Fifty-five inches is a good height for a pre-teen. Fifty-five inches is not a good waist measurement for anyone, but that’s what my waist was when I measured it AFTER I had lost a bit of weight. Unfortunately, I never took the measurement at my highest weight, because quite frankly, I didn’t want to know. All I knew was that store bought pants didn’t fit me anymore, I needed 6 yards of fabric to make a skirt for myself, and loose-fitting dresses were my best friend. That, and chocolate of course.
I remember one time, while attending a baby shower for a friend, where the hostess got up and announced a game. We were to pass around a roll of toilet paper and rip off the number of squares we thought it would take to fit around our friend who was almost 9 months pregnant. There was a lot of laughter as the roll was passed around, and people were guessing how many squares it would take. I took the roll, and ripped off 15 squares. Finally, they had the poor girl stand up and wrap the toilet paper around her belly. Her pregnant belly took up about 11 pieces, which if toilet paper is standard, would have been about 38 – 39″! Someone else won the prize, but it got me thinking about my size once again. I looked more pregnant than she did, and I wasn’t pregnant. Being a glutton for punishment, when I got home I tried it on myself. With my toilet paper, it took 16 squares, which would have been about 56″ unofficially. That wasn’t good.
There are a lot of ways to measure our health potential besides just our weight on the scale. I’ve talked about BMI calculators before, but haven’t showed you what the medical community thinks about waist size. I like the website WebMd, so that’s where I got this information.
The first study was called: Belly Fat Doesn’t Bode Well For Women. The study followed over 44,000 nurses for 16 years. Over time, the researchers noted that “women with larger waists and greater waist-to-hip ratios had higher death rates from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, which are the top two killers of U.S. women.” The bottom line for this study was that waist matters more than weight. It also noted that abdominal fat isn’t “lethal”, but should be considered as part of each individuals health assessment. In fact they said that is a woman’s waist measurement is more than 34.6 then that woman is three times more likely to die of heart disease.
The second study was called: Belly Fat Doubles Death Risk. This was one of the largest, longest health studies in the world. The researchers studied over 360,000 Europeans. They found that, “people with the most belly fat had about double the risk of dying prematurely as people with the least amount of belly fat.” The summary of the article states:
- “Men and women with the largest waists (more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women) had roughly double the risk of premature death as men and women with the smallest waists (less than 34 inches for men and 28 for women).
- Each 2-inch increase in waist circumference was associated with close to a 17% increase in mortality in men and a 13% increase in women.
- Waist-to-hip ratio also strongly predicted mortality.”
“The most important result of our study is the finding that not just being overweight, but also the distribution of body fat, affects the risk of premature death,” Pischon says.
How’s your waist doing these days? Yet another calculation to determine overall health is the waist to hip ratio. To calculate yours, perform the following calculations:
→ Measure your waist at the smallest part
→ Measure your hips about 8″ down from your waist
→ Divide the waist number by the hip number
For men: Risk for conditions like diabetes & heart disease (WebMd)
- .95 or below Low Risk
- .96 to 1.0 Moderate Risk
- 1.0 or more High Risk
For Women: Risk for conditions like diabetes & heart disease (WebMd)
- .8 or below Low Risk
- .81 to .86 Moderate Risk
- .85 or more High Risk
My waist to hip ratio with a waist of 55″ and hips of about 64″ was a very unhealthy .86 which put me in the high risk category. I feel very fortunate that I was able to lose the weight and get more healthy all the way around before I seriously affected my health. You know I’m not a doctor, so please see your doctor about any health or weight issues. Read these studies, and use all the tools at your disposal to see where you are not only on the scale, but when using some of the other means to measure your health.
For me, the more tools you have in your arsenal of knowledge, the more reasons you will have to lose weight, get fit, and stay that way! When I was doing research for this post I found a few things that surprised me. How about you? Was any of this information surprising to you, or scary to you?
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I love how Dr Oz puts it with the omentum (sp) and needing to lose that fat/lower that number.
anything which is NOT SCALE FOCUSED for me
MizFit´s last blog ..Viewer Mail: Training Partners & Choosing a Trainer.
I like the title. I should care, but it seems hard. Growing up I never had a “tummy” but as I’ve gained weight I’m like so many of those ladies you see with the bigger tummy. My waist – I’m not telling!! But I have to say I’m working really hard on it.
@MizFit – Yes – not scale focused is really important, because the scale can get us down when it doesn’t do what we want it too!
