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Do you measure your waist right at the belly button?

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Replies

  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,370 Member
    I only measure for the sake of buying clothing so my waist measurement is taken where I bend, also where a waistband would sit. That's a couple inches above my belly button. Hip measurement is the absolute widest part and is quite low. I want the clothing to fit, after all!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,131 Member
    edited August 2021
    Many people have sagging or even reconstructed belly buttons, how do we account for that?

    Top of hip bone (iliac crest).
    Bottom of lowest rib
    Halfway between
    Use mirror
    Make sure tape is parallel to floor

    Oh look I already said that in the past and one person disagreed...

    http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2007/03/14/dc07-9921.full.pdf

    Page 4, take your pick of what you want to use...
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I measure natural waist (the narrowest point on my torso from a front view, a bit above my bellybutton, common for women) as well as my waistband (where the top of my pants actually sit, which is right below the bellybutton). I have one of those B-shaped tummies.
  • All4Christ12
    All4Christ12 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one frustrated by the inconsistency in waist descriptions. I get sooo angry at the way that every website either fails to define 'waist' or 'natural waist' at all, or equates just above the belly button with the narrowest point, which is insanity on my torso. Any professional in fitness, nutrition, or health who does so should be reprimanded for their incompetence (and honestly that isn't nearly as severe as what I really feel like saying, though I trust my mind more than my heart on this one).

    For me, the narrowest point is nearly 4 inches above the belly button, and this equates to a 5 inch circumferential difference. Without a clear definition of 'waist' or 'natural waist' assessments like waist-to-hip ratio or 'waist less than X' are utterly meaningless, putting me in completely different health categories. Like others here, I do what I can by monitoring multiple points which at least tells me something about changes. It is fascinating to me to hear that someone on here is my opposite, with their navel at their narrowest point.

    Searching today, I was glad to see that at least some in the garment industry are starting to study such variations in women's bodies but why isn't the medical world where it seems like a far more obvious and significant issue to me? But then I've had more exposure to the medical world than I have had to sewing.

    And what really confuses me is that despite my apparently extremely high distance between my belly button and narrowest waist, and my roommate's describing me as long-waisted, I have had issues with jeans going up too high on me, especially back in my middle-school years where I looked like a doofus with them running up my rib cage. Even now, I recently bought a pair of jeans that were supposed to be 'mid-rise' that were 'high-rise' on me. Granted, they were only 'short' instead of my usual 'petite.' Is it possible to be half long-waisted and half short-waisted? My belly button seems to be normal placement relative to my hips. I guess the garment industry really does have obvious reasons to study such things.
  • All4Christ12
    All4Christ12 Posts: 2 Member
    edited December 2023
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    I think both the 40" for men/35" for women and the waist-to-hip ratio use the natural waist. This is almost completely a pure assumption on my part, with my only claim to authority being that my recollections (so, obviously fallible) of being measured for health assessments by either medical personnel or physical trainers has been at the natural waist.

    Yeah but what is the 'natural waist?' Top result in an internet search says "Your natural waist is the measurement you take around the smallest area of your torso or just above your belly button." THOSE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACES AND MEASURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (FYI, I'm yelling at them, not you, since you aren't the one claiming to be an expert.)

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,131 Member
    edited December 2023
    Oh look, it's the same thread again... and my answer(s) remain the same! 😵‍💫🤔😎🤷‍♂️😘
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,321 Member
    isn't smaller .. smaller? as long as any number goes down.. ? right.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 1,067 Member
    i, too, measure my waist at its smallest point.
  • ddsb1111
    ddsb1111 Posts: 857 Member
    edited December 2023
    All4Christ12 wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    I think both the 40" for men/35" for women and the waist-to-hip ratio use the natural waist. This is almost completely a pure assumption on my part, with my only claim to authority being that my recollections (so, obviously fallible) of being measured for health assessments by either medical personnel or physical trainers has been at the natural waist.

    Yeah but what is the 'natural waist?' Top result in an internet search says "Your natural waist is the measurement you take around the smallest area of your torso or just above your belly button." THOSE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACES AND MEASURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (FYI, I'm yelling at them, not you, since you aren't the one claiming to be an expert.)

    Actually, your waist *is* just above your belly button, at the smallest part. Whether that is 3,4,5 inches, it doesn’t matter. It’s not possible to tell everyone a distance because it’s different on everyone. Try to focus on the purpose which is to measure the same spot for changes. Honestly, anger like this over nothing will get you filmed on TikTok someday. It’s not worth it 🙏🏻🩷

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