Your body shape

Your body shape and where you store excess weight can have an influence on your health. Excess weight around your middle or a potbelly is a health risk.

Why measure waist circumference?

Measuring your waist circumference is a simple check to tell how much body fat you have and where it is placed around your body.

Where your fat is located can be an important sign of your risk for developing an ongoing health problem. A waist measurement of greater than 94cm for men or 80cm for women is an indicator of internal fat deposits, which coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, and increase the risk of chronic disease.

No matter what your height or build, an increased waistline is a sign that you could be at greater risk of developing serious ongoing health problems including chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and some cancers.

Waist measurement ranges

How to reduce high waist measurements

• Be active every day - aim to build up to 30 minutes (or more) of moderate-intensity physical activity every day
• Reduce your sugar and fat intake
• Limit your intake of processed and takeaway foods
• Eat a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables

Why doesn’t WorkHealth use the body mass index (BMI)?

Waist measurement compares closely with body mass index (BMI); however waist measurement is often seen as a better way of checking a person’s risk of developing a chronic disease.

BMI does not distinguish between weight attributable to fat and weight attributable to muscle. It does not always reflect body fat distribution or describe the same degree of fatness in different population groups. It can also over estimate the amount of body fat for pregnant women and under estimate the amount of body fat for the elderly.

BMI is calculated using a person’s weight and height. However, weight is only part of the equation. Of greater significance is body composition, i.e., the amount of muscle compared to fat in the body, and where fat is stored in the body. Fat that is stored around the upper body or abdomen is less healthy than fat that is stored on the hips and thighs. Abdominal fat (fat stored around the stomach area) is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, high blood fats (cholesterol and triglycerides) and type 2 diabetes.

Therefore the BMI should be interpreted with caution when assessing an individual’s body weight.

Further information and advice 

For further information and advice, you can contact: 

• Measure Up at measureup.gov.au
• 'Go for your life’ on 1300 73 98 99 or goforyourlife.vic.gov.au.

For more information and tips on reducing your waist measurement, you can download the Body Shape Fact Sheet.