Should I be alarmed if my waist size is over 34in?

[TapeMeasureBlues]

I just went on to the NHS website to check my BMI but saw text below on the webpage about waist sizes above 31.5in_ (in women) needing to lose weight (regardless of BMI) and being at 'very high risk' if it's over 34in_.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/
I've pasted the text below my post.

My BMI is fine at 22.2, I'm 5'6 and 63 kg, I'm late 30s, a size 10ish but usually need 14 in jeans. I've got kids but the youngest is 3 and always have a pregnant ish looking belly which has been making me miserable as I look totally out of proportion and lots of clothes look awful on me.

I've been doing core/cardio exercises for the past year or so (only 2-3 times a week) and pilates. My core is definitely stronger but nothing looks tightened up, presumably because I'm not losing any weight - this wasn't particularly my intention. I generally eat healthily ish from scratch, but probably too much. (NB I'm not particularly looking for diet/exercise tips with this post).

Anyway, depending on where I measure my waist it varies from 31.5in at the smallest, up to around 36-37in at the largest (this is around the 'spare tyre' bit including hips just above my belly button). Is this really worrying? Am I really at risk from heart disease etc? 31.5inches seems very small to me, for the average woman, yet anything above this should mean losing weight?

I'm going to go to a GP when I can and when I've had my vaccine.

Would be interested to hear if anyone else has done this (do they investigate anything or just tell you to lose weight?) and also nosily would be interested in what others' waist size is, when following the instructions below...

I think I recall reading this some time ago and being briefly worried but assuming it was still post-baby stretched tummy that would go back to normal once I started exercising a bit.

From the NHS site:

Why waist size also matters

Measuring your waist is a good way to check you're not carrying too much fat around your stomach, which can raise your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.

You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat, meaning you're still at risk of developing these conditions.

To measure your waist:

Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips.
Wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points.
Breathe out naturally before taking the measurement.

Regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is:

94cm (37ins) or more for men
80cm (31.5ins) or more for women

You're at very high risk and should contact a GP if your waist is:

102cm (40ins) or more for men
88cm (34ins) or more for women

Exactly Scarlett it does seem a low threshold to me - although the advice for 80cm is just 'to lose weight' which tbh I would nod along with and not actually do anything... it's the "You are at high risk of..." that has struck fear into me hence questioning it here (but clearly I do need to do something about it!)

@TapeMeasureBlues I don’t feel like I have much fat on my stomach and it doesn’t really stick out but yet I’m being advised by the nhs website to lose weight. Tbh even if I did lose weight I don’t think my waist measurement would change because I’m quite ‘wide’. I’m definitely not an apple shape...probably more of a pear! Oh well, something else to worry about!

What does it say for men, out of interest?

I remember reading a thing in the paper years ago which said that 'apple' shape women were at higher risk of xyz as they put any weight on nearer their heart etc.

As an apple shaped person I was a bit... Well there's not much I can do about where my body stores fat, is there! Even when I was 7 stone I had a bit of a tum.

And what of men? They're pretty much all 'Apple shape'.

Surely the real story is that 'pear shaped' women are PROTECTED compared to other women and men.

But I suppose that positive news doesn't leave a load of women feeling a bit crap so it would never be reported like that...

Which NHS calc did you use?

Their BMI one makes no mention that I can see of waist size for men or women

@NiceGerbil

Which NHS calc did you use?

Their BMI one makes no mention that I can see of waist size for men or women

It's all in my OP with the link and text giving sizes for men and women! You have to scroll down below the calculator bit where it talks about lots of other risk factors. It talks about (what is called 'visceral fat elsewhere) fat being not just subcutaneous but also around your organs - I can't help feeling it must be impossible to lose weight from your organs! (I'm sure it's not though...) ::

Regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is:

94cm (37ins) or more for men
80cm (31.5ins) or more for women

You're at very high risk and should contact a GP if your waist is:

102cm (40ins) or more for men
88cm (34ins) or more for women

Thanks and sorry! I'll have a squiz!

I see it!

'You're at very high risk and should contact a GP if your waist is:

102cm (40ins) or more for men
88cm (34ins) or more for women'

That must be a massive average. What about a 6 foot woman or a really short man?

Is the difference in size for men and women due to average difference in height/ build or does it include an assumption about women tending to put weight on bum thighs?

If everyone in the country with measurements more than that contacted the doctor it would be overwhelmed!

Anyway gonna measure my waist. Won't do DH as he's very obese and it would make him upset

No, you're fine. I did this, I'm five foot 4 and a size ten. My waist was more than it should have been but I bloat really easily. My BMI is fine. If I went to the GP (and said what?!) I would be laughed out.

If everyone in the country with measurements more than that contacted the doctor it would be overwhelmed!

That's why I wanted to start the thread - to see if anyone else knew about this and see if anyone had actually turned up to their GP saying 'my waist is 35ins, so here I am' (which is still pretty much what I'm intending to do, as I like to KNOW things and not be worried about what might be).

I think there's a problem with the gap between

What is best for humans
And
How we actually live and are

We have got taller as nutrition has improved. Also women's shape (irrespective of weight) has changed, I don't know whether that is to do with (might look it up).

But in general it's become normal to be overweight. I'm just creeping into the overweight category and a lot of my friends comment that I'm slim.

I was involved in a conversation with some women about BMI and one of them said, well no one's in the normal range are they. It's silly.

