Your Fitness Measurements: Waist Size
Your waist size can tell you a lot about your health. Check out this video to learn exactly why your waist size is such an important fitness measurement.
Expert: Elevate Fitness Circle
Transcript
When it comes to measuring fitness, one of the most important measurements is your waist size. It can tell you MUCH more than what size pants to buy.
The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, as well as the CDC and diabetes organizations, says a healthy woman should have a waist of 35 inches or less. A man’s should be 40 inches or less. If your waist is bigger than those guidelines, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT OVERWEIGHT, you could be at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers and dementia.
What makes a large waist such a health risk? Belly fat, or visceral fat, surrounds your organs, triggers body-wide inflammation, and makes your body resistant to the appetite-controlling hormone leptin. And that can lead to even more weight gain.
To measure your waist size, run a tape measure around your naked body, just below your rib cage and right above your hip bone, usually around the same level as your belly button. Make sure you’re not sucking in, or pinching or pulling any skin–or fat–with the measuring tape. After all, you want an accurate number, right?
If you discover you need to REDUCE your waist size, making lifestyle changes is essential. You’ll want to cut back on saturated fats in red meats and poultry skin, and avoid all trans fats, as well as sugar-added foods and drinks AND diet drinks.
It’s also important to increase the amount of veggies and fruits you eat. Then you’ll want to do at least 30 minutes of heart-rate-increasing aerobics 5 days a week. When you get rid of your belly fat, you will feel better, be healthier, and look great! For more tips on getting fit and building the best body possible, watch the other videos in the series.
Last Modified: 2014-04-09
