Many doctors now believe that when it comes to your health, your waist measurement is important.
While body mass index (BMI) is a good way to tell if you're a healthy weight, it doesn't tell the whole story.
BMI is a measure of how healthy your weight is for your height. You can find your BMI using our BMI healthy weight calculator.
If your BMI is over the healthy range, this means that you're probably carrying extra fat. But did you know that your health could be at greater risk depending on where you store that fat?
We store spare body fat under the skin, and also around the vital organs in our abdomen. We now know that this fat around the abdomen causes more health problems than, say, fat carried around the bottom or on the thighs.
Having a large amount of tummy fat (when compared to having fat around the bottom or thighs) makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
If you have a lot of fat around your abdomen, you can get advice on how to lose it from the video at the bottom of this page.
Measure your waist
To find your true waist, feel for your hip bone on one side.
Move upwards until you can feel the bones of your bottom rib. Halfway between is your waist. For most people this is where their tummy button is.
Use a mirror the first time to see what you’re doing, and to make it easier to measure.
For women:
Ideal: less than 80cm (32”)
High: 80cm to 88cm (32” to 35”)
Very high: more than 88cm (35”)
For men:
Ideal: less than 94cm (37”)
High: 94cm to 102cm (37” to 40”)
Very high: more than 102cm (40”)
How to calculate waist-to-hip ratio
Working out the risk to your health is simple. Using a tape measure take the following steps:
1) Measure your hips.
2) Measure your waist.
3) Divide the waist number by the hip number.
A ratio of 1.0 or more in men or 0.85 or more in women indicates that you are carrying too much weight around your middle. This puts you at increased risk of diseases that are linked to obesity, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Your body shape
If you carry excess weight around your abdomen, that means you're an "apple" shape. Those who carry excess fat around the bottom and thighs are "pear" shaped.
Anyone who is carrying excess weight, anywhere on the body, would get health benefits from losing that weight.
But if you're an apple shape, it's particularly important that you take action to achieve a healthy weight.
You can do this by making lifestyle changes to improve your diet and increase your physical activity.
Remember, physical activity can improve the health of anyone who is overweight, and it's not just a matter of burning calories: your heart, lungs and circulation will benefit too.
Begin your weight loss journey by reading Start losing weight.
More information
There is lots more information on achieving a healthy weight in Lose weight.
Learn about healthy eating in Food and diet.
Find ideas to help you get active in Fitness.
