Where to measure waist and hips (for men)?

CopperB73
CopperB73 Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know this has come up before, but searching the forum hasn't completely answered my questions, so I hope old hands can bear this appearing again.

Older posts say to measure waist measurement around the navel (belly button) for men (situation seems to be a bit different for women, but that's not relevant to me right now!)

Hips - older posts (mostly in answer to questions by women, I think) say to measure "the widest part". Always the widest part, wherever that is, including if that changes during weight loss. That's often going to result in quite a low site of measurement -around the backside or even top of thighs - not the bit I'd point to if someone told me to point to my hip. So is that right for men too?
For men, very low measurements might end up going around the genitals. Well, perhaps "hooray if that's the widest part" :wink: :blushing: but that would seem to confuse things if your'e just trying to measure body fat. So is the hip measuring system different for men?

Lastly, since really the only person its useful to compare myself with is me, does it really matter provided I'm consistent about what I measure?

Anything else I should know to get helpful results out of these measurements?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    The most important thing is to be consistent, but yeah, sometimes it can seem awfully low on the hips for measuring, but it is the widest part that you measure at. Even as a female, my hip measurement isn't even close to where my actual hip bone is, but the comparison between that and your waist is needed for hip/waist ratios (a determinant of heart disease and other factors).
  • Letje_Lux
    Letje_Lux Posts: 31
    My boyfriend just measures around the biggest part of his stomach, because that's all he really cares about shrinking. For guys, the biggest part tends to be between the belly button and hips.

    So, I'd probably get the smallest measurement and the biggest measurement around your midsection.
  • CopperB73
    CopperB73 Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks for these replies!
    :smile:
  • crobeyc
    crobeyc Posts: 2
    For men the two places you should measure are just below the belly button about 1inch ,,making sure that the tape measure is even on each side of the spare tire. The waist is measured just above the hip bone.
    Hope this helps.
  • absentmindedhousewife
    absentmindedhousewife Posts: 68 Member
    I'm a seamstress. In sewing it matters that we measure the waist where you bend. So if you bend at the waist forward, or side to side, the crease is where I measure. Typically that is a little higher than the belly button for most people.

    For the hips, it's around the biggest part of the backside, level to the floor.

    Then I may make several measurements in between the waist and the hipline, both horizontally and vertically. When fitting clothes I get a good picture of where to put waistlines, seams and tucks to make clothes fit.

    However, since I've been measuring for weight loss, I measure around where the weight is laying. That's around my belly button, level to the floor, and around the fullest part of my backside. I also take an underbust measurement because I've noticed that I was gaining weight around my back.

    I think what's important here is that you're consistent with where you're measuring. If your body changes, just take a lower or higher measurement but call it something different. Measure your hips, then maybe a higher measurement above the pubic line, then the waist along the belly button. If you have a belly, you can take a vertical measurement from the end of the sternum to the pubic bone. Then you can compare these new measurements from month to month, along with the old, or just abandon the old altogether.
  • absentmindedhousewife
    absentmindedhousewife Posts: 68 Member
    Adding...

    Know that when you measure yourself, because of the way your body bends, you can have some measurements off by full inches or more. People do a little better at this if they can measure in front of a mirror. (The waist and hip measurement isn't too picky in this regard.) When I sew for people, I prefer to do the measuring but if that's not possible, I strongly recommend getting a measuring buddy.
  • CopperB73
    CopperB73 Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks, that's very helpful. Good point that MFP will track as many bespoke measurements as I might wish.

    In my case, the bend line is level with navel, and is also level with top of hip bones (long pelvis and long legs, short back). Getting a good fit in trousers has never been easy :)
  • CopperB73
    CopperB73 Posts: 39 Member
    Adding...

    Know that when you measure yourself, because of the way your body bends, you can have some measurements off by full inches or more. People do a little better at this if they can measure in front of a mirror. (The waist and hip measurement isn't too picky in this regard.) When I sew for people, I prefer to do the measuring but if that's not possible, I strongly recommend getting a measuring buddy.

    That's a very good tip - I recently got someone to measure me, then had to get them to do it again, since the measurement was several inches larger than my selfie. Their official measurement also wasn't expecting fro the sizing on clothes that fit me.
  • Flex382
    Flex382 Posts: 257
    Waist 1 inch below belly button and hips the most widest part
  • foodiscomplicated
    foodiscomplicated Posts: 85 Member
    WHO Waist Circumference Measurement Technique

    The World Health Organization measures the waist as the "midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest (hip bone)." This is also a horizontal measure. The measurement should be taken without clothing and at the end of a normal exhalation.
    NIH Waist Circumference Measurement Technique

    The National Institutes of Health recommends the waist circumference measurement be measured at the "intersection of mid-axillary line with the uppermost lateral border of the right iliac crest in normal minimum respiration." The mid-axillary line is an imaginary line that passes vertically down the body from the apex of the armpit, according to Biology-online.org.
    Umbilicus Waist Circumference Measurement

    Some studies and organizations will measure the waist circumference at the bellybutton. This is a horizontal measure also. Organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine would classify this measurement location as the abdominal circumference measurement, a separate measurement from waist circumference.
  • WisCowboy
    WisCowboy Posts: 8
    I am dusting off this old post because it is somewhat similar to the question that I want to ask. I hope that someone here in the community will have an answer.

    My weight loss has been quite the fun journey thus far. I have been keeping little goals, meeting them, and then setting a new goal to reach. Some of these are physical goals and others are weights that I was at at one time in my life. About 2 or 3 months ago, I was finally able to get into some jeans that I had not been able to wear for over 3 years. As the weeks have past on, I have needed to use an old belt and even punch in some new holes with my leather punch. The jeans state that they are 38 x 30.

    Because the pants said 38 waist, that is what I put in for my measurement because I did not have a tape measure at the time. However, I found a sewing cloth tape measure today and put it at where my pants ride at and at my hip bone. I was a little surprised that my waist measured at 39 since my pants are so baggy. So, I measured the pants and it was 42 1/2 inches at the waist buttoned. I used another tape measure to compare to the other one and both were rather accurate to each other.

    So, I want to know if perhaps by my wearing the jeans previously, I stretched the cloth out by a whole 4+ inches. Or, are pants manufacturers taking a que from the fast food restaurants. Such as, when I was a kid, a medium 21oz drink is now a small, and a 32oz large drink is now a medium; same as their french fries and other affair at the stores. I did notice that my 38-40 inch waist boxers were changed from size Large to Medium now. Is this a ploy to make Americans feel better about their obesity???

    Please and thank you to all who can help me out.

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