Confused about how to measure waist - am I at risk or not?

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  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    When we had our health assessment at work for our health insurance, they measured us 1" above our belly buttons for the waist measurement.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    I take at two places, the narrowest point (I term that "waist") and the widest point (I term that "belly"). My ultimate goal is to get my "belly" measurement under 35 inches.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2015
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    What rabbitjb said, and from your photo it looks to me like that's not your navel. A woman's waist is the narrowest point, normally, not around the hips. Measuring around the hips is significant too (and I also keep the navel measurement), but if you want the actual waist, you should measure the actual waist.

    Think of it this way: those waistline tests are intended to see if you are holding too much fat around your middle, and if what you are measuring is hip bone, that's not going to be so relevant. I have the same issue (although I'm now at a place where even measuring around my navel/top of my hip passes the test).

    On the whole I wouldn't worry about it, though, since you are going to lose more off the middle.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    I did this to myself for a while. My belly button is much lower than other peoples. My friend's lines up with her natural waist and mine does not. You're supposed to measure the narrowest part, as far as I know. The belly button has nothing to do with it.

    I track both but it seems doctors and personal trainers are always measuring lowering and at the belly button. My natural waist is really high, and I use it for dress sizes. A belly button measurement would result in a dress size way too big for me.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    I would also keep in mind that where we measure for clothing sizing is not necessarily where we measure for health reasons. My natural waist is teeny tiny, if I used that number, I'd never have a reason to get fit. If I measure at the navel, I know I have a lot of work to do. :/
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    i always thought it was supposed to be the narrowest point.
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I had the same shock, OP, and wanted to slap the nurse too. But it motivated me enough that I got here, then lost enough just enough inches off that DREADED belly-button measure to make me and the nurse happy next well-check.

    My mama and her sisters, her aunts, my sister, me, all have that "apple" shape. Definitely a hereditary element at play here, but my family did not shove those extra cookies in my mouth, or tie me to a chair so I couldn't exercise ... LOL!

    Still working at it as that padded belly is not my fave, and I wish you the best of luck too --
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
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    Unfortunately for judging abdominal body fat for health risks you really to have to measure around the belly button (mine's higher than the recommended 31.5" at the moment and my BMI is "in the healthy range" at 23.6), measuring the narrowest part of your waist is only useful when buying clothes and figuring out your size on a shop's size charts xxxx

    Also the belly button makes a good point of reference so you always measure in the same place.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    animatorswearbras wrote: »
    Unfortunately for judging abdominal body fat for health risks you really to have to measure around the belly button (mine's higher than the recommended 31.5" at the moment and my BMI is "in the healthy range" at 23.6), measuring the narrowest part of your waist is only useful when buying clothes and figuring out your size on a shop's size charts xxxx

    Also the belly button makes a good point of reference so you always measure in the same place.

    Yeah, this is what I figured. I definitely monitor that belly button measurement, but if someone goes asking me my waist measurement I am definitely giving my natural waist :neutral_face:
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    gramarye wrote: »
    Of course, I also try not to make assumptions on people's health based exclusively on how they look. But carry on.

    LOL.

    Let's just ignore facts for feels, why don't we.

    Let's review and assessment the situation: She (OP) asked SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE of a measurement ... wait for it ... taken by a ... hold on ... whadays call it ... o yeah - a Medical Professional ... based on ... you're not gonna believe it when you hear it ... the size of ... y'know ... the waist ... right? More specifically: How the waist looks and measures in comparison the size and weight of the person, mmm-kay?

    A "judgement", fully accepted by by the Medical Community based on statistical analysis of data from a rather large population and decades of data on weight/heart disease correlation ...

    But we'll refrain from making such "judgements" just for the feels, right?

    Right?

    This place really is The Blind Leading The Blind, isn't it?

