Waist size is an important factor in determining your overall health and well-being. It is used for everything from selecting clothes to understanding if your weight is optimum. Many women today are scratching their heads and wondering what is it that they must target to remain in the weight and size game. So, let us dig deeper to understand what is the average waist size for women and what are its implications?

Defining an Ideal Waist Size

Most people imagine an ideal waist to be one that is slim. However, that is not what the majority of men and women have today. Women aiming to have a slim waist need to follow a strict exercise routine along with a monitored diet plan. If you're also on the path of achieving an average waist size for women, here are a few benchmarks that you need to take a look at:

• UK – According to a British lingerie company, the average women's waist in 2017 was 34 inches with a bra size of 36DD.

• US – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average adult female is 5 feet 4 inches tall with a waist measurement of 38.1 inches.

• Australia – According to the Department of Health, a waist circumference of 31.5 inches or more means chances of being affected by a chronic disease. In 2014-15, the average waist measurement for women was recorded as 34.5 inches.

While the measurements above are average sizes seen across different regions, they indicate an unhealthy life pattern prone to health risks. The Diabetes Canada 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada suggests normal waist size targets as follows:

Correct Waist Size Measurement

Measuring your waist size is thankfully not a difficult task and all you need is a tape measure. Here is a step-by-step guide to waist circumference measurement:

• Remove your clothes. The tape measure must rest against your bare stomach for accurate measurement.

• Find the outline of your waist. This is an important step. Place your fingers between your bottom rib and the top of your hip bone.

• Wrap the measuring tape around the area identified in step 2. Remember to keep the tape parallel to the floor.

• Exhale and read where the tape meets the end with zero. This number will either indicate the measurement in inches or centimeters.

• Double-check the measurement to be sure.

Please note that the measuring tape must not be kept too tight.

A Healthy Waist Circumference to Target

Fat deposit plays an important role in the overall health of an individual. If excessive fat is deposited in the middle (waist), chances of suffering from health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes are high. This means that your focus must be a healthy waist circumference instead of a slim waist.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

People who have weight deposited around the waist suffer from higher health risks as compared to those who carry weight around the area of the hips. Accurately check your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) to better understand how health issues can affect you in the future. Divide your waist measurement by hip measurement (W/H). Keep both units in inches. Let's see an example for better understanding:

• Waist Circumference: 30 inches
• Hip Circumference: 38 inches
• WHR: 30/38 = 0.78

This ratio helps to understand if your body shape is optimal or you need to monitor your routine to avoid obesity-related challenges. If the ratio calculated is more than 0.80, your body shape is 'apple'. If it is less than 0.80, you are a 'pear' shape. The WHR is an indicator of an individual's health and correlates with fertility.

Waist-to-Height Ratio

The waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is waist measurement divided by height. Both of these must be measured in inches. The waist-to-height ratio is used to determine body fat distribution. A higher WHtR refers to the increased chances of suffering from obesity-related cardiovascular diseases. It has a direct relationship with abdominal obesity.

The waist-to-height ratio is a better metric for predicting health issues than BMI or waist circumference. A healthy waist-to-height ratio for women is recorded between 0.42 and 0.48. This may differ for different age groups. For instance, for people below 40 years of age, the vital measure is 0.5. For those in the age group of 40 to 50, the healthy range is between 0.5 and 0.6. A higher or lower WHtR can pose serious threats to an individual's health.

Implications of WHR and WHtR on Health

There are several ratios and metrics used to analyze health. These ratios and their results can differ and might not all indicate the same. Your BMI may be in the healthy range but your WHR may be in the less than optimum range. In such a situation, it is recommended that you focus on losing a little bit of weight (fat deposition) to remain in the range of good health. Consult a doctor for better recommendations on how and where you need to lose to reach the average waist size for women and reduce the risk of the disease since weight is not the only determinant of disease risk.

What to Do Next?

The significance of an average waist size for women is clear. Now, you need to find a routine and manage your body fat in order to be able to achieve that target so that you remain healthy and avoid any kind of serious health conditions.