40 inch waist really that bad for a male?
Replies
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Forget the weight. Forget the measurement.
Look at the picture(s).
Is your honest opinion that you look healthy?
......
Just because this kind of body shape is common does not mean it is healthy.17 -
greenlizard72 wrote: »ladyhusker39 wrote: »I'm always shocked at people's perceptions about their own weight and health. So many people seem to have no idea about their own health risks. I know many overweight people who think leaner, normal weight people are sickly, that they are normal (because they are surrounded by other overweight people.) I also know a few obese people who think they are only a little on the heavy side. And many of them think they just ended up fat not because of the choices they make, but rather due to "being born that way" or having a "natural family tendency" toward it.
I'm not sure how people wouldn't realize that having a big belly with all that extra visceral fat wrapped around the internal organs putting pressure on the heart and joints is unhealthy. I thought we all had health education in school. Plus, it's all over the media these days. I assumed that most people knew their obesity was unhealthy but just weren't doing anything about it. A lot of the overweight people I know readily admit to that. But I guess that's not the case for everyone. It's interesting that in this day and age some don't even know it's a problem.
Is it really possible that so many people don't know? And would more people do something about it if they knew it was a health risk?
You'd like to think that would be the case, but just look at how many smokers there are. Who doesn't know that will kill you?
I don't know, something something about glass houses. I smoke knowing it's bad for me. I also have had a life full of vices. I'm here today and my brother, who was pretty perfect (non-smoker, in shape, amazing dad and husband, etc...) is not because of driving while texting. So, to me texting or just being on the phone while driving is way way way more dangerous than smoking, but how many people do that? Do they call accidents second hand texting?
Dead is still dead regardless of the semantics regarding cause, affect and potential/actual risk.
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OP, my husband is your height and 20 lbs heavier, and has a flat belly - your belly is really large for the weight you are. And yes it's serious! My waist circumference was disproportionately high and sure enough, I was diagnosed with diabetes. Declare war on the belly before it declares war on you.6
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Yeah no im sorry your stomach is clearly unhealthily fat how is this even a question? Luckily your here and we can help you change your habits. But dont fool yourself.2
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HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
Pants sizes are unreliable guides to actual waist size, tending 2-4 inches smaller than the measurement. If he wears a size 40 but has them riding his hips, his actual waist is almost certainly larger than that. And a lot of guys have to resort to belts just because the contour of the belly doesn't allow for enough "grab" to keep pants up on their own.
For comparison, I'm 6'1" and 165 lbs., increasing somewhat as I've just started weight training. My true waist measurement taken right at my navel is something like 34 inches, but my jeans, which fit almost exactly until the denim relaxes and they become too loose, are size 30.
Try taking a tape measure to him. I bet he'll be in for a shock. (And will probably insist you're "measuring wrong".)
Not related to @HellYeahItsKriss's post, what do folks think of WHR as opposed to waist alone?3 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds
[snip]
His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet...
Are you familiar w/the clothing industry's practice of "vanity sizing"?
When my waist was 40, I could still wear 36" pants. They were tight but I refused to buy anything larger.
Now I can easily fit size 32" pants, which actually feel a bit large on me with a 33" waist, which means that I could probably still fit them if my waist was 34".
So, if your boyfriend can fit a size 40" pants, his waist is probably actually larger than that and my guess is that he could have a waist of 42 and still fit them w/room to spare.
If he'll let you, just measure his waist with a tailor's measuring tape to find out for sure. But, I doubt he'd let you do that becsuse it sounds like he's in denial and really doesn't want to know the truth.3 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
Pants sizes are unreliable guides to actual waist size, tending 2-4 inches smaller than the measurement. If he wears a size 40 but has them riding his hips, his actual waist is almost certainly larger than that. And a lot of guys have to resort to belts just because the contour of the belly doesn't allow for enough "grab" to keep pants up on their own.
For comparison, I'm 6'1" and 165 lbs., increasing somewhat as I've just started weight training. My true waist measurement taken right at my navel is something like 34 inches, but my jeans, which fit almost exactly until the denim relaxes and they become too loose, are size 30.
Try taking a tape measure to him. I bet he'll be in for a shock. (And will probably insist you're "measuring wrong".)
Not related to @HellYeahItsKriss's post, what do folks think of WHR as opposed to waist alone?
He's been wearing size 40's even when he was 198.. not really sure why, i assumed he must just feel more comfortable in pants that were a little bigger.. But they do sit on his hips so yes, with his chunk, he likely is bigger. and yeah, he would say that actually in a 50/50 joke serious kind of way.
