# Waist size bullshitters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736 "2013-08-08T19:03:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/21 "2013-08-09T03:15:45Z")
For the past 10 or 15 years I have had to wear my pants below my gut or they would just fall off as I walked. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/22 "2013-08-09T03:22:05Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > See? That’s significantly above my navel. Bodies are weird. > > I say always go for the smallest point. Then at least it is defined and consistent. Then your waist would be the first joint of your pinky-toe. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/23 "2013-08-09T04:28:17Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > And of course they also insisted I’m an inch shorter than I think I am, as they did with my officemate (but somehow added a couple inches to another coworker who’s never been over 5’ in her life until that weigh-in, perhaps that’s where they went…) and I’m as a result ever so slightly into overweight in BMI. I mean, I know I needed to lose a bit of weight, but no need to make things seem even worse! I just had a physical three weeks ago. I’ve always been right at 5’ 10" and now suddenly I’m 5’ 7 3/4". WTF? So now I’m slightly overweight, too. Yeah, it won’t hurt to lose 10 pounds but I really wonder where those 2 inches went. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/24 "2013-08-09T06:06:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Can’t disagree there. > > But I will say, I don’t know for sure that when I measure my waist, I’m really measuring my waist. Some instructions say to measure the narrowest part of your waist, some say to put it around your belly button, and I don’t know which one is correct. Another problem is the suck-in factor. > [@](#): > > So maybe these guys are just measuring the wrong part of their waist. Well yeah, but a 5’7" 195 guy who is not extremely muscular and who reports a 34" waist is fooling himself to an extent. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/25 "2013-08-09T07:12:07Z")
I’m 5’9" and 73kg, down from somewhere above 82kg two years ago - I’ve gone down at least 2" in the pants I buy, and could go one more inch if needed. (right now 33" is comfortable sizing for me) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/26 "2013-08-09T07:25:30Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > And of course they also insisted I’m an inch shorter than I think I am, as they did with my officemate (but somehow added a couple inches to another coworker who’s never been over 5’ in her life until that weigh-in, perhaps that’s where they went…) and I’m as a result ever so slightly into overweight in BMI. I mean, I know I needed to lose a bit of weight, but no need to make things seem even worse! > [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I just had a physical three weeks ago. I’ve always been right at 5’ 10" and now suddenly I’m 5’ 7 3/4". WTF? So now I’m slightly overweight, too. Yeah, it won’t hurt to lose 10 pounds but I really wonder where those 2 inches went. Told before. When I was 15 I had what I’m convinced was sunstroke, but for some reason ended up being sent to every speciality doctor in the province. After running the local gamut, the last one (a cardiologist) sent me to the only one left, an internist, which had to be at the big hospital in the capital. We got there for my 8am appointment, the ECGd me 😕, measured and weighed me (getting normal values for me) and then the doctor said “I don’t understand why my colleague asked for this consultation, your ECG is perfectly fine and… oooh. Oh. OK; I see, the referral asks for an internist but apparently since it came from a cardiologist, the helpful ladies down in admissions assigned you to me. Well, I’m a cardiologist, which you don’t need, but the colleague who uses this same office in the afternoon is an internist. Let me give him a call.” So, appointment back at the same place, this time for 2:45pm. The nurse measures and weighs me, comes up with 10 more pounds and 2 inches less than in the morning. As I told the doctor, “I’ve heard of shrinking along the day, but according to you guys and given time spent walking, amount eaten and bathroom trips, I’ve broken the law of preservation of mass, so either explain or correct those numbers, because no fucking way.” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/27 "2013-08-09T10:13:53Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > My pant size is 34" but I have an honest waist measure around the belly button of 43". My waistline - the top of my pelvis - is well below my belly button ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/28 "2013-08-09T10:37:50Z")
By my calculations, my weight is perfect. I’m just twenty two inches too short. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/29 "2013-08-09T12:07:18Z")
Lots of misunderstanding here – waist size is normally measured right above your hips. Normally the results in a suit size of a a 6" drop i.e. if you’re 44" in suits (be they S/M/XL) your pants should fit you fine on a 36" (if with a bit of tailoring length and width). Now, that is that ‘normal’ fit for say 80% of people, the other 20% are going to have problems or substantive tailoring off-rack. Outside those parameters it may be cheaper (and more than likely) to have your pants tailor-made. Only so much they can do. FWLITW, I can walk away with a 44" XL (means extra long, not extra large) right out of the shop – only need to wait if I want the pants hemn-cuffed or not ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/30 "2013-08-10T15:54:46Z")
