Many of you may not know this is a way that you can gauge your health status with weight, but waist circumference is used by some medical professionals and is actually the preferred method by some as well. Similar to BMI, it is not a perfect method, but it does allow you to simply gauge your health easily.


To find your waist circumference, wrap a tape measure around the area above your hip bone and below your rib cage.

 

Men and Women

Females

For females, a waist circumference of 35 inches or greater is considered unhealthy.

Males

For men, a waist circumference of 40 inches or greater is considered unhealthy.

There is not a classification chart or various ranges used with this method to determine obesity. Only the simple thresholds for men and women noted above apply.

 

Waist Circumference Disease Risk Chart

The chart below details the increased risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardio vascular disease associated with excess weight.

 

Weight Category

Men < 102 cm (< 40 in.)

Women < 88 cm(< 35 in.)

Men >102 cm ( >40 in.)

Women >88 cm ( >35 in.)

Underweight

 -------- -------

Normal Weight

 -------- -------

Overweight

Increased

High

Obese

High

Very High

Obese w/BMI>34.9

Very High

Very High

Morbidly Obese

Extremely High

Extremely High

 

Which Method is Right for You?

Truthfully, there is no right or wrong method. One is not better than the other either. Both BMI and waist circumference are simply tools to help you gauge your weight and health. Go ahead and try both of them and write down the results to discuss them with a healthcare professional.

 

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Waist Circumference