Confused about how to measure waist - am I at risk or not?

Ooci

I'd really appreciate some advice about where the waist should be measured. I went for my well woman check and the nurse put it right round the belly button and got a high reading, making me at risk of heart disease and all the other party poopers. I wanted to slap her.

If I put the tape measure at the narrowest point then I'm 29 inches and OK. Yes I do want to lose another stone and I don't think this is a healthy shape, but I'd be interested if I am technically over the health guideline of 31.5 inches. The lower section is 39 inches and then I just disappear into a 36 inch hip - what an unhelpful shape it is.

You can just about see the top of my laparotomy scar in this pic - about two inches above my belly button - now that's where I want to put the tape measure. Excuse the horrible pic.

Sued0nim

The guideline re health is

1. Find the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs.

2. Breathe out normally.

3. Place the tape measure midway between these points and wrap it around your waist.

4. Check your measurement.

Ooci

I'm not really sure where the bottom of my ribs are, to be honest. They dip down a lot more at the side than the front. Do you mean you feel the bottom, at the side? In which case the nurse was right - tape measure around the belly button

Liftng4Lis

Ooci wrote: »

I'm not really sure where the bottom of my ribs are, to be honest. They dip down a lot more at the side than the front. Do you mean you feel the bottom, at the side? In which case the nurse was right - tape measure around the belly button

reach up there until you feel the rib bones.

earth_echo

At least on me, the midpoint between hipbone and end of ribcage is about an inch above my navel. On you, I'd guess it's about where your scar is.

Ooci

I think there's just too much fat there to properly feel bones and know where they end. But thanks for your help everyone. If I say it's a touch above belly button then maybe that's where the official reading should be.

SwankyTomato

Good question.

I have the tape measure at my belly button?

TimothyFish

This says it is usually at your belly button. So slapping the nurse isn't a good idea. http://www.webmd.com/diet/waist-measurement

Vailara

If you have a natural, obvious waist then I would just measure there. That's partly because that's going to be consistent, as it's obvious where to put the tape. I use a myotape, and the tape just naturally goes to my waist, which is probably about an inch above my belly button.

maxit

I am curvy and I measure my waist at the narrowest point. I also measure hips both just below naval where the hip bone is, and at the saddle bags where I am the widest. That would make my waist higher than WebMD puts it, but also that is a male figure in that illustration, and they are shaped differently. In my opinion, for women both the waist and abdominal area measures are important. I knew I was making progress when both of those measures showed inch-loss, and when lying flat I actually could see hip bones and not feel a rounded belly.

From your picture, the fat you are holding is in the abdominal area which is where "visceral" fat (the kind that crowds intestines and other areas and is related to health risk) is located.

Ooci

maxit wrote: »

I am curvy and I measure my waist at the narrowest point. I also measure hips both just below naval where the hip bone is, and at the saddle bags where I am the widest. That would make my waist higher than WebMD puts it, but also that is a male figure in that illustration, and they are shaped differently. In my opinion, for women both the waist and abdominal area measures are important. I knew I was making progress when both of those measures showed inch-loss, and when lying flat I actually could see hip bones and not feel a rounded belly.

From your picture, the fat you are holding is in the abdominal area which is where "visceral" fat (the kind that crowds intestines and other areas and is related to health risk) is located.

That's very useful - thanks. I agree both measurements are important and also that I'm carrying the dangerous kind of fat, sadly, though if you saw me in clothes you'd be unlikely to notice much, as I disguise it.


Just keep at it I suppose - it's been so so long since I've not felt a rounded belly there I can't imagine it.

SergeantSausage

We are all "at risk" ... even the lightest weight of us. Heart disease hits skinny folk, too.

If you want to be conservative and honest: measure at the widest possible location.

If you want to be in denial and see unicorns, find the narrowest possible location and game the data.

Your nurse did it right.

If any of us, most of all you(OP), can look at that picture and *not* see increased risk of health problems, then there is some serious denial going on.

I say this not to be mean or belittle, but to inject a bit of needed reality here.

Camo_xxx

I think we have all pulled the tape measure a little bit tighter looking for that number we WANT. But even when we do I think somewhere in our head we also know the reality of what we see in the mirror.

Coming to terms with it can help motivate you to do something about it.

Ooci

SergeantSausage wrote: »

We are all "at risk" ... even the lightest weight of us. Heart disease hits skinny folk, too.

If you want to be conservative and honest: measure at the widest possible location.

If you want to be in denial and see unicorns, find the narrowest possible location and game the data.

Your nurse did it right.

If any of us, most of all you(OP), can look at that picture and *not* see increased risk of health problems, then there is some serious denial going on.

I say this not to be mean or belittle, but to inject a bit of needed reality here.

Fair enough. My mother has exactly the same tummy - rather larger than mine right now -and has decided to ignore it as she is just 9st 7, like me. (both 5.1) She has high BP and has to take a lot of meds for that. I don't want to be like her. 40 lb gone - onwards and upwards for the next 20.

hansmdude

+1 for belly button measurement... google "waist to hip ratio calculator:" and put in your numbers... a healthy ratio for women is at or below .85, above that and you are considered at greater risk of health problems

SergeantSausage

Ooci wrote: »

I don't want to be like her. 40 lb gone - onwards and upwards for the next 20.

And that's what we all like to see/hear.

HOO-Ah !

tiffanylacourse

I'm in agreement with at the navel. That's where I measure my waist, regardless of whether or not I like what the tape tells me... Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

kittenful

Women's measurements are taken a bit differently than men's measurements. Not really sure why, but that's how it is. I track both my natural waist and low waist (belly button!) measurements, since my stomach is where I carry my stubborn fat (medical term, right?) and I know my family has a history of heart disease. To find your natural waist, bend to one side. Where your side folds is where your natural waist is. Low waist is taken around your naval.

http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/how-find-natural-waist/

zyxst

rabbitjb wrote: »

The guideline re health is

1. Find the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs.

2. Breathe out normally.

3. Place the tape measure midway between these points and wrap it around your waist.

4. Check your measurement.

^This.

Another way to find this point is to measure where you bend when you do a side bend. I've lost enough on my torso to be able to easily feel my ribs and hip bones; there's only about an inch between the two. I've been part of a weight loss study and they measure at my belly button for their numbers, which puts my "waist" +3 inches. Of course, my belly button hangs lower and lower the more I lose. :P

gramarye

SergeantSausage wrote: »

We are all "at risk" ... even the lightest weight of us. Heart disease hits skinny folk, too.

If you want to be conservative and honest: measure at the widest possible location.

If you want to be in denial and see unicorns, find the narrowest possible location and game the data.

Your nurse did it right.

If any of us, most of all you(OP), can look at that picture and *not* see increased risk of health problems, then there is some serious denial going on.

I say this not to be mean or belittle, but to inject a bit of needed reality here.

I mean, I look at that picture and see a woman who has probably had a child. (OP, I'm really sorry if that's not the case; I've had one, and I have a very similar stomach shape.)

Of course, I also try not to make assumptions on people's health based exclusively on how they look. But carry on.

VeryKatie

I did this to myself for a while. My belly button is much lower than other peoples. My friend's lines up with her natural waist and mine does not. You're supposed to measure the narrowest part, as far as I know. The belly button has nothing to do with it.

For me, if I measure at my navel, all I'm measuring are my hips. It won't get any smaller than that, but by the measurement, my w/h ratio is not good. Even at a BMI of 21.