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Why your waist size matters

Measuring tape

Measuring your waist can help reduce your hazard of heart and circulatory diseases, as Professor Naveed Sattar tells Senior Cardiac Nurse Emily McGrath.

Why does your waist measurement matter?

Waist circumference is a adept mensurate of fat around your heart. This blazon of fat builds up around your organs, and is linked to high blood fat levels, loftier claret force per unit area and diabetes. A larger waist usually also means there is excess fat inside your organs. When this happens in your liver, for case, it pumps out likewise much fat and sugar into the blood, increasing your adventure of coronary heart disease and diabetes.

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What should your waist measurement exist?

For men, a waist circumference below 94cm (37in) is 'low chance', 94–102cm (37-40in) is 'high risk' and more than than 102cm (40in) is 'very loftier'. For women, below 80cm (31.5in) is low risk, lxxx–88cm (31.v-34.6in) is high take a chance and more than 88cm (34.6in) is very loftier. These are the guidelines for people of white European, black African, Heart Eastern and mixed origin.

For men of African Caribbean area, South Asian, Chinese and Japanese origin, a waist circumference below 90cm (35.4in) is depression gamble, and more that is 'very high risk' (there isn't a 'high risk' category). For women from these groups, below 80cm (31.5in) is low take a chance, and anything in a higher place is very high hazard.

Why does your indigenous origin brand a difference?

African Caribbean, South Asian, Chinese and Japanese people tend to carry more fat and less muscle at the same weight every bit a white European. And the gamble of diabetes and heart and circulatory diseases starts to increase at a lower weight proceeds than for Europeans.

Is this the best way to understand whether y'all are overweight?

A tape measure around an appleIt'south good because information technology's easy to understand. Doctors are more likely to use trunk mass index (BMI), a measure of weight relative to your height – use our BMI calculator. Waist measurement is improve for people who carry a lot of musculus and less fat, similar bodybuilders, boxers and rugby players. If you desire to eat more healthily and lose weight, information technology's best to measure how much weight you lose or put on. Losing weight volition help your waist measurement too.

  • Employ our new waist measurement tool.
  • Endeavour our BMI estimator.
  • Come across the best means to mensurate body fat.

How to measure your waist

  1. Find the lesser of your ribs and the top of your hips.
  2. Identify a tape measure around your centre at a indicate halfway between them (merely higher up the belly push button).
  3. Make sure it's pulled tight, but isn't digging into your peel.
  4. Breathe out naturally and take your measurement.
  5. Take your measurement again, only to be sure.

What enquiry has the BHF done in this area?

I recently published a paper with colleagues at the University of Bristol, showing that backlog weight, fifty-fifty in children, can affect the size of the heart and blood pressure. This suggests helping people manage their weight volition benefit their hearts. The BHF has funded many other studies, including research identifying which genes influence where fat is distributed around your trunk. Potentially, this could pave the way for new treatments in time to come.

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