We cannot change our genetics or bone structure! However, there are some things we can do to try to reduce the weight around our abdomens and get a smaller waist. The first thing we can do is make sure our diet is as healthy as possible.
Aerobic exercise.
Do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity five or more days per week. Better yet, strive to get 45 to 60 minutes each day. Even if you don't lose weight with aerobics, you can lose visceral fat as well as gain muscle mass.
A combination of things happens as we age. We tend to lose muscle mass, so our abdominal muscles aren't as tight as they once were, and the loss of elastin and collagen in our skin allows gravity to have its way so skin starts to sag. Both can cause the waistline to expand.
Causes of a High Waist Circumference
A larger waist circumference is often caused by intra-abdominal visceral fat. Visceral fat is fat that develops between and around internal organs. This type of fat differs from "regular" fat that sits just beneath the skin and can be pinched.
Common reasons for someone to have belly fat even when they're skinny is: Being too sedentary (inactive), which builds visceral fat around the organs and abdominal fat. Eating too many processed foods, which stores at the belly.
Waist Circumference
If most of your fat is around your waist rather than at your hips, you're at a higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk goes up with a waist size that is greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men.
What should your waist measurement be? For men, a waist circumference below 94cm (37in) is 'low risk', 94–102cm (37-40in) is 'high risk' and more than 102cm (40in) is 'very high'. For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, 80–88cm (31.5-34.6in) is high risk and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very high.
For your best health, your waist should be less than 40 inches around for men, and less than 35 inches for women, although it may vary depending on race or ethnicity. If it's larger than that, you may want to talk with your doctor about what your next steps are, including losing weight.
✅ Do Russian twists make waist smaller? Not only are Russian twists bad for your back but they also do not help with fat loss and reducing your midsection. To reduce your waist use full body exercises to burn calories and a well balanced diet.
It's possible to gain muscle and reduce body fat without actually seeing a change in your weight. This happens when you lose body fat while gaining muscle. Your weight may stay the same, even as you lose inches, a sign that you're moving in the right direction.
Planks are an excellent way to do this. Unlike crunches or traditional sit-ups, the plank works all of the muscles in the abdomen, and it also includes back muscles, arm muscles, and upper legs. Add this every day or every other day, and you’ll be sculpting out a nice, toned, defined waist.
How quickly will you lose weight? The volunteers reduced their waist sizes by an average of 1 inch for every 4lb (1.81kg) they lost. So if you lose 1lb (0.45kg) a week you could hope to reduce your waistline by an inch after four weeks.
The average waist circumference for women aged 18 and over in 2017–18 was 88 cm (ABS 2018). A high-risk waist circumference is more common in older women. In 2017–18 (ABS 2019): around 4 in 5 women aged 75 and over (84%) had a high risk waist circumference.
Ideally, your waist measurement should be less than half of your height. (So if you're 5 foot 6, or 66 inches, your waist circumference should be less than 33 inches.)
Your waistline may be telling you that you have a higher risk of developing obesity-related conditions if you are1: A man whose waist circumference is more than 40 inches. A non-pregnant woman whose waist circumference is more than 35 inches.
The world's largest waist, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was 119 inches — the circumference of a 1,400-pound man named Walter Hudson. The average adult male American weighs almost 198 pounds, is just over 5 feet, 9 inches and has a 40.2-inch waist.
Your waist is made up of muscle, and those muscles can respond to heavy weights by growing bigger. After doing heavily weighted exercises for an extended period of time, it may lead to a broader, or 'thicker-looking', waist.