Why we've got bigger and what can be done usually turns into a bunfight so I'm not going there!

One thing I've always wondered about is boobs.

Big boobs are really heavy and I've known some really slender/ short and slight build women and girls who've had really big boobs. That must contribute to a fair chunk of weight for them. That's never mentioned/ thought about though?

I know it's all averages but again I think there's more variations in women than in men, around our bodies, but that's not really every mentioned.

I think that's right, though, isn't it? I'm 5'10 and probably a bit podge, over 77kg but my waist is 29". I think there's something about visceral fat vs subcutaneous fat - so it's not about fat per se, but where it accumulates/ what kind that is the health risk.

www.healthline.com/health/visceral-fat#ratings-and-measurements

Depends on your build

My waist wouldn't have been 27 I don't think when I was 7 stone.

I just my shape.

I have this exact problem! My waist/hips are actually quite narrow, but the huge stomach means my waist measurement is awful. Since having 2 babies in the space of a year my stomach has changed beyond all recognition. I’ve lost most of the baby weight, albeit still a few pounds overweight and BMI of 26. But my waist is way over the recommended size which is rather alarming ...no matter how much weight I lose my stomach never seems to go down, it’s like a deflated balloon following pregnancy :(

I’m actually thinking about having an op (privately) to repair the stomach muscles as a surgeon I saw for a consultation said my stomach muscles are ‘bowing’ outwards which causes the bloated look. Admittedly there’s also definitely some loose skin and flab there too that needs to go, if I have the op he will be able to chop that off too 🤣

It really is depressing feeling so out of proportion - like a PP my overall clothes size is much smaller than the size I need to cover the belly and nearly all trousers just bisect the belly in half, which is not a good look! I also have to wear huge granny knickers that sit over my belly button to avoid an even bigger ‘overhang’ 🤮So I basically live in leggings and t shirts.

Like you OP I used to be very slim - 8 stone/ size 8-10 in my 20s, and I think my stomach looks even bigger due to having a small overall frame..

That's another point with this. While they mean (but don't say) it's when you're not pregnant, what about afterwards?

I found that my body took ages to recover and while BF (13 months each child) my boobs stayed huge. I'm not small of boob normally! Doesn't having them filling up with milk in the early days affect things? Liquids are heavy!

The more I think about it the more I feel that male as norm is the model and the much bigger variations we have in shape, disproportionately heavy bits (boobs) and post natal stuff is not taken into account meaning the advice for women is really over simplified.

Sounds to me like you're confusing your waist measurement with your hips measurement OP.
Waist is above hips (across belly button) and hips measurement is below hips (across abdomen).
Does that help?

I think that for a woman it would be very unusual for your waist not to be the narrowest point on your lower torso. It’s not the same for men, which might be why the NHS directions aren’t ‘find the narrowest point and measure that’. Think of where the waist band would go on a 50s style skirt and measure that point.

'Anyway, depending on where I measure my waist it varies from 31.5in at the smallest, up to around 36-37in at the largest (this is around the 'spare tyre' bit including hips just above my belly button)'

She's not confusing it- your hip bones come up quite high.

'I think that for a woman it would be very unusual for your waist not to be the narrowest point on your lower torso. It’s not the same for men, which might be why the NHS directions aren’t ‘find the narrowest point and measure that’.'

This really isn't helpful.

Women have different builds.

My arse and thighs are tiny. Always have been. All my weight goes on my tum. And boobs, thinking about it

It's not very unusual, it's fine and normal and if you're built like that it's not something you can change.

I’m a bit similar op- I’ve never had a skinny tummy. I’m 5’4, I’m definitely not fat at 55kg but wouldn’t be surprised if my waist did hit 31. I get the pregnant look post babies, it’s pretty annoying but I do think some serious abs work would fix it properly. I’m reasonably active.
Post birth I did personal training sessions with a post natal physio and I would do the same again if I could get motivated, im very comfortable I’m not making any diastasis worse and fundamentally my core strength is sound, I just feel my tummy needs more core strength and less fat to look the same as other tummies. There are some great instagram accounts with exercises, but you do need to understand your transverse abdominals. I would put effort into that for 6 months before seeing a gp.

@NiceGerbil

I didn’t say the narrowest point on your body, I said your lower torso.

@NiceGerbil

'Anyway, depending on where I measure my waist it varies from 31.5in at the smallest, up to around 36-37in at the largest (this is around the 'spare tyre' bit including hips just above my belly button)'

She's not confusing it- your hip bones come up quite high.

Do her hips come up high? My hip bones are just above my belly button.

I’m 5 foot 5, bmi of 27 and a have a huuuuuge waist. It has gone down a bit now, but I think it’s still above 34. I did consider going to the doctors (after reading the exact same page as you did!) but then I decided against it as I imagine all they’ll do is tell me to lose weight which I am trying to do anyway. According to my smart scales my visceral fat is in an ‘acceptable’ range though- hopefully that is accurate.

I would be interested to hear if anyone did go though, especially anyone with a healthy bmi. Even when I had a bmi of 23/24 my waist was still about 32 inches

Yes I know what you said

I'm not a 'pear' shape, I don't go in and out like that.

That's my point. Lots of women are not 'pears' and that's not something they can do anything about.

My hip bones are also above my belly button as are ops. That's just normal surely!