Waist Circumference

BMI and waist circumference are useful tools to assess health risk. Waist Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing your waist measurement by your hip measurement as hips are the widest part of our butt.

How to measure Waist Circumference?

• Place a tape measure around your bare abdomen just above your hipbone.
• Tape should not squeeze or compress your skin and should be parallel to the floor.
• Let the tape be snug. Relax, exhale, and measure your waist.

If you are carrying fat around the middle, mainly around your waist, you are more likely to develop health problems than if you carry fat mainly in your hips and thighs. This is appears to be true even if your BMI falls within the normal weight range.

If you are a woman with a waist > 35 inches or a man with a waist measurement > 40 inches you may have a higher disease risk than people with smaller waist measurements because of where the fat lies. That's why some experts believe waist circumference as the best guide to detect whether you fall in obese category or not with substantial health risk.

The circumference of a man's waist is a better predictor of his risk of developing type 2 diabetes than his body mass index (BMI). Men who had larger waists or higher overall body fat indicated by BMI had a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.