I’m big. Don’t laugh. But 42" pants universally fit me. I even have some pants made by an Indian tailor in Thailand. It must be the ancient (not modern) British influence, but when measured, size 42. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/31 "2013-08-10T20:52:17Z")
I just found this on Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > In modern clothing the region referred to as the waist is considerably below the waist as defined anatomically. With the advent of trousers and skirts that do not require support from above, the clothing waist moved down to a position where the body starts to expand to form the buttocks and a support is therefore available. > > The waistline of clothing is now generally well below the anatomical waist. This distinction is surely part of the source of the confusion and self-deception. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/32 "2013-08-10T21:23:26Z")
Many of these people must have been bullshitting to pants manufacturers. Nothing else can explain the piles of unsold pants in the stores which only could fit people who are 6’4" and weigh 150 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/33 "2013-08-10T23:32:48Z")
I feel skinny Oh so skinny I feel skinny and mini and trim My name’s **Vinnie** And the jeans I bought affirm I’m slim! — “I Feel Skinny” from the musical _Waist Size Story_ (with apologies to Bernstein, Sondheim and everyone who read this) ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/34 "2013-08-11T04:25:03Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I feel skinny > Oh so skinny > I feel skinny and mini and trim > My name’s **Vinnie** > And the jeans I bought affirm I’m slim! > > — “I Feel Skinny” from the musical _Waist Size Story_ > (with apologies to Bernstein, Sondheim and everyone who read this) Who’s that man in the mirror there? (what mirror? where?) Who can that attractive man be? (which? what? where? who?) Such a skinny waist, such a skinny pant, such a skinny size, such a skinny me! ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/35 "2013-08-11T06:18:46Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > See? That’s significantly above my navel. Bodies are weird. > > I say always go for the smallest point. Then at least it is defined and consistent. Actually it’s not. At least not for me. When I am bigger - the smallest point is below my rib cage (or way below the gut). As I lose my beer gut - and it flattens out - it becomes the smallest. Then how I wrap the tape around my love handles become inconsistent. I have settled on using the navel and trying to measure parallel to that. I still can vary a quarter inch or so between repeated measurements. Sometimes more. But you certainly are right bodies are weird. I am astonished by the number of studies I have seen that seem to gloss over this. Many do mention where they measure the waist, but not all - and it has to vary by measurer. For real thin people it probably isn’t much of an issue - for me - I sometimes feel like I’m a sculptor when I’m trying to get the tape around (by my trying to visualize the best way to slice my frame). Oh and back to the OP - I don’t know if anyone else mentioned this - but I’ve seen ads that appear to use multiple added together measurements and then claim “I lost 14 inches in 7 days”. But them you find out they are measuring the waist and other places as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/36 "2013-08-11T15:03:36Z")
I’d like to take this moment to say that I am 5’5" and my waist is the size of a barge. \*\*pats tummy… \*\* ---
**Author:** ![whatevers1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@whatevers1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whatevers1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/37 "2013-09-24T03:52:26Z")
I agree, it’s amazing. I’m down to a 31 in levis, but I began to think about vanity sizing. I’m about as thin as I’ve ever been, including in high school–and I"m almost 65 years old, and very happy to have just lost about 65 lbs–over about 3 years, actually, not “just”–but I was shocked to find out that I am really a 36, measured around the hips, and there’s only about another inch that I can find, at about 20 percent body fat (the formulas say)–that’s probably a vanity number too! I"m good with it, but it’s just not real! ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/38 "2013-09-24T04:48:34Z")
Every time I see this pop up I think of…Little people telling stories. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/39 "2013-09-24T13:29:08Z")
I’ve got a student who’s a dietician and a weight loss coach. Her advice? Never weigh yourself, never measure yourself. It all varies too much and just sends your mood shooting off in one direction or the other. Instead of “trying to lose weight” or “trying to lose your gut”, **try to get in shape.** the rest will follow. And any day now, I’m going to take that advice… ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736/40 "2013-09-24T13:48:04Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I’ve heard both of those, but for my recent BMI measurement at my workplace’s employee health day, they measured atop my hip bones. So that’s 3 places to measure your “waist.” When I was learning costume construction, that is where we were taught to measure the waist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waist-size-bullshitters/665736.md?page=3)