How to measure the waist circumference and correctly evaluate the result?

Thin wasp waist is the dream of many women. And it's not just an aesthetic component, which is undoubtedly important. It turns out that the girth of the waist is an important indicator that you need to know not only when choosing clothes. It is also an important marker that can report health to both women and men. So if after reading the article and taking measurements it turns out that the indicators leave much to be desired, this is an occasion to think about your health, play sports and re-evaluate your diet.

How to measure the waist circumference?

Make the necessary measurements is not difficult. To do this, you need an ordinary centimeter tape, which is practically in every house where people like to sew or play sports. It is better if the tape is as soft as possible.

Waist circumference should be measured at the narrowest point. Depending on the type of figure, this place can be as close to the chest (high waist), and closer to the level of the hips (low waist). In most cases, the narrowest part of the trunk is at the level of the navel. If the waist is convex, and not concave, for example, in pregnant women or with excessive weight, the correct result can be obtained if you measure a couple of centimeters above the navel.

The correct position for the measurement is to stand upright (preferably near the mirror) and put your hands down. It is not recommended to measure the circumference of the waist. You do not have to strain your body and deceive yourself by pulling your belly. Body weight should be distributed evenly. Posture should also be typical for a person. Do not make measurements over clothes - the result of the measurement can be somewhat distorted.

Waist measurement takes less than a minute! It is necessary to wrap a meter around the waist parallel to the floor and slowly exhale the air. It is important that the centimeter tape does not crash into the skin, do not wrap your waist too tight. The mark on the tape, which coincides with the zero, is the girth of the waist.

It is better to make a measurement two times, and if the data does not match, the average result is taken.

What do the numbers say?

Waist circumference - the basis for calculating such indicators as the waist-hip index or the waist-growth index. An overestimate indicator indicates an increased risk to human health. If fat accumulates in the waist area, then most likely, the person has an excess of visceral fat that envelops the internal organs. This fat - the cause of inflammation and the development of many diseases (diabetes, coronary heart disease and other diseases of the cardiovascular system, hypertension, cancer).

Common Norms

In men more than 102 cm, waist circumference more than 88 cm in women - a warning about the possible risk to health (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes). The norm can be considered in men - up to 94 cm, in women - up to 80 cm.

If we talk about the aesthetic component, in most countries of the world, women are considered to be attractive, whose waist is less than 70 cm. The researchers found that every extra 5 cm in the waist area increases the possibility of premature death by 17% in men and 13% in women.

We measure not only the waist

Measuring your waist, you can also measure the size of the thighs. The volume of the hips is measured by a centimeter tape for similar measurements of the waist principles (stand flat, do not "tighten" the meter), but on the widest part of the buttocks. Correspondence of the waist to the hips is a popular indicator in the West, which helps specialists to judge human health and to some extent speaks about its attractiveness. So studies of twins showed that this ratio in 22-61% of cases depends on genetic factors, and only then on nutrition and way of life.

Waist and hip circumference as an indicator of reproductive efficiency

Women with a thin waist have better health, they suffer less from infertility and diseases of the urinary system. The ratio of the waist to the hips, it turns out, is related to the ability to conceive and give birth to a child. Men with a score of about 0.9 have the best chances of conceiving a child, and women with a score of 0.8 or higher have a much greater chance of getting pregnant naturally. Studies show that among girls with the same weight, with a lower waist and hip ratio, earlier puberty occurs. This is manifested in the growth of hormones.

A Dutch study on artificial insemination in 1993 showed that the chances of becoming pregnant are higher in women with a low waist-hip ratio. It is noted that when the index is increased by 0.1 unit, the probability of conception in the cycle is reduced by 30% (the data are obtained taking into account the correction for age, weight, as well as the reasons for artificial insemination). This is confirmed by the fact that in African countries, where beauty canons are different from European ones, women have rather full hips (for example, 135 cm), but their waist is clearly pronounced and already narrower than the hips (for example, 100 cm). If you divide 100 by 135, you will get 0.74 - a good indicator for the birth of children.