It’s easy to measure your waist, and it's about much more than just your clothing size. Your waist circumference provides a vital clue as to whether you might be at higher risk for conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. All you need is a flexible tape measure to begin:
- Place the tape measure at the top of your hip bone, then bring it all the way around your body, level with your belly button (navel).
- Make sure the tape isn't too tight and that it's straight, including across your back. Do not hold your breath or pull in your belly while measuring.
- Check the number on the tape measure right after you exhale.
What's considered a healthy waist size can vary depending on your gender, height, body frame, age, and ethnicity. Different health organizations use slightly varied methods to assess unhealthy fat accumulation around the middle (known as abdominal obesity). These methods include:
- Waist circumference alone
- Waist-to-hip ratio
- Waist-to-height ratio
Waist Size and Health Implications
Your waist size is a reliable indicator of how much fat you carry in your belly area. Several large studies have established a strong connection between abdominal obesity and a higher risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. This risk holds true even for people whose body mass index (BMI) is within the range considered healthy.
What is visceral fat?
Part of the fat stored around your belly is called visceral fat, which is the fat that surrounds your liver and other organs deep within your abdomen. This type of fat is metabolically active; it releases fats, hormones, and various inflammatory chemicals into your bloodstream. This ongoing inflammation is believed to contribute significantly to many chronic diseases, including heart disease and diabetes.
Waist size and heart disease
High levels of belly fat raise your risk for several conditions linked to cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. Unhealthy levels of belly fat can also lead to fatty liver disease, which is another significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Waist size and diabetes
The inflammatory hormones produced by visceral fat are thought to trigger insulin resistance. This means your body's cells do not respond effectively to the hormone insulin as they should. Insulin resistance is the underlying cause of high blood sugar, prediabetes, and eventually type 2 diabetes.
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Defining a Healthy Waist Size
Experts universally agree that excess belly fat poses a significant danger to your health. However, major global health organizations utilize different measurements and thresholds to define a healthy waist size.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and American Heart Institute (AHI) primarily consider the waist measurement alone, defining a healthy waist size as:
- 35 inches or less for women
- 40 inches or less for men
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) suggests lower thresholds, stating a healthy size is:
- 31.5 inches or less for women (31.4 inches for Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian women)
- 35.5 inches or less for men (35.4 inches for Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian men)
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)
The World Health Organization (WHO) assesses abdominal obesity using the waist-to-hip ratio, which compares the size of your waist to your hips. WHO defines abdominal obesity as a ratio exceeding 0.85 for women and 0.9 for men.
To calculate your waist-to-hip ratio:
- Use a measuring tape to measure your waist at its narrowest point.
- Next, measure around your hips at their widest point (usually where your buttocks protrude the most).
- Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement.
The resulting number is your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR).
Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)
Both waist measurement and WHR can vary significantly across different genders, ages, and ethnicities. For this reason, some health experts advocate that the waist-to-height ratio is the most consistent and accurate way to assess dangerous belly fat levels.
To determine your waist-to-height ratio:
- Use a ruler or measuring tape to measure your height from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.
- Follow the standard instructions above for measuring waist size.
- Divide your waist measurement in inches by your height measurement in inches to get the ratio.
A ratio over 0.5 (meaning your waist measurement is more than half your height) suggests you are at a higher risk for serious health problems.
You can even perform a quick check without a tape measure, using only a long piece of string:
- Measure your height against the string, then cut the string so it matches your exact height.
- Fold the string precisely in half.
- Wrap the folded string around your waist.
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If the string, when folded in half, will not go all the way around your waist, it is highly likely that you have unhealthy levels of abdominal fat.
Waist size and BMI
BMI (Body Mass Index) is a formula based on your weight and height that doctors often use as a quick preliminary assessment of a healthy weight level. If your BMI is over 25, you are typically considered overweight.
However, BMI is an imperfect measure. Its calculation is historically based mostly on data from white males and doesn't fully account for natural differences in gender, race, or ethnicity. It can be inaccurate, particularly for people with high muscle mass or those who are unusually tall or short.
A high BMI doesn't automatically mean your health is at risk. Similarly, a larger waist doesn't always translate to a higher BMI. This is why many doctors view waist size — or waist size combined with BMI — as a more reliable measure of health risks than BMI alone.
One major study found that even women with BMIs under 25 were at a significantly higher risk of premature death in middle age if they carried more fat around their waists. "Normal weight" women whose waists measured 35 inches or larger were three times more likely to die from heart disease than "normal weight" women with smaller waists.
How to Effectively Reduce Waist Size
You cannot effectively "spot-reduce" fat from your waist or any other specific part of your body through targeted exercise alone.
While crunches and other core exercises can certainly strengthen your abdominal muscles, to actually lose inches around your waist, you must lose overall body weight. This is achieved by consuming fewer calories than you burn and increasing your caloric expenditure through regular exercise.
Key Takeaways
Your waist size is an excellent indicator of the dangerous visceral fat you carry in your belly area. Individuals with excess belly fat face a higher risk of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. While many health experts believe waist measurement alone is sufficient to identify abdominal obesity, others emphasize the importance of also considering your height or hip measurement.
Waist Measurement FAQs
How is the waist measured correctly?
You use a measuring tape, held flat against your skin, to measure your waist at its smallest point. Don't hold your breath or suck in your stomach.
What is a normal waist size?
A "normal" waist size for youvaries depending on many things, including your gender, height, frame, age, and ethnicity. Some health organizations define a healthy waist size very generally as 35 inches or less for women or 40 inches or less for men. Other experts also take height or hip measurements into consideration.
Does waist size determine body fat?
It's possible to have a large waist without being overweight. Even if your overall weight is at a level considered healthy, extra belly fat raises your risk for health problems like heart disease and diabetes.
What is a healthy waist size for my height?
In general, doctors say a healthy waist measurement is one that's half your height or less.