How Do I Tell the Size of My Waist?

Knowing your waist size makes shopping for pants easier and helps you gauge your health. A high waist circumference puts you at risk for diseases like Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, according to WebMD. For men, a high waist circumference ranges 40 inches and above; for women the range changes to 35 inches and higher.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure (inches)

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Instructions

• 1

  Raise or take off your shirt so that you expose the skin at your waist.

• 2

  Find the tops of your hip bones with your fingers, and move your fingers just above that spot, on the same level as your navel.

• 3

  Place the tape measure on your waist with the zero indicating your starting point. Stand close to a mirror if you cannot see the numbers by looking down.

• 4

  Wrap the tape measure around your body snugly but not tightly. If using a mirror, turn with your back to the mirror so you can see that the tape measure does not squeeze your body. Wrap the tape measure all the way around until it meets the zero end.

• 5

  Write down the number that the tape measure shows.