Keeping waist measurement to less than half your height ‘good for your health’, new guidance says

Carrying excess fat around waist linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease

28 per cent of adults in the UK are obese and 36 per cent are overweight – a problem costing the NHS more than £6bn a year (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

People should ensure their waist measurement is less than half their height to keep health problems at bay, an NHS watchdog has said.

According to new guidelines drafted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), adults with a body mass index (BMI) below 35 should measure their own waist-to-height ratio.

A BMI of 18 to 25 is considered a healthy weight, 25 to 30 is overweight, and over 30 is obese.

Nice said that by using a waist-to-height ratio, together with BMI, people can work out whether they are carrying excess fat around their middle, which is known to push up the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease.

Anyone looking to find out their waist-to-height ratio can use an online calculator or should ask a healthcare professional to work it out for them.

To measure your waist, NICE advises to find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips, wrap a tape measure around the waist midway between these points and breath out naturally before taking the measurement.

The guidelines says that a healthy waist-to-height ratio is 0.4 to 0.49, indicating no increased health risks. A ratio of 0.5 to 0.59, indicates increased health risks, and a ratio of 0.6 or more indicates further increased health risks.

Both sexes and and all ethnic groups, as well as highly muscular adults can use this technique, according to the guidelines. But waist measurements are not accurate in people with a BMI over 35, pregnant women or children under two.

Measuring body mass index (BMI) is recommended to see if an individual is a healthy weight for their height – however, it does not consider excess weight around the abdomen.

People with a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black-African or African-Caribbean family backgrounds are more prone to this type of build-up of fat around the waist, called “central adiposity”. NICE advises they use lower BMI thresholds for obesity to help predict their specific health risks.

But even those in a healthy BMI weight category could be carrying too much weight around their waist, warns the health watchdog.

Dr Paul Chrisp, director for centre for guidelines at NICE, said: “Our updated draft guideline offers people a simple and effective way of measuring their weight so they can understand the factors that could impact on their health and take action to address them.

“Our committee found that a clear benefit of using the waist-to-height ratio is that people can easily measure it themselves, interpret the results, and seek medical advice if they are at increased health risk.”

Professor Rachel Batterham, guideline committee member and a consultant in obesity, diabetes and endocrinology, said: “Increased fat in the abdomen increases a person’s risk of developing several life-limiting diseases including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

“Waist-to-height ratio is a simple, easy-to-use measure that identifies people who are at increased health risk and would benefit from weight management support to improve their health.”

Roughly 28 per cent of adults in the UK are obese and 36 per cent are overweight – a growing problem which is costing the NHS more than £6bn a year.

Healthcare professionals and the public can comment on the proposed recommendations in the guidelines before they are published in May.