According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 68 percent of Americans over the age of 20 were overweight or obese in 2008. Obesity has been directly linked to numerous health problems, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death. Waist circumference measurement is one way to measure central adiposity or obesity, and help predict cardiovascular and diabetes risk.
Waist circumference measurement has many benefits related to health status. According to researchers, Michael J. Lean and Thang S. Han, waist circumference measurement is the best simple anthropometric measure of total body fat, best indicator of intra-abdominal fat mass, and a better gauge than Body Mass Index, which is the current obesity standard. The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends using waist circumference measurements based on 40 inches in men and 34.6 inches in women to evaluate obesity. Unfortunately, there is no standard for measuring the waist. Different organizations use different techniques to measure the anatomical waist.
ACSM Waist Circumference Measurement Technique
The American College of Sports Medicine publishes a handbook on fitness standards based on research called "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription." ACSM defines waist measurement as a horizontal measure at the narrowest part of the torso above the umbilicus, which is also known as the belly button, and below the xiphoid process or lowest portion of the sternum. The Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual lists same location for waist measurement as well.
WHO Waist Circumference Measurement Technique
The World Health Organization measures the waist as the "midpoint between the lower margin of the last palpable rib and the top of the iliac crest (hip bone)." This is also a horizontal measure. The measurement should be taken without clothing and at the end of a normal exhalation.
NIH Waist Circumference Measurement Technique
The National Institutes of Health recommends the waist circumference measurement be measured at the "intersection of mid-axillary line with the uppermost lateral border of the right iliac crest in normal minimum respiration." The mid-axillary line is an imaginary line that passes vertically down the body from the apex of the armpit, according to Biology-online.org.
Umbilicus Waist Circumference Measurement
Some studies and organizations will measure the waist circumference at the bellybutton. This is a horizontal measure also. Organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine would classify this measurement location as the abdominal circumference measurement, a separate measurement from waist circumference.
References
- National Center for Health Statistics
- National Cholesterol Education Program
- World Health Organization
- "Obesity"; Waist Circumference Measurement by Site, Posture, Respiratory Phase, and Meal Time: Implications for Methodology; Sunil K. Agarwal, et al.; January 2009
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; American College of Sports Medicine; 7th Edition; 2006
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Waist Worries; Michael Lean, et al.; October 2002
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