Waist measurements are a simple way to understand where your body stores fat and how this may affect your risk of certain chronic health conditions.
However, your waist measurement is only one piece of the puzzle; it doesn’t diagnose a health condition or provide a complete picture of your health. Instead, consider it alongside other factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose levels, family history, physical activity, nutrition, and overall body composition.
How are waist measurements helpful?
Our bodies store fat in different places, and we call fat stored deep within the abdomen and around our internal organs visceral fat.
Higher amounts of visceral fat can increase the risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, waist circumference can provide a simple indication of abdominal fat. However, it can’t tell us exactly how much visceral fat someone has. Instead, we use waist measurements as a screening tool rather than a standalone assessment of someone’s health.
Healthdirect’s guide to BMI and waist circumference explains how these measurements can help assess health risk.
How to take waist measurements correctly
Where you place the tape can make quite a difference to your result, so if you are monitoring your waist measurement over time, try to use the same technique each time.
- Use a rigid measuring tape. We love the Lufkin Thinline Tape.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms relaxed by your sides.
- Find the bottom of your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone.
- Please the measuring tape halfway between these two points. For many people, this will be roughly in line with the belly button (but not everyone).
- Breathe out normally. Avoid holding your breathe or sucking your stomach in.
- Wrap the tape around your waist, keeping it horizontal and parallel with the floor.
- Run your finger along the tape to make sure its not bent or crooked.
- Using a mirror if you cannot see around it.
- It should sit firmly against the skin without digging in or compressing the tissue.Record your measurement in centimetres.
- Repeat twice and take the average of the two measures.
Most importantly, use the same measurement technique each time if you are tracking changes.
What do waist measurements mean?
For most adults, Australian guidelines use the following waist circumference ranges as indicators of chronic disease risk:
- Adult women, a waist measurement of 80cm or more indicates increased risk of chronic disease, while 88cm or more indicates a greatly increased risk.
- Adult men, a waist measurement of 94cm or more indicates increased risk, while 102cm or more indicates greatly increased risk.
However, don’t view these numbers as a pass-or-fail test. Health exists on a spectrum, and a waist measurement cannot tell us about someone’s diet quality, fitness, blood results, muscle mass or overall wellbeing.
Instead, the measurement gives us another piece of information to consider alongside other health markers.
When are waist measurements less useful?
Waist circumference is not appropriate or equally accurate for everyone.
For example, standard waist circumference cut-offs do not apply to children or during pregnancy. Measurements can also be difficult to interpret when a health condition causes significant abdominal swelling or distension.
In addition, the standard cut-offs may not be equally accurate for people from some ethnic backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and some Asian populations.
Waist circumference can also become less reliable as a standalone measure in people living with higher levels of overweight or obesity.
Therefore, if you’re unsure whether a waist measurement is useful in your individual circumstances, speak with your GP or dietitian rather than relying on the number alone.
Should I be aiming to reduce my waist measurement?
Not necessarily.
If your waist measurement falls above one of the risk thresholds, it doesn’t mean you need to start a restrictive diet or focus solely on losing centimetres from your waist.
Instead, consider the bigger picture. For example, regular physical activity, eating plenty of fibre and adequate protein, eating less fat from oils from ultra-processed foods, and getting enough sleep can all support metabolic health.
Our guide to physical activity and weight management has more information about building regular movement into your routine.
Similarly, if you’re interested in looking beyond weight and waist circumference alone, our body composition analysis service can provide additional information about body fat and muscle mass to help build a more complete picture.
The take-home message
Waist measurements can be a useful health screening tool, but they are just one measurement.
Taking your waist measurement correctly can help make the result more meaningful. However, it should always be considered alongside your overall health, medical history, lifestyle, nutrition and other clinical markers.
If you’re concerned about your waist measurement, weight or risk of chronic disease, our Wagga Wagga Dietitian or Sunshine Coast Dietitian team can help you work out which health markers are most relevant to you and develop realistic nutrition strategies that fit your individual needs.
