Experts say“If your waist is bigger than your hips, you should start worrying about your heart.” We are constantly reading many conflicting opinions too that being overweight isn’t likely to kill you, and then a different study says that by packing on a few extra kilo’s could significantly increase your risk of premature death. So, what to believe and whereto from here? I think we can safely emphasize that obesity raises the risk of serious conditions like heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Most of us measure our ‘health’ by our BMI - Body Mass Index. But is BMI the only measure to determine whether someone is overweight? Studies point out that it is a good average measure, but there are flaws with the common measure of comparison of height to weight, and we need to consider alternative methods to determine individuals who have excess body fat. BMI can give a skewed result not only for fit bodies who come out with a high number because of the extra weight associated with muscle, but also for the elderly, who tend to have scores that underestimate obesity due to much less muscle density.
New research shows there is another informative way to figure out if you are overweight - namely WHR - Waist-Hip Ratio. And all it requires is a measuring tape! Most of us aren’t taking our Waist-Hip measurements as part of our ‘big picture’ study to determine if we’re at a healthy weight or not. ents as part of our ‘big picture’ study to determine if we’re at a healthy weight or not.



The best way to determine whether you are at risk of a heart attack and other obesity-related diseases is using the measurement that divides the circumference of your waist by your hips. If you’re a woman, a healthy Waist-Hip ratio should be 0.8 or less, and for men it is 0.95 or less.
Therefore, if your stomach has caught up to the size of your hips, you need to be careful about your health. This is because abdominal fat can lead to changes in hormone levels and can cause inflammation, which leads to clogged arteries. Fat stored in the belly is considered the most dangerous type of fat in our bodies. The Waist-Hip measurement will, therefore, highlight people at risk of fat-related diseases, who might think they are at a healthy weight based only on their BMI.

“You can be thin and still have too much fat.” Many people find that they appear slimmer than they feel due to their shape and the type of clothes they choose to wear, and certain people like those from Japan and South Asia, for example - tend not to become obese, yet can still have an increased risk of heart disease from storing small amounts of fat around their waists. Having an apple shape (carrying extra weight around your stomach) is riskier for your health than having a pear shape (carrying extra weight around your hips and thighs).

This is because body shape and health risk are linked. If you have more weight around your waist, you have a greater risk of lifestyle related diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, than those with weight around their hips. But please remember, overall obesity is still of greater risk than where fat is distributed or stored on your body, so other important measurements to take into account are Body Mass Index (see our BMI chart to calculate yours) and percentage of body fat.