40 inch waist really that bad for a male?
Replies
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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?2 -
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?7 -
FWIW, other than just looking at the shape and size of your belly, if you want an actual measurement of your VAT, only a DXA scan will give it to you.
I have been getting a DXA scan around every 3 months since Aug 2016 and, during that time, my VAT dropped in volume from 41.51 to 8.74 cu inches and dropped in weight from 1.41# down to 0.30# as of Aug 2017. Don't think it can get much lower than that.
My total BF as measured by DXA dropped from 20.3% down to 13.4% but BF as measured by hydro dropped from 16.9% down to 10.9% over roughly the same time period. Hydro always gives me a result about 2-3% less than DXA.
Due for another DXA scan shortly.1 -
FWIW, other than just looking at the shape and size of your belly, if you want an actual measurement of your VAT, only a DXA scan will give it to you.
I have been getting a DXA scan around every 3 months since Aug 2016 and, during that time, my VAT dropped in volume from 41.51 to 8.74 cu inches and dropped in weight from 1.41# down to 0.30# as of Aug 2017. Don't think it can get much lower than that.
My total BF as measured by DXA dropped from 20.3% down to 13.4% but BF as measured by hydro dropped from 16.9% down to 10.9% over roughly the same time period. Hydro always gives me a result about 2-3% less than DXA.
Due for another DXA scsn shortly.
Your quest for precision mirrors my own and your results surpass mine.
And even though I did my first scan when I was still morbidly obese, a scan is not necessary in order to opine that a clearly identifiable beer belly, is an indication of excess fat in the abdominal region.*
The op is here and obviously planning on doing something about this. Which is good.
*I use the term indication because technically it could also be due to other issues having to do with one's health.
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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.
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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.
That looks like me, though I am a bit worse (6' 1" 241 current after 11 pounds down). I was in complete denial until recently, always advertising myself as "chubby" when I was actually 30 pounds into "obese" category.
He's probably the same, and unless he gets motivation he will never change and continue to get bigger. People blink and are 200 pounds overweight because they can't see the small changes over a long period of time.1 -
Wait, in your OP you said 42"...? Not 40"?3
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The rule of thumb is that your waist needs to be < 2x your height to be "healthy." So, if you're 80" (6'8") tall or taller, you should be fine w/a waist of 40".
Otherwise, you probably are at risk for health problems commonly associated w/obesity, including but not limited to diabetes and heart disease.
BTW, I'm 5'8" (68") tall and when I weighed 196 my waist was 40". Now that I weigh 158, my waist is 33" within the <2x height standard.
Yeah, I'm 6'2", 205 weight about 205, age 61. My waist as measured at a physical recently was 36" so well within the 2X height standard. I know sizes are all over the place, but I wear waist size 34 Levi's and need a belt.
The guys who have their bellies pictured need to work on that stuff, not good for health.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.
That looks like me, though I am a bit worse (6' 1" 241 current after 11 pounds down). I was in complete denial until recently, always advertising myself as "chubby" when I was actually 30 pounds into "obese" category.
He's probably the same, and unless he gets motivation he will never change and continue to get bigger. People blink and are 200 pounds overweight because they can't see the small changes over a long period of time.
Oh i know he won't.. he won't do anything unless he has to.. like going to work and paying the bills.
When it came to that picture i took, he got up to go to the bathroom and came back out and lifted his shirt and said "See, its not that bad when i stand up".. lol.. so.. yeah...
Its going to be a huge struggle for him.. when i mentioned him being really deluded about things, i feel like his beliefs are what is probably stopping him from doing something now and probably make things harder when he does.. because outside of the fact that he believes its not that bad and that his 30 min of cardio every second day must be doing something.. He will sometimes verbally acknowledge the fact that he is fat and that he just isn't trying hard enough.. which is true.. he isn't.. however, he also believes that if he did try and just did a bit more cardio that the weight he put on would just come off within a couple weeks.
We both put on some weight, 28 pounds for him and 51 pounds for me. I have since taken 20 off. He believes his fatness is different from my fatness though. He thinks im fat because i used to be fat, so it is expected that i would be fat again and gain weight faster then him cause he was never fat growing up. Which is what he uses to support his thinking about it only taking a couple weeks to lose the weight he gained. When i bought an elliptical, I only did/do cardio on saturdays for 90 min. The rest of the week i just used calorie deficit. He asked me if i had been using it and i said yes and mentioned the 90 min on saturdays and his response was "Well.. i guess that's something..." because he really firmly believes that going to the gym / working out is the only way to not be fat.
He just won't acknowledge the fact that calorie surplus may have something else to do with it, When we first met we both worked out a lot more then we do now, but i knew that when i decided to take this weight off that i also had to change my eating habits with my exercise. Even if he went back to doing cardio every time he went to the gym, it might help a little but i don't think it will be as easy as he thinks its going to be, especially since I have watched his eating habits change over time.. he's gone from diet pop back to regular, he is eating 1/2 a tub of ice cream in one sitting instead of a bowl. He is buying much larger tubs of gummy candy and is constantly grabbing handfuls out of the container. These things alone coupled with his eating habits before, because he still grates half a block of cheese onto frozen pizza when he cooks it, actually he grates cheese on everything lol.. He is eating out a lot more then he used to, His portion sizes have grown, he came over for dinner last night, once a week i cook a new recipe from pinterest and we try it.. i made a pot of beef chili cheese pasta, I had 1 serving of it and he ate the rest. my serving was 548 calories, his was 1644.. he also added extra grated cheese on top of it. I also had made dessert that night, so 386 calories for that as well. I have no idea what he would of eaten when he got up, Sundays is usually breakfast at his grandparents and all i know is that its usually from a fast food place, mcdonalds would be my guess.
based on how much of a change he's had with his eating habits and he just can't seem to stop and go back, i feel like he may have a hard time sticking to the change for the length of time its going to take now to lose the 28.. which at this point will be a few months.. the more he gains the longer and longer the time its going to take.. since you can't force someone to do something until they are ready to do it.. i really hope for his sake its not once he hits 50 or more pounds..3 -
Well let me tell you. I am 51yo and when I was about your age I was at the same height and weight. fast forward 25 years later and I am 215lbs and my highest was 235lbs.
You dont want to go down the road I have already traveled and gain anymore. While you still have a better metabolism and youth get in control of your diet and exercise. Have you had your cholesterol checked?2 -
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! 
6
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