How To Measure Your Waist Size
Get out the tape measure.
Fat in your belly is linked with greater health risks than fat from other parts of your body. Measuring the circumference of your waist, or how wide your torso is all the way around, is an easy way to determine whether you have excess fat in your abdominal area. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1. PREPARE
Use a soft tape measure to assess your waist size. Pull up or remove your shirt and lower the waistline of your skirt, shorts or pants, if needed, so that your middle is exposed. Stand in front of a mirror, if possible, to make sure you’re positioning the tape measure correctly.
Step 2. FIND THE RIGHT SPOT
Press your fingers into your torso near the right side of your waist. Push your fingers into your skin to find the bony pelvis. Keep pushing and moving your fingers along the edge of the hip bone until you find the top curve of the bone. This spot is known as the iliac crest. The highest point will be located on the side of your torso, just underneath the lower portion of your ribcage. Generally, this spot will be at around the same level as your bellybutton, and near, or at, the narrowest part of your torso.
Step 3. WRAP THE TAPE MEASURE
Position the tape measure horizontally at this spot at the top of your hip bone. Then circle it around your abdomen and entire torso. Make sure that the tape lies horizontal on all sides of your torso. Place the end of the tape measure which reads “0” at the spot on the tape where the loop circles your waist completely.
Step 4. MEASURE
Avoid sucking in your gut. Stand up straight and exhale gently as you pull the tape so that it stays taut against your body, but make sure it is not squeezing into your skin. Look at the number at the point where the “0” end of the tape intersects around your waist. This is your waist measurement.
A waist size of >40 inches (>102cm) for men, and a waist size of >35 inches (>88 cm) for women is considered high-risk. A high number may indicate that you have excess fat in your abdominal area. If your BMI is 25 or higher, this can increase your risk of certain diseases such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia (uncontrolled cholesterol), high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
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ok so im a nurse, so i agree that if you have a large waiste size it is bad but not because bmi says so its because the excess fat around your abdomin puts strain on you heart and other organs, and for BMI, i am a chesty person with larg hips but my waiste size is only 34 but it tells me i am almost at the top of the over wieght side, cuz some one my hieght should be 136 wellw ith a dd chest and 42 inch hips the only way i will ever see 136 is if i have a breast redeuction and have some of the bone mass taken from my hips,
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I'm always a big person growing up. No matter how much workout I do, I still big according to the BMI chart. Now, I learned that as long as I feel good under my skin, I'm good...sometime it not the number that counts, it the way you look and the confident you have. We all have different body type, we can't all look the same. How boring would that be!
I'm 5'2" and 119 pounds and according to the calculator im completely average. But i still have a"pooch" thing on my stomach?? No matter now much i exercise, do crunches, run/jog or whatever it will NOT go away!! It drives me crazy!! And apparently I am not over weight or have a bad bmi. What is the deal here???
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