What is waist circumference?

Waist circumference is a measurement taken around your abdomen at the level of your belly button.

Why track it?

Measuring your waist circumference is key for tracking weight loss as shows you how much fat you are carrying around your stomach. Besides the effect that this has on your weight, having too much fat around your waist can increase your risk of health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. You can read more about waist circumference here and what a healthy waist size is here.

How is it measured?

You can measure your waist circumference with a good old fashioned tape measure! Simply wrap the tape measure around your waist (halfway between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips), then breathe out naturally before taking the measurement. If you're looking for a tape measure, we really like the Myotape.