However measuring him probably still wouldn't do anything..
A lot of his view points are absolutely infuriating, he is very narrow minded on a lot of things.
he used to be a lot worse then he is now.. so he can change.. however.. it needs to be inconveniencing him.. so in regards to the weight.. either he is going to have to get sick.. or his clothing will stop fitting.. but likely he won't do anything before that.0 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
Pants sizes are unreliable guides to actual waist size, tending 2-4 inches smaller than the measurement. If he wears a size 40 but has them riding his hips, his actual waist is almost certainly larger than that. And a lot of guys have to resort to belts just because the contour of the belly doesn't allow for enough "grab" to keep pants up on their own.
For comparison, I'm 6'1" and 165 lbs., increasing somewhat as I've just started weight training. My true waist measurement taken right at my navel is something like 34 inches, but my jeans, which fit almost exactly until the denim relaxes and they become too loose, are size 30.
Try taking a tape measure to him. I bet he'll be in for a shock. (And will probably insist you're "measuring wrong".)
Not related to @HellYeahItsKriss's post, what do folks think of WHR as opposed to waist alone?
He's been wearing size 40's even when he was 198.. not really sure why, i assumed he must just feel more comfortable in pants that were a little bigger.. But they do sit on his hips so yes, with his chunk, he likely is bigger. and yeah, he would say that actually in a 50/50 joke serious kind of way.
However measuring him probably still wouldn't do anything..
A lot of his view points are absolutely infuriating, he is very narrow minded on a lot of things.
he used to be a lot worse then he is now.. so he can change.. however.. it needs to be inconveniencing him.. so in regards to the weight.. either he is going to have to get sick.. or his clothing will stop fitting.. but likely he won't do anything before that.
Has he had his cholesterol checked? Have him become a caregiver for someone who has had a stroke or heart attack.1 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
Pants sizes are unreliable guides to actual waist size, tending 2-4 inches smaller than the measurement. If he wears a size 40 but has them riding his hips, his actual waist is almost certainly larger than that. And a lot of guys have to resort to belts just because the contour of the belly doesn't allow for enough "grab" to keep pants up on their own.
For comparison, I'm 6'1" and 165 lbs., increasing somewhat as I've just started weight training. My true waist measurement taken right at my navel is something like 34 inches, but my jeans, which fit almost exactly until the denim relaxes and they become too loose, are size 30.
Try taking a tape measure to him. I bet he'll be in for a shock. (And will probably insist you're "measuring wrong".)
Not related to @HellYeahItsKriss's post, what do folks think of WHR as opposed to waist alone?
He's been wearing size 40's even when he was 198.. not really sure why, i assumed he must just feel more comfortable in pants that were a little bigger.. But they do sit on his hips so yes, with his chunk, he likely is bigger. and yeah, he would say that actually in a 50/50 joke serious kind of way.
However measuring him probably still wouldn't do anything..
A lot of his view points are absolutely infuriating, he is very narrow minded on a lot of things.
he used to be a lot worse then he is now.. so he can change.. however.. it needs to be inconveniencing him.. so in regards to the weight.. either he is going to have to get sick.. or his clothing will stop fitting.. but likely he won't do anything before that.
Has he had his cholesterol checked? Have him become a caregiver for someone who has had a stroke or heart attack.
Not in the last 8 months. He has been to the doctor once in that time but only to get a psoriasis cream. Don't think he would go get it done anyway, he would probably tell me he feels fine so there probably isn't anything wrong. Its going to be a challenge if he does get health issues that require medication since he does not believe in medications at all. He thinks my eating disorder medications aren't real.. his opinion is, I just need to stop binge eating and just not do it. LOL -- then when i went on my lamoTrigen meds for my mood swings, before i even started them he told me they weren't going to work and i would just use PMS as a reason to be moody anyway. HOWEVER.. he does take sleeping pills, I do believe i asked him once why he would think pills/meds are a joke and don't work and yet he takes sleeping pills and they work, I wish i could remember the answer..
