Your natural waistline hits at the area between the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your rib cage. Your waistline may be bigger or smaller depending on your genetics, frame size, and lifestyle habits. Measuring the circumference of your waist may help clue you in to your health.
A healthy waistline for men is anything below 94cm (37 inches) and anything below 80cm (31.5 inches) for women. You are at a high risk if your waist circumference is 102cm (40 inches) or over for men or 88cm (34.6 inches) or over for women.
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.
Simply take a tape measure and put it around your waist, right above your belly button. If your waist size is over 35 inches (for a woman) or 40 inches (for a man), it's time to take some action. 2. Forget your ideal weight.
A waist circumference of greater than 40 inches for men and greater than 35 inches for women is "considered elevated and indicative of increased cardiometabolic (heart disease-related) risk," said Craig Peters, DO, an HonorHealth cardiologist.
In general if you're a woman, you want a measurement that's less than 34.5 inches. If you're a man, a number below 40 inches is ideal. A measurement that's higher than those isn't a death sentence, but it has been strongly linked with a higher risk of several serious diseases including type 2 diabetes.
As a point of reference the natural waist is located at the thinnest point of the dancer between the chest and hip and the dropped waist is at the top of the hip bone. Measurements at hips are taken at the widest point of the hip and bum.
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).
A healthy waist circumference, measured at the navel, is less than half the body height. Excess unhealthy body fat, which increases risk for heart disease, diabetes, and related health problems, produces a waist to height ratio of 0.5 or higher.
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 waist circumference is usually measured at the level of your belly button, not where you wear your pants. It is recommended that you measure your waist circumference when standing in front of a mirror in your undergarments or without any clothing that would interfere with taking the measurement.
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.
Medically, the advice these days is for a woman to have a waist less than 32 inches [81.5 cm] and 36 inches [91.5 cm] for a man. Above those measurements is regarded by the medics as indicating overweight and loss of control over diet, exercise, lifestyle generally.
(27) found that the most frequently selected ideal body had a BMI of 19.79, closely followed by an underweight ideal of 18.26. Ahern et al. (28) found that a BMI of 20 was considered the most attractive, while Swami et al. (29), and MacNeill and Best (30), found that an underweight body was most frequently selected.
Men prefer a woman who has less body fat and more muscle than that. She'll still weigh a fairly regular amount, but she'll be significantly fitter and more muscular than average, with a leaner waist, stronger hips, and broader shoulders.
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.
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.
The smallest waist of a person with normal stature was 33 cm (13 in) and was recorded on Ethel Granger (UK) (1905–82). She reduced from a natural 56 cm (22 in) to 33 cm (13 in) over the period 1929–39.