Waist Measurement Matters!!

BMI is not always the best way to measure your health. Body fat is a good tool, but waist measurement is an easy measurement that we can take ourselves.

Waist measurement matters

According to the CDC,

Another way to estimate your potential disease risk is to measure your waist circumference. Excessive abdominal fat may be serious because it places you at greater risk for developing obesity-related conditions, such as Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. Your waistline may be telling you that you have a higher risk of developing obesity-related conditions if you are¹:

• A man whose waist circumference is more than 40 inches
• A non-pregnant woman whose waist circumference is more than 35 inches

40 inches is a conservative number compared to other studies I have seen. Most say anything more than 36 for men and 30 for women is considered unhealthy.

This is generous, because I learned it should be

your height in inches (divided by) ÷ 2.

This assumes every women is 5ft 10 and every man 6ft 8 lolol!!!!

Oh how I would love to be 5'10"!

Thank you for sharing

I don't think I could ever make it down to 30". I'm 36" right now with 22% body fat. I'm hoping after plastic surgery my waist will be at 35" or below. I'm a definite apple-shape, so I never really had much of a waistline, regardless of my weight. The plastic surgeons (during consults) said that wouldn't really change because of my muscle/bone structure. Boo. I always wanted an hourglass shape...

Interesting. You must have tiny arms and legs!! According to your ticker we have the same weight but my waist is 27 inches. All of my weight is in my butt and thighs.

I assume you had a dexascan to measure your bodyfat? If your visceral fat is low then there is no need to worry. Most people with larger waistlines have large amounts of visceral far surrounding their organs and that is the problem.

yep - I had a dexascan about a year ago.

my legs are really thin now. As in major thigh gap. And my butt is pretty flat. I never had big legs (I looked like a barrel on top of stilts), but now they're really small. I carried most of my weight in my torso, which means I have a *lot* of excess skin there.

pear-shaped bodies like yours (from how you described it - I'm not looking at any pictures or making any judgments!!) are usually a lot healthier than apple-shaped bodies like mine, so you're lucky! But you're right - it's the visceral fat that's the problem - and mine is within a normal range now Although it's at the high end of the normal range - whereas my overall body fat is at the low end of normal.

I just wanted to respond that body shape has a lot to do with this.

At 5'5" and 138 pounds, I have a waist measurement of 26.5" -- but my friend who is appreciably thinner than me -- 5'8 and 118 pounds has a waist measurement of 31 inches.

I didn't see how that was possible -- but we measured together and it's true. Mind you, she has a BMI around 18 (one point before being appreciably underweight) and I am a solid 22. Yet, my waist is still smaller than hers.

If she were to ever gain a lot of weight -- she'd surely be an apple -- the shape with the highest risk of heart disease. I am more of a pear-shape --

Being a wls patient carrying excess skin, I appreciate the wiggle room this study gives.

I've often wondered what my waist size would be without the excess skin. I'm sure it varies considerably, but does anyone know if there tends to be a significant reduction in waist circumference after skin removal?

It actually makes it kinda hard to measure my waist - it's all squishy and stuff ;-)