@Monica – It’s interesting how we gain weight in different places. Good for you on working hard to get on a healthy journey.
This is good information Diane – thanks for sharing.
South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Woot! Great Start to the Week!
I have to say I’d never heard of the waist to hip ratio. I’d heard of BMI, but not that. Thank you so much. I just appreciate all you are doing and all you share.
@ Steve – You are welcome. I hope that you are still having a good week!
@ Kat – I’m glad that I could introduce you to yet another way to monitor your health. Thank you for the nice compliment. I really appreciate it.
Great post! I know this stuff cause I have been at it for years BUT a lot of people do not know this! Important points for sure!!!!
Like Miz, I don’t fit in with the weight stuff to measure my body fat since I weigh a lot for my height due to muscle mass. Muscle weighs a lot more than fat so weight can be deceiving it terms of using it as a measure for body fat %.
Thx Diane for bringing this to people’s attention AND for putting the calculator right there!
@Jody – You are so wise to point this out, because for people who are super fit, these measurements have a different meaning. You look amazing!
That’s actually how I declared goal. I went with Dr. Oz’s suggestion that our waist size should be about half our height. When my waist got to 32, I declared goal. I weighed about 138. Then I kept losing and my waist is now about 30, but the lessons I learned about waist management are engrained now.
Great topic!
Lynn Haraldson-Bering´s last blog ..Dissecting the Book “The End of Overeating” – Part 2
@Lynn – I had never heard that. What a great way to declare your goal, and then to adjust that goal until you are happy with where you are. Thank you so much for commenting.
This is good information. The characteristic of belly fat that really worried me is that they’ve found that fat cells, particularly those in the abdominal area, actually produce hormones which can contribute to health problems. Yikes, I think about that when my commitment to healthy eating lags. The quote below is from the mayoclinic.com website, another source for reliable information on health. -
Researchers also have found that abdominal fat cells aren’t just dormant energy waiting to be burned up. The cells are active, producing hormones and other substances that can affect your health. For example, some fat-cell-produced hormones can promote insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes; others can produce estrogen after menopause, which may increase your breast cancer risk. Researchers are still sorting out how the excess hormones affect overall health, but they do know that too much visceral fat can disrupt the body’s normal hormonal balance.
@Babbalou – Thank you so much for giving us all the information from the mayoclinic. It’s amazing how complex our bodies are isn’t it? It just shows how important it is to get to a healthy weight. Thank you again.
A good and helpful post. I haven’t done waist measurements, partially because I don’t have a soft wrap around measuring tape, but more because I don’t particularly want to. That said, I might actually do the “squares of toilet paper” method. It seems less intimidating, somehow.
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@ Hadley – The toilet paper square method is always an option! I completely understand your reluctance to measure – I was the same way. As you lose weight, please take the time to measure, because it can be exciting to see how your body changes! Thank you so much for coming by.
When I started, the number on the scale was enough. I knew that a measurement would be more devistating to me than my weight. So I didn’t measure.
I bought a tape measure last week. I know my measurement now. It’s still large at 43. I have to say, though, I’m really glad I didn’t know what it was to start out. I think it would have crushed me.
Jo´s last blog ..Reflective
@Jo – I’m glad that you waited until you had some good success on the scale before you decided to measure! I really enjoyed your last blog.
Interesting. Thanks for the post! We need to measure ourselves once a month. Sometimes we lose inches over pounds.
Okay let’s all be honest here. How many of you actually went into the bathroom and measured with toilet paper?
I did…mine was 11 squares. Have some fun….give it a try.
Very interesting. I had no idea about some of this. Thanks for the eye-opener!
Leah´s last blog ..Good Choices = Good Feelings
@ Christine – I agree with the once a month measurements. I wished I had done that as I went along the way. I just have the beginning and the end!
I wonder how many people did measure with toilet paper today?!
Something interesting that I’ve always found is that my waist to hip ratio isn’t healthy- I don’t have a tape measure handy but I’ve done it in the past and I’m pretty sure I’m in the at risk category or something. But that’s the way my body is shaped: even when I have some definition of a waist, I have NO hips to speak of at all.
Thanks for sharing the studies!
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Sagan – That is really interesting. I guess that’s why it’s important to have several different ways to measure our success. I have to tell you that you are lucky to have no HIPS! A lot of women wish they were in your shoes!!!
Dr. Joel Fuhrman also writes about this in his books, stating that it’s a much better indicator of a healthy weight than BMI. He says that men should have no more than one-half an inch of pinchable fat around the waist and women no more than one inch of pinchable fat.
