Sign up to our fortnightly Heart Matters newsletter to receive healthy recipes, new activity ideas, and expert tips for managing your health. Joining is free and takes two minutes. I’d like to sign up What should your waist measurement be?

and achieve a healthy waist measurement. Aim to eat a healthy, balanced diet and be active regularly. The A 2018 observational study indicated that waist circumference and WHtR could be good indicators of high blood pressure (hypertension) risk. NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT?— Use the BMI Calculator to find out if your weight and waist size are in a healthy range. What are the limitations of BMI? According to a 2017 study, larger waist circumference increases inflammation in the body in some people. In turn, a 2015 article in Circulation indicated that inflammation is a contributing factor and increases the risk of several health conditions, including:Some people may need a more intensive approach. This can mean having a very low energy diet or taking weight loss medicine. Using at least three spots on your body – chest, abs and thigh are often used – pinch the skin, pulling the muscle away from the fat and measure the fold with the calipers. Stepanikova, I., et al. (2016). Does one size fit all? The role of body mass index and waist circumference in systemic inflammation in midlife by race and gender. to your GP or practice nurse. They can advise you on how to eat healthily and get more active, and tell you

Waist circumference is less reliable in overweight and obese people. Waist circumference and disease risk BMI is not always accurate for assessing healthy weight in some people. It can’t tell what amount of weight is due to fat or muscle. It is safe, non-invasive and fast. It is very accurate with excellent reliability for repeat tests. Unlike underwater weighing, the Bod Pod does not require getting wet. The pod accommodates people of any age, shape and size and is accurate for groups including children, obese, elderly, and disabled people. The down side:

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The correct place to measure your waist is halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone. This is roughly in line with your belly button. This is the ratio of waist circumference to the hip circumference. The higher the ratio, the more fat is stored around the waist or abdomen – in other words, an “apple shape”. This shape poses a greater health risk than fat stored elsewhere in the body (a “pear shape”). The plus side: The natural waist is generally the narrowest part of the torso, which is typically located just above the belly button, not at the navel. So, to measure your waist: Cerhan, J. R., et al. (2015). A pooled analysis of waist circumference and mortality in 650,000 adults.

Simple when you know how, but the accuracy depends on the skill of the person taking the measurements. It is best to have the same person take the measurements each time. If you are uncomfortable stripping down in front of the tester, it may not be the test for you. It can be difficult to get reliable measurements if you are obese. Fat around the abdomen (belly) is linked to even higher risks of diabetes, heart and circulatory disease and cancer. All you need is a tape measure and a simple calculation: waist measurement divided by hip measurement. You can use any units as it is only the ratio that is important. High risk is defined as a waist-hip ratio above 0.90 for males and above 0.85 for females. The down side: Many of these diseases can be prevented by having a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle. This includes eating a well-balanced diet and doing regular physical activity. Probably the most successful way for weight loss is to make a change to your lifestyle. Try to eat food that is healthier and do more physical activity like exercise.According to Harvard Health, visceral abdominal fat is less common among those in Mediterranean countries. In contrast, Native Americans, Pima Indians, Hispanics, and those living in India and South Asia are more likely to have abdominal obesity. Always test on the same side. It is recommended to take the average of two measurements at each place. You then put those numbers into an online calculator which will give you your body fat percentage. DEXA is more commonly used to assess bone density, but can also be used to measure body composition. You lie still on a table while a machine arm passes over your entire body, which emits a high- and a low-energy X-ray beam.

While the waistline is a key measure of a person’s overall health risk, a person should also consider their waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI). Waist-to-height ratio Type 2 diabetes. Keeping to a healthy weight and carrying less fat around your middle will help to keepPeople carry fat in different parts of their bodies. Some people carry extra body fat around their middle. This is more of a health risk than carrying weight on your hips and thighs. American pants are normally measured in waist size and inseam length. You will see two numbers on the label inside your pants, e.g., 26/24. The first number is the waist measurement. In the example, your waist size is 26. Be careful in buying your previous sizes because this might not accurately reflect your most updated size, which could be smaller or larger. 3. Measure the Pants That Fit Best Unlike BMI, there is no underweight category for waist measurement. Waist measurement is just used for Justice, A. E., et al. (2019). Protein-coding variants implicate novel genes related to lipid homeostasis contributing to body-fat distribution. Ashwell, M., & Gibson, S. (2016). Waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of “early health risk”: Simpler and more predictive than using a “matrix” based on BMI and waist circumference.