Ideal Waist Measurements

August 23, 2007 · Filed under Diet, Health, Health Planning, Men's Health, Waist Measurement, Women's Health

What are the “perfect” measurements? What is the human average waist size? Is my belly healthy? We have all heard that a woman is sexy when she is 36-24-36. This may not always be the case. Your body’s measurements should be viewed as ratios. Every person has a unique starter build (bone structure). From that we can build into our own version of what we perceive as healthy bodies.

For most of us it will be how large our waist is. There is no accurate answer for the “average” waist size. A person who is 6’2″ could have the same waist measurement as a person who is 5’4″, but be far thinner. What you need to measure is your waist hip ratio.

Waist Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing your waist measurement by your hip measurement. (Hips are the widest part of your butt).

Ideally, women should have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.8 or less.

Ideally, men should have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.95 or less.

From a non measurement stand point, if your waist is smaller then your hips, you have a healthy waist line.

Let’s look at our 36-24-36 woman. Her waist to hip ratio is:

 24/36=.6666.   

She is well below the .8

Some factors to consider, if you have very large hips, the test is still useful for determining your heart health. Having an apple shape (carrying extra weight around the stomach) is riskier for your health than having a pear shape (carrying extra weight around your hips or thighs). This is because body shape and health risk are linked. If you have more weight around your waist you have a greater risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than those with weight around their hips.

Monitoring your body shape is a very important factor in a healthy lifestyle.