Absorbent article with improved fit

1. A stretchable absorbent article having a longitudinal axis, a lateral axis, a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting said front and back waist regions, a length, and a width, said absorbent article comprising:

a liquid impermeable outer cover stretchable in at least one direction;

a liner in opposed relationship with the outer cover and stretchable in at least one direction, at least one of the liner and the outer cover having a width substantially equal to the width of the absorbent article along the length thereof; and

an absorbent structure disposed between the liner and the outer cover and extending from the crotch region to at least one of the front waist region and the back waist region of the article, said absorbent structure comprising at least one weakening element located in said at least one of the front waist region and back waist region for reducing the resistance of the absorbent structure and thereby the absorbent article to stretching, wherein the crotch region is free from weakening elements,

the absorbent article having a retraction loading, an extension loading, and a ratio of retraction loading to extension loading as measured by an Absorbent Article Tensile Test, the ratio of retraction loading to extension loading of the absorbent article being between about 0.1 and 0.15 for a strain of approximately 10 percent as measured by said Absorbent Article Tensile Test.

2. The absorbent article set forth in claim 1 wherein the article has a ratio of retraction loading to extension loading of between about 0.20 and about 0.40 for a strain of approximately 20 percent as measured by the Absorbent Article Tensile Test.

3. The absorbent article set forth in claim 1 wherein the article has a ratio of retraction loading to extension loading of between about 0.35 and about 0.6 for a strain of approximately 30 percent as measured by the Absorbent Article Tensile Test.

4. The absorbent article set forth in claim 1 wherein the article has a ratio of retraction loading to extension loading of between about 0.53 and about 0.70 for a strain of approximately 40 percent as measured by the Absorbent Article Tensile Test.

5. The absorbent article set forth in claim 1 wherein said outer cover is elastic.

6. The absorbent article set forth in claim 5 wherein said outer cover comprises a rubber film.

7. The absorbent article set forth in claim 6 wherein said outer cover comprises a latex rubber film.

8. The absorbent article set forth in claim 5 wherein said outer cover comprises a synthetic rubber film.

9. The absorbent article set forth in claim 1 further comprising laterally opposite side portions formed integrally with the outer cover of said article.

10. A stretchable absorbent article having a longitudinal axis, a lateral axis, a front waist region, a back waist region, a crotch region extending longitudinally between and interconnecting said front and back waist regions, a length, and a width, said article comprising:

a liquid impermeable outer cover that is elastic in at least one direction;

a liner in opposed relationship with the outer cover and stretchable in at least one direction, at least one of the liner and the outer cover having a width substantially equal to the width of the absorbent article along the length thereof; and

an absorbent structure disposed between the liner and the outer cover and extending from the crotch region to at least one of the front waist region and the back waist region of the article, the absorbent structure being stretchable in at least one direction, wherein the absorbent structure is stretchable in only at least one of the front waist region and the back waist region,

the outer cover having a retraction loading, an extension loading, and a ratio of retraction loading to extension loading as measured by a Material Elongation Tensile Test, the ratio of retraction loading to extension loading being between about 0.15 and about 0.50 for a strain of approximately 10 percent.

11. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein the ratio of the outer cover retraction loading to extension loading is between about 0.35 and about 0.70 for a strain of approximately 20 percent as measured by the Material Tensile Test.

12. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein the ratio of the outer cover retraction loading to extension loading is between about 0.45 and about 0.70 for a strain of approximately 30 percent as measured by the Material Tensile Test.

13. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein the ratio of the outer cover retraction loading to extension loading is between about 0.60 and about 0.80 for a strain of at least approximately 40 percent as measured by the Material Tensile Test.

14. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein the ratio of the outer cover retraction loading to extension loading is between about 0.85 and about 0.90 for a strain of approximately 50 percent as measured by the Material Tensile Test.

15. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein the outer cover comprises at least one rubber film.

16. The absorbent article set forth in claim 15 wherein the outer cover comprises at least one latex rubber film.

17. The absorbent article set forth in claim 15 wherein said outer cover comprises at least one synthetic rubber film.

18. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 wherein said absorbent structure comprises at least one weakening element.

19. The absorbent article set forth in claim 10 further comprising laterally opposite side portions formed integrally with the outer cover of the article.