The location where you accumulate excess fat can affect your health risk differently. If you accumulate excess fat around your waist, you can be at an increased risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits and low in energy-dense foods, as well as regular physical activity can help you maintain your waist circumference at a healthy range.
Waist Size and Health
Everyone accumulates fat in different places. However, if you tend to accumulate fat around the abdomen or waist, you are more likely to be at an increased risk of certain health problems. Waist circumference is the perimeter around your abdomen. Though BMI is often used to assess risk associated with excess body weight, waist circumference can be more reliable as a risk assessment tool because it does not rely on your height and weight, which can be biased by the amount of muscle mass in your body.
Abdominal Fat and Health Problems
People that store fat around the abdomen are at an increased risk of certain diseases compared to people that store fat in their thighs or other places in the body. A large waist circumference can put you at risk for type 2 diabetes, increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and liver disease. Additionally, it can cause sleep apnea, which can disrupt your sleep and result in fatigue. In women, excess abdominal fat can also result in infertility and hormonal unbalances.
Recommendations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or DHHS, recommends a waist circumference of less than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. You can assess your risk by measuring your own waist circumference. Anatomically, your waist is at the highest point of your hipbone. Once you locate this point, use a tape measurer to measure around that point. Make sure the tape is snug but not too tight that it compresses skin.
Waist to Reduce Waist Circumference
If you find that your waist circumference measurement is large, contact your physician or a registered dietitian to discuss ways in which you can improve your diet and physical activity. In general, limiting energy-dense foods high in fat and sugars, limiting alcohol intake, and eating following a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and natural foods can help you lose weight. Another way to reduce abdominal fat is increasing physical activity. The DHHS Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults participate in 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity --- such as brisk walking or biking --- every week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity such as running or swimming laps.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); Weight and Waist Measurement; November 2008
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Waist Circumference; 2009
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: At-A-Gance; October 2008
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