Calculator
Is your waist over the line?
Over 40 inches for men or 35 for women, the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes goes up.
Sex
How to measure
Stand up straight and put the tape around your middle, just above your hip bones. Keep it level and snug, then measure just after you breathe out.
Why the waist
The lines are from the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and its guidelines add that a big waist can mean higher risk even at a normal weight. Fat around the organs (visceral fat) does more harm than fat under the skin, and your waist tracks it better than your weight does.
2 sources
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Assessing your weight and health risknhlbi.nih.gov
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report, 1998ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
More calculators
Weigh in each morning on a Withings or any Apple Health scale and Gyroscope logs your weight and bodyfat on its own, free on any plan. Open Gyroscope
