waist should be less than half your height

tony56pr · November 2014

6'-0" and my waist was 57" yeah I was obese. Now, 32.5" so lost 2 feet + around my equator lol

fatcity66 · November 2014

I have always understood women were supposed to measure their "waist" at the smallest part. For me, that is way above my navel, right under my ribcage. At 5'9", my true waist is currently 35 inches, so I need to lose an inch to get in the healthy range. I still want to lose at least 40 lbs, so I'm sure it will happen.

It does depress me a bit, as my waist used to always be smaller, even when I weighed more. I would love to get back to the 29 inches it was at a healthy weight. *sigh* I will keep working at it.

Sued0nim · November 2014

From NHS

To measure your waist:
find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips
breathe out naturally
wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points to find your measurement

You have a higher risk of health problems if your waist size is:
more than 94cm (37 inches) if you're a man
more than 80cm (31.5 inches) if you're a woman

Your risk of health problems is even higher if your waist size is:
more than 102cm (40 inches) if you're a man
more than 88cm (34.5 inches) if you're a woman

GaleHawkins · November 2014

I just need to be taller and I will be fine.

fatcity66 · November 2014

NHS is the UK, right? Since I'm American, I'll assume that doesn't apply to me.

amusedmonkey · November 2014

This is interesting.. I'm officially obese and still have 22 pounds to be considered overweight (and about 55 pounds to be at the very top-end of healthy BMI), yet I only need to lose 2 more inches for my waist to be half my height. I may become an obese person with a healthy waist to height ratio.. weight is a weird thing.

Sued0nim · November 2014

fatcity66 wrote: »

NHS is the UK, right? Since I'm American, I'll assume that doesn't apply to me.

Sued0nim · November 2014

amusedmonkey wrote: »

This is interesting.. I'm officially obese and still have 22 pounds to be considered overweight (and about 55 pounds to be at the very top-end of healthy BMI), yet I only need to lose 2 more inches for my waist to be half my height. I may become an obese person with a healthy waist to height ratio.. weight is a weird thing.

I have 10lbs to go to reach my maximum BMI range of 25, but my waist is 42% of my height - genetics

ScientificExplorerGirl · November 2014

Very easy for hour-glass or pear shapes. At a 33.75" waist my hips would be at 50" (Just guessing!). Definitely would like to be <<< on this one :-)

999tigger · November 2014

vismal wrote: »

To the people saying they "don't agree", what exactly do you not agree with? Unless you object to the way this study was designed the results are the results. You must also understand a correlation is just that, a correlation. We know smoking is highly correlated with lung cancer. We also know plenty of people who smoke and have never had lung cancer. Having a waist 2x > height does not guarantee healthy problems, you are simply at more risk to develop them then someone who does not have waist 2x > height.

This +1

People should read the article, understand what it is saying and why. For goodness sake no wonder there is so much misunderstanding.

Lol@ the people who deemed to flag the OP for posting a legitimate article from a national newspaper about legitimate medical research. Get a grip.

schle009 · November 2014

I like this better than BMI. I always thought I had a rather large waist...sitting at 33" and 5'7" (67) so just barely there, but I've more to lose.

lemurcat12 · November 2014

amusedmonkey wrote: »

This is interesting.. I'm officially obese and still have 22 pounds to be considered overweight (and about 55 pounds to be at the very top-end of healthy BMI), yet I only need to lose 2 more inches for my waist to be half my height. I may become an obese person with a healthy waist to height ratio.. weight is a weird thing.

This probably isn't all that uncommon; definitely being overweight with an acceptable waist to height ratio is common for women. That's part of the point--fat around the thighs, hips, butt, and breasts isn't likely to be as dangerous as that around the middle.

My waist to height ratio is fine now, but I do tend to hold weight in the middle, so I had to be at a healthy BMI before that was the case. I am curious if there's any effort to also look at other factors, since waists may be thicker for structural reasons--my sister and I are both built with little distance between top of the hips and bottom of the ribs, and her waist wasn't terribly narrow even at 5'3, 110 and quite fit (I've never been that light as an adult), but it also at least was distinctly less than half her height.

Iwishyouwell · November 2014

tony56pr wrote: »

6'-0" and my waist was 57" yeah I was obese. Now, 32.5" so lost 2 feet + around my equator lol

That's a stunning transformation.

How'd your skin rebound?

peachyfuzzle · November 2014

I would need to be at 36.5" in this case. Considering that I was able to fit into a 34 at one point, this is completely in the realm of possibility for me.

sheldonklein · November 2014

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

I would need to be at 36.5" in this case. Considering that I was able to fit into a 34 at one point, this is completely in the realm of possibility for me.

Waist > pant size. My waist is 5-6" larger than my pant size. I assume that gap will shrink as I lose more weiight, but I don't see how I can ever hit the guideline

Kalikel · November 2014

Depending on where you measure, I'm either very close or two inches away. I'll get there.

My waist really goes in, though. I have a lot of fat left to lose! Some women are naturally more boxy and could be much thinner than I am with the same measurements.

I only want to add those last two years if they're good ones, though. If I'm going to be spending them mostly in the hospital and dottering around, not knowing my son and pooping my pants, I'm okay with skipping those years. If only we knew!