Waist Circumference

What it is

Waist circumference is a tape measurement around your midsection, used as a simple indicator of how body fat is distributed rather than how much there is overall. It's measured inconsistently in practice — some protocols use the top of the hip bone, others the narrowest point, the midpoint between the lowest rib and the hip bone, or the level of the navel — and each landmark can give a different number, as can posture, breathing, and time since your last meal. The thresholds used to interpret it also differ between guidelines and are ethnicity-specific in some of them, so the same measurement can be read differently depending on the reference used. It's typically reviewed alongside measures like BMI and metabolic markers rather than on its own.

Typical range

Reference ranges vary between laboratories, and what is normal for you depends on your own history. Your own lab’s range is the one printed on your report.

Worth asking your clinician

• Where exactly should I be placing the tape so my measurements are consistent and comparable to yours?
• Which reference or thresholds would you apply when interpreting my waist measurement, given my background?
• How much does my waist measurement add to what you already know from my other measures?