If you carry fat mainly around your waist, you are more likely to develop health problems than if you carry fat mainly in your hips and thighs. This is true even if your BMI falls within the normal range.

To measure your waist circumference, place a measuring tape around your bare abdomen just above your hip bone. This is usually at the level of your navel. Be sure that the tape is snug, but does not compress your skin, and is parallel to the floor. Relax, exhale, and measure your waist.

Women with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches (89 cm) or men with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches (102 cm) may have a higher risk of disease than people with smaller waist measurements because of where their fat lies.