I don't know if his line of thought has something to do with his brain injury or not.. after coming out of his 4 month coma and spending a lot of time in rehab, cause they had to teach him how to walk and talk and swallow again, he has a lot of significant memory problems.. but one of the big things about him is that the accident happened when he was 24 and he is 39 now, but he is kind of stuck at 24 years old mentally in some cases, he also is kind of stuck in a time warp, all he talks about is his life before the accident, its like everything after that is blank, like he's just been sitting in a white room with nothing going on at all. Sometimes i think all his views are simply because when we are younger, we sometimes think very differently about things until we smarten up some.. *sometimes* lol.. Which is why i think it takes something to inconvenience him before he will change, and i have learned that trying to convince him of something other then what he thinks is a waste of energy, I will mention things but i have to let him do with the information what he wishes.1 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »...
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs...
Oh, wow! Way to rationalize! LOL. There are fatter people than me out there, so therefore I'm doing great? Well, even when you're 600 pounds there's always gonna be someone bigger. Just because there's an 800 pound dude doesn't make 600 pounds somehow better. The 600 pound guy might actually be in worse shape health-wise depending on various individual factors. Both are risky. Just because you "aren't as bad" as the next guy, doesn't mean you're doing great.
Hopefully he'll come around sooner rather than later. Seems like the longer you let it go, the harder it is to reverse the damage. It's awesome that you seem to be on the right track, though! 
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Very similar proportions to my husband.
Except he is 53 and lives in the land of Denial.
That is until recently.
As a type two diabetic, he has been eating what he wants.
Taking medication and laughing about his Beer belly.
That is until he was told he will now be on Inslin for the rest of his life and that he has permanent liver damage.
You have the opportunity to reverse your Beer belly!
That is toxic fat that is choking your internal organs and damaging them.
You might be young, but that won’t guarantee you can’t contract disease because of belly fat.
Act now. Lose that belly fat and do it now-
Before your second chances are gone.4 -
thats more than a little beer belly
my Fiance is 47 years old, 5'6, 150 and a 28/30" waist.
work on bettering your health, before you start to have problems.
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You're like me. Your waist isn't too big; you're just too short. If I was 7'10" my weight would be ideal.15
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Your gut looks much bigger than 5' 10" 181, no offense. It's definitely not healthy. You need to lose weight, so stop making excuses! For reference, I currently have a 44" waist and I am 23 pounds into the "obese" category. At my current rate, I will be out of obese in about 6 weeks.
You want a <36" waist as a male. That doesn't mean get 36" and stop either, 36" is the upper limit of healthy. You want to be about 150-160 at your height, if you do no lifting.
Don't know where you're getting that. 39.5/40 is what all the current research says.0 -
HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
It isn't just the waist measurement, the "beer bellies" in all of the pictures on this thread are there due to visceral fat. Much healthier to have the uglier jiggly fat than those hardish bellies that look like the guy is pregnant or just swallowed a basketball.5 -
mburgess458 wrote: »HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »Your post made me giggle simply because you remind me of my boyfriend.
He is 6 feet tall and 226 pounds, I took this picture of him the other night...
He keeps saying "Its not that bad" and i keep saying to him "Okay, whatever you need to do to rationalize it"
He too says he doesn't consider himself over weight and backs it up by adding that he has a better body then other guys close to 40 with big fat stomachs.. His pants are size 40 but he still uses a belt to keep them up so my guess is he isn't quite to a 40 inch waist yet.. however, When i met him he was 198 pounds, he is excessively over eating on calories (clearly) however won't take any of my advice because he believes the 30 min of cardio every second day that he is doing is fine. I worry about him because he's pretty deluded about life in general so until he gets sick, he won't change. I hope you are more willing to listen to the advice here then he would be.
It isn't just the waist measurement, the "beer bellies" in all of the pictures on this thread are there due to visceral fat. Much healthier to have the uglier jiggly fat than those hardish bellies that look like the guy is pregnant or just swallowed a basketball.
Oh.. yes, we are expecting twins.. he's even picked out some very terrible names. lol
Lol hard to believe he almost kinda sorta had abs before he met me.. im like krytonite lol
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mburgess458 wrote: »
It isn't just the waist measurement, the "beer bellies" in all of the pictures on this thread are there due to visceral fat. Much healthier to have the uglier jiggly fat than those hardish bellies that look like the guy is pregnant or just swallowed a basketball.
yep, all of this. my husband is not overweight, in fact he's slim, apart from developing one of these (as did his dad). However he has recently tackled the problem, and is back into size 34 work pants, and they are held up with a belt. It's a very unhealthy for men to develop a stomach like this, it places a lot of stress on the internal organs or so I've read?
