Waist Measurement Help

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  • CariJean64
    CariJean64 Posts: 297 Member
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    Thanks for all the responses so far. I'm getting quite the tutorial! :D
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
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    According to WebMD webmd.com/diet/calculating-your-waist-circumference__http://, for health purposes, you are supposed to measure level with your belly button, but I'm not sure that this 35" mark can possibly apply to everyone. It seems to me that your height would make a huge difference. For example, my waist is 29.5", and I'm still 23 lbs overweight. Surely, a healthy waistline for someone as short as I am is closer to the 30" mark?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
    edited October 2014
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    I'm not sure if I'm thinking about this the right way, but your weight has less to do with it I think. I think it may be healthier if you're 20 pounds overweight but have a small waistline, carrying your weight in the thighs and butt, rather than being closer to a normal weight but having a very large waist?
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    PokeyBug wrote: »
    According to WebMD webmd.com/diet/calculating-your-waist-circumference__http://, for health purposes, you are supposed to measure level with your belly button, but I'm not sure that this 35" mark can possibly apply to everyone. It seems to me that your height would make a huge difference. For example, my waist is 29.5", and I'm still 23 lbs overweight. Surely, a healthy waistline for someone as short as I am is closer to the 30" mark?

    True! It's just a guideline as well. Nothing magic about 35, but in general more risk among those above that mark.
  • wldrose75
    wldrose75 Posts: 128
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    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm not sure if I'm thinking about this the right way, but your weight has less to do with it I think. I think it may be healthier if you're 20 pounds overweight but have a small waistline, carrying your weight in the thighs and butt, rather than being closer to a normal weight but having a very large waist?

    ^^ This. It depends on body type/shape. Those that carry most of their extra weight in their hips and thighs (pair shaped) or in their hips, thighs, and upper body (violin shaped) can be more overweight numbers wise than those that carry their weight mostly in their middle (apple shaped) and still have a smaller waist. My best friend is about 1/2" taller than me and about 10lbs heavier. Because she's pair shaped, she wears a size larger pants than I do, but since I'm apple shaped, I wear a size larger shirt than her. And you're right, those of us that are apples have bigger obesity related health risks due to the abdominal fat.

    I do have a question about the waist measurements though. If you're measuring at your true waist, are you supposed to measure with your bra on or off? 'Cause my measurement's much lower is I get "the girls" out of the way. LOL (Sorry. I have terminal smarta**-itosis.)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    wldrose75 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    I'm not sure if I'm thinking about this the right way, but your weight has less to do with it I think. I think it may be healthier if you're 20 pounds overweight but have a small waistline, carrying your weight in the thighs and butt, rather than being closer to a normal weight but having a very large waist?

    ^^ This. It depends on body type/shape. Those that carry most of their extra weight in their hips and thighs (pair shaped) or in their hips, thighs, and upper body (violin shaped) can be more overweight numbers wise than those that carry their weight mostly in their middle (apple shaped) and still have a smaller waist. My best friend is about 1/2" taller than me and about 10lbs heavier. Because she's pair shaped, she wears a size larger pants than I do, but since I'm apple shaped, I wear a size larger shirt than her. And you're right, those of us that are apples have bigger obesity related health risks due to the abdominal fat.

    I do have a question about the waist measurements though. If you're measuring at your true waist, are you supposed to measure with your bra on or off? 'Cause my measurement's much lower is I get "the girls" out of the way. LOL (Sorry. I have terminal smarta**-itosis.)


    LOL. I can't even imagine what you're talking about!?! I have little bitty 32Bs. So you actually have to move your boobs up from your waist? Or you mean your bra kinda...pulls you all up a big, and makes your waist smaller?
  • wldrose75
    wldrose75 Posts: 128
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    Yup, gotta move the boobs up from the waist. I have 38 longs. :D
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    wldrose75 wrote: »
    Yup, gotta move the boobs up from the waist. I have 38 longs. :D

    Ha! I never heard that. You crack me up. I'm gonna use it.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    edited October 2014
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    wldrose75 wrote: »
    I do have a question about the waist measurements though. If you're measuring at your true waist, are you supposed to measure with your bra on or off? 'Cause my measurement's much lower is I get "the girls" out of the way. LOL (Sorry. I have terminal smarta**-itosis.)

    LOL, I hear ya. I have the same problem.

