waist should be less than half your height

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Replies

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Yeah, that might work if you are an apple shape, but even at my heaviest my waist was still showing my height at 4 inches too short. lol. Right now at maintenance goal I'd be 4'1" tall instead of 5'8". So, no, this is kind of a useless measurement.
    Did you READ the article? Even skim it?
  • legless11
    legless11 Posts: 21 Member
    Yeah, that might work if you are an apple shape, but even at my heaviest my waist was still showing my height at 4 inches too short. lol. Right now at maintenance goal I'd be 4'1" tall instead of 5'8". So, no, this is kind of a useless measurement.
    Did you READ the article? Even skim it?

    The best thing about this thread is you answering everyone who has got the wrong end of the stick, loving your work.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,211 Member
    So I'd need to lose 20cm off my waist... seems reasonable. That's only 7.8".

    ETA: LOL this thread is funny. Just to add to the funny, I just measured my waist at my desk, using my phone charger cord, which I then measured with a ruler :D
  • knoelledi
    knoelledi Posts: 91 Member
    My body shape is rectangle with boobs. I don't fit into any 'norm'. I'm 5'2 so I'd have to have a 31" waist. In the 20 lbs I've lost I still haven't gotten under 40" I'm screwed!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Yeah, that might work if you are an apple shape, but even at my heaviest my waist was still showing my height at 4 inches too short. lol. Right now at maintenance goal I'd be 4'1" tall instead of 5'8". So, no, this is kind of a useless measurement.
    Did you READ the article? Even skim it?

    The best thing about this thread is you answering everyone who has got the wrong end of the stick, loving your work.
    If only MFP had allowed me to have a longer topic line lol.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    ^^ ...but it's so much funnier when people misunderstand and think they need to be taller because of their waist measurements!

    On a side note, it seems like this would be a great way to determine goal weight, for those who aren't sure. As long as you are satisfied with your weight AND your waist measurement is less than half your height measurement, you are good to go.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    What are we talking here? Smallest part? Naval? Where my pants fit?
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Amazing how many people seem unable to comprehend the phrase "LESS THAN".
  • bethanyboomstick
    bethanyboomstick Posts: 52 Member
    I'm 5'7", so... 33.5". Not bad. Better than people telling me my waist should be 25", cause that just ain't happening.
  • majigurl
    majigurl Posts: 660 Member
    29 here.. I need to get that waist to shrink! :/
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    According to a new study being reported in various news outlets:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/11080588/Key-to-a-long-life-is-a-waist-measuring-less-than-half-your-height.html

    Cool, I can lose 14" (35.56cm) in height and I will still be A-okay.... ;-)
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    Hm.

    38"
    5' 8" = 68"
    68"/2 = 34"

    Need to lose 4 inches.

    Weight = 200.6 lbs
    Goal = 170.0 lbs (for starters. will reassess based on body composition)

    I think I lost about an inch per 10 lbs so far, so I'd need to get down to 160 lbs to hit the target waist measurement. My natural shape is pretty slab-sided. As someone above said--"a box with boobs".
  • laurarsolar
    laurarsolar Posts: 6 Member
    Mine is about 30". I'm only 5 feet tall! I am 133 pounds, I am confused on how everyone has such small waists!! But mostly just jealous lol
  • LumberJacck
    LumberJacck Posts: 559 Member
    I'm going to go against the grain here by saying that your waist measurement should be at most half your height is using an arbitrary value (half), as if by magic nature decided that half of your height was a "safe" boundary for any illnesses or diseases caused by fat.

    That's more arbitrary than using 18.5, 25 and 30 BMI numbers (since there are 3 BMI numbers), this ratio uses only one.

    I'd rather see 2 or 3 percentages of height for a guide as for health predictions than one.
  • Sie_Con
    Sie_Con Posts: 101 Member
    my height: 5 11" - 71 inches
    my waist should be less than : 35.5"
    my waist currently: 39.5"
    starting waist measurement: 43"

    I'm almost half way there!
    4 inches to go! But I'm sure I'll want to go further :)
  • LaReinaDeCorazones
    LaReinaDeCorazones Posts: 274 Member
    Mine is about 30". I'm only 5 feet tall! I am 133 pounds, I am confused on how everyone has such small waists!! But mostly just jealous lol
    Lol it just depends on body type. ..when I was 140 lbs I had a 25 in waist...I'm an hourglass, that's all...
  • MaidensAndMonsters
    MaidensAndMonsters Posts: 89
    Need to be at 35 and am at 31 :) YAY me
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    Need a 34, have a 31, still overweight according to BMI (and I carry my fat in my belly, so it's not because I'm fat elsewhere).