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does....he know you're posting his pics here?10
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Actually the conversation this morning amused me.. "I posted the picture of your pregnancy belly on MFP"
and he said "Did you also post my phone number so that all the old men can contact me?"
and i said "No, but if you want i will post your sexy picture if no old men show any interest and then i will"
and he said "Okay but make sure they are my type, I like them old"
and then he went to work.12 -
mburgess458 wrote: »...those hardish bellies that look like the guy is pregnant or just swallowed a basketball.
Whenever I see those bellies (and that's quite frequently, actually, and on younger and younger guys these days) I automatically think heart attack and low testosterone. It just flashes into my mind first thing. And not in a judgmental way. I feel concern, like, "I hope that guy's gonna be alright...looks like he's on the way out." (I've known several round-bellied guys with serious early-onset health complications, like diabetic-related sepsis at age 28, heart attack at 33, etc...) I know a person is not their body, but as a health-conscious person, it's an association I make unconsciously. I keep it to myself in RL, though. No need to hurt anyone's feelings.
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mburgess458 wrote: »...those hardish bellies that look like the guy is pregnant or just swallowed a basketball.
Whenever I see those bellies (and that's quite frequently, actually, and on younger and younger guys these days) I automatically think heart attack and low testosterone. It just flashes into my mind first thing. And not in a judgmental way. I feel concern, like, "I hope that guy's gonna be alright...looks like he's on the way out." (I've known several round-bellied guys with serious early-onset health complications, like diabetic-related sepsis at age 28, heart attack at 33, etc...) I know a person is not their body, but as a health-conscious person, it's an association I make unconsciously. I keep it to myself in RL, though. No need to hurt anyone's feelings.
I know you are trying to be helpful but honestly your posts on here have been a bit over dramatic. Listing off anecdotes of people you know who have almost died from X and you causally linking that to them having a gut is not actually accurate medical advice. What matters is the population averages and epidemiological studies that have been done associated with weight and they aren't nearly as dire as you are making them out to be. Having a gut as a young man doesn't mean you are "on your way out". Is it perfectly healthy? No. Would they benefit from losing weight? Yes. Are they about to die? No, come on. There is no need to blow it out of proportion. A person can be encouraged to take action without the need to fear-monger unnecessarily which can often be demotivating. I mean are you intending your posts to be encouraging? I'm guessing the guy has a doctor and when he goes into the doctor I'm guessing the doctor has eyeballs. If the guys condition was really as dire as you seem to be implying solely based on his gut do you not think some sort of intervention from his doctor would have occurred?
OP if you happen to still be reading don't read me the wrong way here, you definitely should endevour to lose some weight for your overall future health.18 -
Shorelivin42 wrote: »Hey all,
Recently put on some weight and was reading up about waist size. I was a little shocked to find out that my waist size is unhealthy and apparently puts me at risk. I am 24 yo, 5'10", 181 lbs with a 42 inch waist. I've gained about 15 lbs in the last 8 months or so and probably 5 inches on my waist. I'm okay with it but I know I've got a little beer belly now and I'm definitely a bit softer in the middle than I was LOL but I was shocked to see that a waist over 40 inches is considered very unhealthy. Should I consider losing weight for health reasons? Is anybody else surprised?! LOL 
Very unhealthy. With that much around your waist, you probably have a significant amount around your heart.2 -
Thanks for the advice all! The honesty has been sort of a reality check. I've got to get back to eating healthy and staying in shape9
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Shorelivin42 wrote: »Thanks for the advice all! The honesty has been sort of a reality check. I've got to get back to eating healthy and staying in shape
Best of luck.1 -
Just a note that pant size <> waist size. I can get into 36W, but my waist is over 40". I've got a ways to go yet.1
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https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20120605/waist-size-alone-may-predict-diabetes-risk#1
Waist size is the best predictor of diabetes. You are 22x (twenty-two times) more likely than a healthy male to get diabetes, which would make you much more likely to die each year of a heart condition, go blind, or lose your feet.
If I were you, I would start a daily walking program and start modifying my diet today.1 -
As much as we all disdain BMI as a health metric, this is a good example of where it can actually come in handy - to help people who don't know they may be overweight at least ask the right questions.2
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As much as we all disdain BMI as a health metric, this is a good example of where it can actually come in handy - to help people who don't know they may be overweight at least ask the right questions.
I have to disagree. If people don't realize they are overweight after looking in the mirror and seeing bodies like those shown in this thread, no type of metric like BMI is going to help. Nothing is going to get through that level of denial.11
This discussion has been closed.
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