I’ve always used to have and hourglass figure with a perfectly flat stomach. I will never forget lying on my side one day and seeing my stomach occupying space NEXT to me. I might have squealed in horror! These days I’m as round as a ball! Would love to see that hourglass again…
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@Hanlie – Thanks for sharing about Dr. Fuhrman’s book. I haven’t read any of his work, but definitely need to. You will see your hourglass figure again before you know it! You are doing a great job!
Okay…not sure how my reply ended up under “Christine”…sorry.
Leah´s last blog ..Good Choices = Good Feelings
@Leah – Don’t worry about the misplaced comment – I still got it. Thanks so much for coming by.
really like this posting
I personally have NO problems with BMI – it is dead on accurate for me. (But I understand those people, that have more muscle mass than I do, finding it NOT helpful.)
but I do wonder about those of us that are very straight waisted (NOT hour glass). I wonder if there is a different set of numbers, that apply to other body builds? Or is that wishful thinking and I need to wake up to reality???
vickie´s last blog ..Finding my abs
Vickie – I don’t think there are different numbers, but rather that this is why BMI may work better for you, as well as using all the other good signs of progress we all see as we lose weight. You don’t need to wake up – everytime I read your blog I am so impressed with your commitment to your health!
I have an hourglass to pear-shaped figure and always have – even at my largest (big pear LOL). My waist was always somewhat defined and seems even more so now that I am smaller. My ratio is quite good, probably because my hips are big
I hate the BMI chart as I know I am quite a bit more muscular. I have the location of one of those BodPods near me and after I lose about 10 pounds, I am going to check them out and get a true body fat % done.
Lori´s last blog ..NROLW and more Beck on getting back on track.
@Lori – I think fat percentage is another good measure of our fitness level. This whole discussion has made me really think about how every person is built differently, and how important it is to look at the whole person, and not just one number.
Speaking of Dr. Oz, his show starts in September…I am looking forward to it!
I have a long torso and short heavy thighs and hips, so my ratio is good. But I have wondered the same thing as vickie.
Patty´s last blog ..Maybe it is the sauerkraut…
I completely agree. Knowledge is power. The more I know about my body and the things I put into it the more able I am to fight the battle of the bulge. I don’t do measurements. But I am very motivated by decreasing clothing sizes. That is my ultimate yardstick right now.
Kimberly´s last blog ..Non-Scale Victory: The Limited
Kimberly – I am right there with you on the clothing sizes. That was my one splurge when I was losing weight. As soon as my pants got too big I got rid of them, and bought the next size down. Everytime I did it, I felt wonderful!
Excellent information Diane, and thank you for sharing it. I know that knowledge is power, most certainly, but I just can’t even bear to do my measurements yet. Maybe soon.
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Tammy – Don’t do it until you are ready! I do wish I had done it at my highest weight, because then I’d know now how far I came. But then all I have to do is look at the one dress I kept, and have a pretty good idea of where I was!!
I love this stuff! Thanks for including the calculator, too
I agree, there are great non-scale ways to measure our health that are probably much more accurate and revealing. I think I read a study once that said EVERY single Playboy cover model and Miss USA had the sasme hip/waist ratio. So, differnt numbers, but the same ratio. I think ths is interesting, too, because it has greater implications about what society finds attractive. I bet there is a link to certain ratios and fertility.
Ok, I am babbling. Sorry. Great post!
Lara (Thinspired)´s last blog ..Washing and Weighting
Wise words but on a geeky note I had to say I love the built-in calculator
Shauna´s last blog ..Spin and Surrender
My doctor only measures my waist – AT THE NAVEL, not at the thinnest part. According to her, that measurement should be under 35″. She never measured my hips.
At 5′2″, my hips are 32.6″ and my waist (thinnest) is 27.5″. Technically that puts me in “moderate” category but my BMI is well under 24 and my BP is towards the low end.
And according to my doctor I don’t need to lose anymore weight. Although I’m vain and still want to lose 8-9 lbs more
@Lara – I liked the calculator too! That is really interesting that the waist/hip ratio is also a societal indication of beauty. I wonder if you are right on the fertility thing, because that certainly was a consideration in the “old fashioned” days!
@Shauna – Like I told Lara – I loved the calculator widget too! Thanks for coming by.
@Cristina – Very interesting about your doctor. You sound like you are very healthy and thin! I don’t know what I would have thought if my doctor had whipped out his tape measure! I may have cried!