    I think it depends what you're measuring
    • If you're measuring to order clothes or get them made or tailored, then wear the bra you'd normally wear with those clothes.
    • If you're measuring to assess elevated health risks of heart disease, etc. associated with "apple" shaped bodies or carrying excess weight around your middle, measure where the medical guidelines tell you to measure, probably without the bra (and without sucking in.)
    • If you're measuring to track your weight loss or workout progress, then it doesn't matter where and how you measure so long as you're consistent each time so you can see the change.


  • wldrose75
    wldrose75 Posts: 128
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    OK, so they don't actually hang all the way to my waist. That's a little bit of an exaggeration. :p Wearing a G cup, they've just never been what you could call "perky," and as I draw closer to 40, they seem to move further and further south. Now, having lost 30lbs, they're the same length, just skinnier. :'(
  • CariJean64
    CariJean64 Posts: 297 Member
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    segacs wrote: »


    I think it depends what you're measuring
    • If you're measuring to order clothes or get them made or tailored, then wear the bra you'd normally wear with those clothes.
    • If you're measuring to assess elevated health risks of heart disease, etc. associated with "apple" shaped bodies or carrying excess weight around your middle, measure where the medical guidelines tell you to measure, probably without the bra (and without sucking in.)
    • If you're measuring to track your weight loss or workout progress, then it doesn't matter where and how you measure so long as you're consistent each time so you can see the change.


    For the purpose of this question, it's to assess the elevated health risks.

    I found this on Mercola's site:


    May 20, 2011

    A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that heart patients with a large waist size (greater than 35 inches for women and 40 for men) were 70 percent more likely to die during the study than those with smaller waists.

    The study also found, like some previous studies have, that a high BMI was associated with a lower risk of death, a phenomenon known as the "obesity paradox." The researchers noted this finding as an example of how BMI is a flawed measurement tool, as it tells you nothing about where fat is located in the body, and it appears that the location of the fat is more important than the amount of fat when it comes to measuring heart risks.

    In fact, when BMI was combined with waist size, those with high measures of both had the highest death risk of all.

    BMI also neglects to mention how muscular you might be. Athletes and completely out-of-shape people can have similar BMI scores, or a very muscular person could be classified as "obese" using BMI, when in reality it is mostly lean muscle accounting for their higher-than-average weight.

    Determining your waist size is easy. With a tape measure, figure the distance around the smallest area of your abdomen below your rib cage and above your belly button. If you're not sure if you have a healthy waist circumference, a general guide is:

    For men, between 37 and 40 inches is overweight and more than 40 inches is obese
    For women, 31.5-34.6 inches is overweight and more than 34.6 inches is obese

    I can't imagine that this formula could be accurate for everyone, but at least it's a guideline.

  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
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    For one of the first times in my life, I'm grateful to have no boobs. I'm 42, and I've had two children, so you can't really call me perky anymore, but B cups just look a little deflated when they give way to gravity.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited October 2014
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    r07chelcn3ic.jpg

    This might help you guys
    arditarose wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    MsHarryWinston wrote: »
    r07chelcn3ic.jpg

    This might help you guys
    her bum looks like an animal's face. can't pinpoint which animal, thouhg.

    The hip measurement seems off on this. I measure my hips at the fullest.

    Nope hip measurement is exactly right. It goes around your bum, will most likely settle into your "hip dip" and then across the front of your girly bits. I totally understand the "this doesn't seem right" feeling. No matter how many times I measure myself or someone else I get that initial feeling that I have to shake off and remind myself that sometimes "right is just right" even if it seems counterintuitive.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    wldrose75 wrote: »
    OK, so they don't actually hang all the way to my waist. That's a little bit of an exaggeration. :p Wearing a G cup, they've just never been what you could call "perky," and as I draw closer to 40, they seem to move further and further south. Now, having lost 30lbs, they're the same length, just skinnier. :'(

    I totally understand, I'm a 38K.
    I measure bra off boobs lifted to get true measurement otherwise the weight of them kind of pushed everything downward. They're perky (I'm 28) but massive, and they distort measurements when my bra is on. The band kind of pushes my tummy down and out. I have a super short torso so mine actually DO hang to my waist.
    I'm also an extreme hourglass naturally so I'm pretty lucky when it comes to doing my measurements because all of my spots are very clearly defined.
    (Plus years of sewing).

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