Waist Measurement

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Introduction

Waist measurement is a simple check to tell if you’re carrying excess body fat around your middle.

• Your waist measurement is an indicator of the level of internal fat deposits that coat the heart, kidneys, liver, digestive organs and pancreas. 
• This can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Measuring the Waist

Waist Circumference: To measure waist circumference, patients should stand with their arms crossed on the contralateral shoulders. The placement of the measuring tape should be snugly around the lateral aspect of each ilium at the mid-axillary line. It is an essential measure of anthropometry in adults and children as it directly measures central adiposity. Increasing central adiposity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality due to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Your health is at risk if your waist size is:

1. MEN: Over 94cm (about 37 inches)
2. WOMEN: Over 80cm (about 31.5 inches)

BMI

Body mass index (BMI), is a measure for estimating total body fat and is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. But while it can be a useful tool, the distribution of fat on your body is more important than the amount when it comes to predicting health risks – and that’s where waist measurement comes into play. A better measure of a weight problem can be measured using a person’s waist circumference

Why Waist Size Matters

It’s not just how much fat you’re carrying on your body that matters to your health. Where it is plays a key role too.

• Research shows that weight around the hips can actually provide some level of protection against disease, but carrying excess body fat around your middle has the opposite effect.
• Waist measurement can indicate how much internal fat is coating organs eg the liver, kidneys and heart, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Official guidelines say regardless of your height, your health is at risk if your waist size is more than 94cm for men and 80cm for women.

Waist to Height Ratio

Waist to height ratio is a better predictor of heart disease and diabetes risk than BMI. Study leader Dr Margaret Ashwell, an independent consultant and former science director of the British Nutrition Foundation, presented the findings at the 19th Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France, on Saturday 12 May. “Keeping your waist circumference to less than half your height can help increase life expectancy for every person in the world,” said Ashwell, as reported in the Telegraph. Thus a man who is 6ft or 72 inches tall (183 cm), should keep his waist under 36 inches (91 cm), and a woman who is 5ft 4 in or 64 inches tall (163 cm), should keep her waist measurement under 32 inches (81 cm). Ashwell said the measure should be considered as a screening tool. The idea of using Waist to Height Ratio (WHtR) to predict cardiometabolic risk is not new, but is coming to prominence as more studies reveal its value. At the meeting, Ashwell presented the findings of a study that analyzed the health of 300,000 people and found WHtR was better able to predict high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes than BMI.BMI (short for Body Mass Index) is a widely used measure of obesity. It is a ratio of a person’s weight in kilos to the square of their height in metres. However, it does not take into account the distribution of fat around the body. Abdominal fat affects organs like the heart, liver and kidneys more adversely than fat around the hips and bottom, in terms of cardiometabolic risk.

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