    I'm just going to stick with body fat%, it may not be as easy to measure, but it tells you what you actually need to know.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    Oh yay! I'm fine.
  • Adpalangi
    Adpalangi Posts: 349 Member
    That's awesome! You will do this!
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I need less than a 35" waist and I'm at 29". Whoo hoo!!!!
  • Adpalangi
    Adpalangi Posts: 349 Member
    I am 5ft tall, and I would need to have a 30" waist, if I am understanding correctly. The other program I use with MFP , is giving me for an ideal waist of 22.. That's a 8inch difference...wonder why.
    Anyway according to this rule I am 2" less than the 30", (half of my 5 ft height.). I do like the sound of that better. But I intended to go for what looks good in the mirror, so I think 22 is way low, I also think 30 is too high. May be half Inbetween will work for me something like 26" . During this 26lbs loss, my tape measure has not been too good for me.
  • imogendarling
    imogendarling Posts: 3
    if this was true, my waist should be about 31 inches or less. my waist is legitmately about 22 inches, so i can't even imagine how big 31 inches would be. and my bmi is about 20, so i cant imagine being that big. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, i just find it odd.
  • Betti2
    Betti2 Posts: 30 Member
    Holy crap I need to lose 2 inches in my waist back to 32 inches this is going to be some challenge
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    This sounds too arbitrary to apply to everyone. But is a useful yardstick. Kind of like BMI.

    By it's reckoning I need to be under 37" Which is about 4" away. But the key point I think is u gotta be under. I think a 35" waist is a good target for me. By these standards. But fact is my hip measurement hits bone at 37" So if I had a waist less than 37" wouldn't I start being an hourglass? Or am i totally off base.
  • ElkeKNJ
    ElkeKNJ Posts: 207 Member
    Probably a bit redundand by now, but here is my contribution.
    The item hit our evening's news yesterday.
    Apparantly, this is meant to keep your belly fat in check, which is the most dangerous fat in the body.
    Harder to lose than the subdural fat (probably inventing words here, but it sounds good), and the way to beat it is by healthy eating and lots of excercise.
    The reporter went onto the street for an in-depth research, and had people in the shopping streets measure their waste. A few slender-looking people actually did fail. Healthy according to BMI, but probably a lot of fat between the organs.
    They also said that your liver can get inflamed by being soaked in too much fat, and that you would not even notice this.
    Got a bit scared by this last night, but after the news I went to a meeting, had 4 glasses of wine, and ate my fair share of the cheese, chips and salami that stood on the table)
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Well honestly there is only so much you can worry about your diet before the happiness/misery cost benefit analysis starts erring on the side of eating more. I wanna be healthy but there's no way i'm always gonna eat like a saint. Cake is too tasty to miss out on completely. I know what I want out of life and sometimes it's a big juicy steak deep fried chips and some ice cream. But only SOMETIMES XD.
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
    It's interesting, because they've always said that the hourglass shape is correlated with lower risk of heart disease and stuff. A lot of this is genetic; my mom is overweight but she would have to be really overweight to be more than 34" at the waist, just because of her shape. Even when I'm "bigger", my waist is still 24". So it sounds like it's less about weight than where your body holds fat.

    I agree with this. My sister is 10 lbs less than me, 3 inches taller and has a THICKER waist. It's more of a straight down (boy shape) torso. I have a more narrow waist. These studies drive me nuts. We are all NOT made the exact same shape...look at bodybuilders...some have thicker waists, others tiny as a 12 yr old girls...and most ALL around 3% body fat.

    Just do your thing, keep on moving, eat great food 80% of the time with yummies where they fit, and go by how you FEEL. It's the simple stuff.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    It's interesting, because they've always said that the hourglass shape is correlated with lower risk of heart disease and stuff. A lot of this is genetic; my mom is overweight but she would have to be really overweight to be more than 34" at the waist, just because of her shape. Even when I'm "bigger", my waist is still 24". So it sounds like it's less about weight than where your body holds fat.

    I agree with this. My sister is 10 lbs less than me, 3 inches taller and has a THICKER waist. It's more of a straight down (boy shape) torso. I have a more narrow waist. These studies drive me nuts. We are all NOT made the exact same shape...look at bodybuilders...some have thicker waists, others tiny as a 12 yr old girls...and most ALL around 3% body fat.

    Just do your thing, keep on moving, eat great food 80% of the time with yummies where they fit, and go by how you FEEL. It's the simple stuff.

    Yeah I think this rule probably applies better to men than to women. We are more standardized in that department.
  • Megais
    Megais Posts: 28 Member
    Did I calculate this right?
    I am 5'2 tall
    so 52 divided by 2?
    that equals 26in, being that my waist should be less than 26in

    If so it sounds right to me.
    :) x
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