It's not a waist of time

What's the deal on measuring your waist?

Measuring your waist is a good way to check that you're not carrying too much fat (Visceral fat) around your stomach, which can raise your risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Stroke.

You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat, meaning you're still at risk of developing these conditions.

To measure your waist:

1. Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips. 2. Wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points. 3. Breathe out naturally before taking the measurement.

Regardless of your height or BMI, you should try to lose weight if your waist is:

• 94cm (37ins) or more for men

• 80cm (31.5ins) or more for women

You're at very high risk and should contact a GP if your waist is:

• 102cm (40ins) or more for men

• 88cm (34ins) or more for women

It's up to us as individuals to manage our own health. Measuring your waist is one simple and cost-effective (only the price of a tape measure) way to do so.

In case you are wondering, Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds your abdominal organs. It is normal to have visceral fat and we need it because it separates the abdominal organs such as the kidneys, pancreas and liver. However, too much visceral fat can lead to inflammation and high blood pressure and it can also affect insulin sensitivity which all increase the risk of serious health problems down the line such as cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and dementia.

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Karen is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach living in Cyprus near Paphos with her husband Mal and their cat Dave. She has been a personal trainer for 14 years and a qualified nutrition coach for over 2 years. She is passionate about working with people of any age and fitness level to improve their health and wellbeing.

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