I found a good ideal waist size according to your height chart on this website:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...e-matters.aspx


I'm 5'9 with a 29.5 inch waist currently and can definitely stand to lose several more inches. I'm aiming for 27-28" like the chart suggests. I'm just waiting to see what I look like when I get there. I'm not saying this chart is flawless because everyone's different, but I think it's good to aim for "ideal" instead of "average" waistline, especially since I'm an apple-shape person. I want to be excellent, not average.

"To cut cancer risks, everyone should aim to be as thin as possible without becoming underweight." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7069914.stm

That's why I'm not stopping at 22 BMI because it doesn't look right for me. I'm going to go as far as I can go without looking unhealthy or underweight.

What are you aiming for?

P.S. I started out with a 38" inch waist and now I'm 29.5" !! So u can do it too! Don't give up!

I am 5'8" with a 29 inch waist. Happy man! I used to be a 44!

I have been shooting for 28 inches for a long time now (I think I had that when I was 17). But that ain't gonna happen.

According to this chart I have about 10 inches to go. I think I will revisit this after I've lost some more weight, because that number for some reason feels more overwhelming than the number of pounds I have left to lose!

I hate crap like this. Seriously. I mean... what does that mean?

What about Apple shapes? What about women after menopause? What about fine boned people and larger boned people?

You simply CANNOT tell if someone is ideal, overweight or obese by waist measurements PERIOD.

If that were the case, when my MIL was 20 pounds overweight and the doctor said she should try to lose a few pounds, that really, she was "ideal" (she has a tiny waist and gains everything in the gut and butt).

That means that even when I was at 25% body fat at age 42, I was still "overweight", close to obese.

So people... TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

it will make you feel good if you have a tiny waist, but that's about all it means - a feel good.

Amen!

I agree that this is not a great chart for everyone, but personally I like it for myself I'm a very hourglass shape and seem to maintain about a 30" waist (at 5'7") in my usual weight ranges. I think 27" would be a good goal marker for me because at that point my stomach would probably be totally flat. My stomach has NEVER been flat in my life!

Sure. If I have a couple of ribs removed. If I dedicated my life to nothing other than trying to reduce my waist size, sure. Thanks, but no thanks.

The article seems to be mostly about waist-to-hip ratio (which I've learned recently to be a good health indicator), not just waist size and they don't really say anything about where they got the numbers from for waist size. *shrug*

Yeah it's definitely just a general guide. It doesn't apply to me (measure abt. 42-31-41) since according to this I am not overweight (though not "ideal") but according to BMI and all known standards, I am nearly obese. LOL.

COMPLETELY agree. This chart is nuts lol. When will society lose the standards and realize that "healthy" is not black and white.

The people I've known in my life to have developed cancer were some of the thinnest people I'd known. No weight problems whatsoever. You know, broccoli used to cause cancer, now it doesn't....ooops...they made a mistake lol. That's "experts" for you

So I only need to lose 17 more inches?

Wow..I haven't been "obese" for 10 pounds now but according to this chart, I am obese again. :-(

This is just for ideal waist measurements. It's not about your hips or any other body part. It's about what's usually ideal for the waistline. If I were pear-shaped, I'd be looking up ideal hip sizes as well. But I'm apple-shaped, so I know that if I can get my waist in good form, the rest of my body will be fine.

Broccoli causing cancer makes no common sense whatsoever, unless said broccoli has been contaminated by something. Being as thin as possible, without being underweight/unhealthy, makes common sense because the less you weigh, the less stress there is on your body.

I look at the trends throughout history and the trends of the healthiest countries in the world to determine common sense answers. "Experts" say all kinds of stuff. Use your common sense to filter.

I like having charts and numbers to use as a goalpost, but not a promise. I may end up being smaller or bigger than this chart says, but it gives me a fun goal to aim for. I like it because the numbers seem reasonable to me. But still use your common sense to determine if the chart is good for your body.

Common sense is relative. If these "experts" say that there is an agent in broccoli that increases the risk of cancer, trust and believe that many people will believe it. What may be "common sense" for one individual is NOT for another. It's all relative. My point is.....forget about charts that produce ideals like these. Next year, there will be a new ideal and more people will jump on that band wagon too. Even common sense is not black and white. But whatever.