    Again: LOL



  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    This thread is very interesting and a bit depressing. I'm another big waisted person. My clothing waist size is 31.675" and then my health indicator waist size is something like 36". At 66" tall, I am still very much in the unhealthy category using the waist/height rule. Using BMI, I am in the healthy zone. And then using waist/hip (hips are 38") I am in the high risk category.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Here's a site giving instructions, and as stated above, it's not your navel, but halfway between your ribs and the top of your hips: http://www.nuffieldhealth.com/about-us/waist-size

    Since one of the tests compares waist to hips, it really would make no sense to include your hip bone in the waist measurement. I'm sure some nurses just whip around the navel since that's where the majority of people have their waist and, besides, it's nothing more than a rough indicator, but that's simply not correct for everyone.

    (I have no skin in this other than a desire for accuracy, as mine is fine either way. Mostly because I have narrow hips, though, so the fact that catching it around my navel includes my hips doesn't end up mattering that much. Which just shows it's wrong, because a greater difference between hips and waist is actually a positive indicator.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    (All that aside, the fact I do hold weight around my middle is a reason why even apart from the specific waist measurement I want to be lower on the BMI scale than someone who tends to be a pear might need to be.)
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    (All that aside, the fact I do hold weight around my middle is a reason why even apart from the specific waist measurement I want to be lower on the BMI scale than someone who tends to be a pear might need to be.)

    Yeah same it took me to get to 21.7 BMI to get my belly measurement to 31" I keep being told by people that I don't really need to lose weight, which would be fair enough if I didn't hold the lot around my gut :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: lol
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    animatorswearbras wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    (All that aside, the fact I do hold weight around my middle is a reason why even apart from the specific waist measurement I want to be lower on the BMI scale than someone who tends to be a pear might need to be.)

    Yeah same it took me to get to 21.7 BMI to get my belly measurement to 31" I keep being told by people that I don't really need to lose weight, which would be fair enough if I didn't hold the lot around my gut :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: lol

    Yeah, right now I have people telling me I don't need to lose anymore. I've gotten pretty decent at dressing to cover my midsection and standing in a way when it is not as visible but the fat is still.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Some things are genetic. It's not anyone's "fault" that you're apple-shaped, any more than it's anyone's "fault" that some people are taller or shorter than others.

    But the body you have to work with is still the only one you have. So sure, it might be a bit harder for you to get the waist measurement down to where it should be than, say, it is for a pear-shaped or hourglass woman. Maybe it's not fair. But it's the hand you were dealt, so you have to play it.

    There's no value judgment here. It's like saying that people of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds are at higher or lower genetic risk for certain diseases. It's not "good" or "bad" to be of those backgrounds; it's just something you have to be aware of and maybe take more precautions against.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    oooooh, according to web md, it is at the belly button. must check this when i get home. wouldn't this be unfair to people with a wide bone structure though? seems like a loose guide to me.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Aviva92 wrote: »
    oooooh, according to web md, it is at the belly button. must check this when i get home. wouldn't this be unfair to people with a wide bone structure though? seems like a loose guide to me.

    But that's the point, it's not about "fair" or "unfair". It's a statistical measure saying that if you carry your weight around your belly or midsection, you're at a higher risk for certain medical issues.

    Life isn't fair. Them's the breaks sometimes.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
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    segacs wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    oooooh, according to web md, it is at the belly button. must check this when i get home. wouldn't this be unfair to people with a wide bone structure though? seems like a loose guide to me.

    But that's the point, it's not about "fair" or "unfair". It's a statistical measure saying that if you carry your weight around your belly or midsection, you're at a higher risk for certain medical issues.

    Life isn't fair. Them's the breaks sometimes.

    no, my point is that if you're wide boned, you might not have extra fat there, but will have a bigger measurement because you are wide boned. "fair" is the wrong word. it would be inaccurate as a health measure.

    i'm assuming that my measurements are fine, but i probably have a bigger measurement than others at my same height and weight because i am wide.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Well they're not measuring your hip bone girth; they're measuring the girth around your midsection. Neither the width of your rib cage nor the width of your pelvis should impact that measurement.

    I suppose if someone had an exceptionally big spine... Well, no actually. :)

    Big bones don't really affect this measurement.

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