In my "neck of the woods," Northern Virginia, very few women my age are skinny, about 1/2 are obese, 1/3 are overweight, and the rest are "pudgy." So, being a little bit pudgy helps you fit in the crowd, so to speak.
The ideal wight for my height 5 10 1/2 is about 180 lb, so currently I am 14 lb over the ideal. I am in a carb reduced diet of 4-5 meals each 350-400 cal, and some cardio exercise every other day.