An adult's waist should be less than half their height to reduce health risks, health body NICE recommends. Measuring body mass index (BMI) is also useful - but doesn't take into account excess weight around the abdomen.
The guideline says a healthy waist to height ratio is 0.4 to 0.49, indicating no increased health risks.
Ideally, your waist measurement should be less than half of your height. (So if you're 5 foot 6, or 66 inches, your waist circumference should be less than 33 inches.)
A waist measurement of more than half of a person's height, is an indication of greater risk. Young people should be encouraged to seek advice about weight management, and sensitively supported to lower their risk of developing these conditions, and to improve overall health and wellbeing.”
Healthy women have ratios of 0.67 to 0.80 while healthy men have 0.80 to 0.95. For attractiveness, ideal for men is 0.90 and female ideal is 0.7 (for Western populations only). WHR increases with each pregnancy and increases slightly with age.
For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, 80–88cm (31.5-34.6in) is high risk and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very high.
For your best health, your waist should be less than 40 inches around for men, and less than 35 inches for women, although it may vary depending on race or ethnicity. If it's larger than that, you may want to talk with your doctor about what your next steps are, including losing weight.
The average waist circumference for women aged 18 and over in 2017–18 was 88 cm (ABS 2018). A high-risk waist circumference is more common in older women. In 2017–18 (ABS 2019): around 4 in 5 women aged 75 and over (84%) had a high risk waist circumference.
Now that you've measured your waist circumference you need to know what it means. To have your best chance at maintaining good health, you should aim for: Men should have a waist circumference of 40 inches or less. Women should have a waist circumference of 35 inches or less.
The problem is, taller people tend to have larger WCs. You wouldn't expect a lean, healthy individual who is 6 foot 5 inches (about 196 cm) to have the same WC as a lean, healthy individual who is 5 foot 2 inches (about 157 cm); waist size will increase proportionately in the same way arm length or head size would.
So grab a tape measure and pull out your calculator to gauge your risk: Simply divide your waist size in inches by your height in inches. You want your number to be below 0.54. So a guy who is 5'10” with a waist size of 37 inches would have a ratio of 0.53, making him fall in the non-obese category.
Waist Circumference
If most of your fat is around your waist rather than at your hips, you're at a higher risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk goes up with a waist size that is greater than 35 inches for women or greater than 40 inches for men.
Cathie Jung (born 1937) is an American Victorian dress and corset enthusiast residing in Manteo, NC, United States. She has held the Guinness World Record for the smallest waist on a living person since 1999. Jung, who is 1.72 meters (5 ft 8 in) tall, has a waist that measures 38.1 centimeters (15.0 in).
Runway or Catwalk Model
Runway models must have precise measurements so they're able to fit the clothes that designers are going to be showing to their clients. Their measurements are usually no greater than 34 inches around the bust, 23 inches around the waist, and 34 inches around the hips.
Find the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs. Breathe out normally. Place the tape measure midway between these points and wrap it around your waist. Check your measurement.
Likewise, models can be older but agencies and clients tend to like their models looking younger and more youthful. Height is typically between 5'9″-6″, bust is between 32″-36″, waist is between 22″-26″, and hips should be between 33″-35″.
The volunteers reduced their waist sizes by an average of 1 inch for every 4lb (1.81kg) they lost. So if you lose 1lb (0.45kg) a week you could hope to reduce your waistline by an inch after four weeks.