Waist to Hip Ratio

Doctors are increasingly relying on waist to hip ratio as a measurement of the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is instead of the Body Mass Index (BMI) that has been in place for many years.

How to work out the ratio?
Take a tape measure and measure your waist at the point of your belly button. Now do the same and measure your hips. If you find it tricky to measure then ask a family member or close friend to do this for you. No devide waist measurement by your hip measurement. Use a calculator to get an accurate value of your waist to hip ratio.

If you ratio is between 0.8 and 0.85 then you may feel you are healthy but you already will have some fat deposited around the organs and in the membranes that line the abdominal cavity. This fat will have started to make the hormones and chemicals which increase your risk of disease.

If you ratio is below 0.75 then that is perfect. Stay healthy and do what you are doing to maintain this ratio. If your ratio is between 0.75 and 0.8 then that is still good but you need to be aware of drift to higher ratio.

How to reduce your waist to hip ratio?
There are 3 steps to healthier living. Firstly, watch your diet. Are you over eating? Try to reduce the junk and unhealthy food from your diet. Secondly, add light exercise to your daily routine. For example, go for a 30 minute walk after dinner or breakfast. The third and final step is to do both in combination.

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