straight" figure.

Women on the small side in this survey averaged a size 14, where "plus size" clothing begins. For years, an average American woman was considered a size 8, the Times reports

The average clothing size for men in this survey was also larger than the traditional 40 regular.