Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips. Place a tape measure around your middle at a point halfway between them (just above the belly button). Make sure it's pulled tight, but isn't digging into your skin. Breathe out naturally and take your measurement.
Your waist begins at the top of your hip bone and travels up to just below your ribcage, so it's easily accessible with a tape measure.
How to measure waist circumference: Place a tape measure around your body at the top of your hip bone. This is usually at the level of your belly button.
Your hips and waist are actually two very different things. Your hips are the bony prominences at the sides of your pelvis, while your waist is the narrowest part of your torso, located between your ribs and hips.
The waist is usually measured at the smallest circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button. Where the waist is convex rather than concave, as in pregnancy and obesity, the waist may be measured at a vertical level 1 inch above the navel.
Your waist can be located between the top of your hipbones and the bottom of your rips. Step 2: Wrap a cloth tape measure around the narrowest part of your waist.
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.
Jeans sizes are indicated in inches, for example 30/32. The first number indicates the waist size and the second indicates the inside leg length. Determine your inch size by measuring jeans that fit well.
How to measure your waist. Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips. Place a tape measure around your middle at a point halfway between them (just above the belly button). Make sure it's pulled tight, but isn't digging into your skin.
Waist circumference is the measurement taken around the abdomen at the level of the umbilicus (belly button). Measuring your waist circumference may help you understand certain health risks related to obesity. Health experts commonly use waist measurement to screen patients for possible weight-related health problems.
Now, before you start copping grandpa pants that sit above your belly button, don't. But, as a general rule, jeans should sit on the hips, while chinos and suit pants should land just above the hip, which will allow you to tuck in your shirt without worrying about it popping out mid-meeting.
Your natural waist is actually the smallest area of your torso (above your navel) and in most cases, it's easily identifiable by just looking in the mirror. To measure this area just take a tape measure and measure the circumference of this area.
Which is best? Your waist-to-hip ratio might give you a better picture of your health than your weight or your BMI. You can be at a healthy weight but have too much fat around your midsection. A good rule of thumb is that your waist should be smaller than your hips, no matter your weight or BMI.
The answer is yes, you can—but it requires more than just diet pills or tummy shapers. Achieving a smaller waist is done through diet and exercise changes, which this article outlines. Below are the best foods to eat and exercise that will help you reach your goals!
So, what is a healthy waist measurement? Put simply, you should probably try to lose weight if you're a man with a waist more than 94cm (37 inches) or a woman with a waist of more 80cm (31.5 inches).
30 Inch Waist for Women
The average waist size for American women is 35.6 inches. That means a 30 inch waist would put you in the 15th percentile among most females, which is quite a bit smaller than average. However, it's important to remember that 3 out of 4 adult women in the US are overweight or obese.
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.)
Waist to hip ratios
Healthy women have ratios of 0.67 to 0.80 while healthy men have 0.80 to 0.95. For attractiveness, ideal for men is 0.90 and female ideal is 0.7 (for Western populations only).
Most people think their natural waist is the mid-point of their torso, which isn't true. If you have a high waist, your “natural waist” will be closer to your breast. If you have a low waist your “natural” waist will be closer to your hip.
Hips are measured at the widest part of your body below your waist. This measurement does not include your stomach or your waist.