Why Waist Matters More Than Weight
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
If you take one measurement seriously, make it your waist rather than your weight.
The reason is where the fat sits. Fat stored around the abdomen and inside the liver drives insulin resistance far more than fat elsewhere on the body. Two people at the same weight can have very different risk depending on distribution.
This matters especially for Indians. At the same BMI, South Asians carry more body fat and less muscle than white Europeans, with more of that fat around the middle. That is why obesity-related conditions appear here at lower weights, and why India uses its own thresholds.
| Measure | Threshold |
|---|---|
| BMI — normal | 18.0 to 22.9 |
| BMI — overweight | 23.0 to 24.9 |
| BMI — obese | 25 and above |
| Waist — abdominal obesity, men | Above 90 cm |
| Waist — abdominal obesity, women | Above 80 cm |
Compare those with the international figures of 25 for overweight and 30 for obesity, and you can see how someone can be told their BMI is fine while sitting in the Indian overweight range.
To measure properly: stand up, breathe out normally, and put the tape midway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone — not at the level of your trouser waistband, which sits lower and reads smaller.
Track it monthly. It responds to change faster than the weighing scale does.