# what is considered a thin/non-fat waist size for a man?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 22, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941 "2003-10-22T17:39:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/1 "2003-10-22T17:39:02Z")
I don’t get it. I have a large bone structure (7.75" wrist), a muscular frame and what i think is a large waist (around 41-42"). I just had a friend tell me i look skinny, which makes no sense to me. I always figured skinny was +/- 35" for a large framed person and 31" for a small framed person.
What are your opinions on what constitutes a waist measurement that is not really a sign of being overweight, and more importantly why do i feel stupid posting this?
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/2 "2003-10-22T22:06:25Z")
wouldn’t it depend on your height?
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### Author:  [@Freiheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freiheit)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/3 "2003-10-22T22:25:15Z")
Well, the preferred waist-to-hips ratio in men is 9:10.
cite: [beautycheck.de](http://beautycheck.de) (it’s somewhere on there)
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [October 22, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/4 "2003-10-22T23:45:49Z")
You can’t go just by waist size, just because of variations in the way men are built. Bodyfat percentage is what matters here.
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### Author:  [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/5 "2003-10-23T00:20:22Z")
I wore 34s for years, 6’0’ 180lbs, 36s felt better, I put on 20lbs, 38s, feel good, but 40s are comfortable. Who cares? The women in your life will not leave you for a couple of inches. If they do, you are better off without them…And by the way, are your male friends going to say," Oh Wesley, are you sure you want that next donut?"
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/6 "2003-10-23T00:24:19Z")
im just wondering for my own curiosity. i dont see how someone could consider me thin with a 42" waist. i am 6’0".
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### Author:  [@bojon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bojon)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/7 "2003-10-23T00:29:12Z")
Wesley, if you have large bones, you could look slim at 230lbs. I have broad shoulders, I might look good even at 240lbs. Its the smile that does it…
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### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/8 "2003-10-23T01:29:32Z")
I’m 6 feet tall, and I used to wear 38 waists when I was fat. Now I wear 34s.
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### Author:  [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/9 "2003-10-23T01:43:27Z")
I’m 5’11’’. I have a 30’’ waist but I’m a bit over 40’’ around my chest. I look a bit lop-sided. 🙂
How tall are you **Wesley**? A 41’’-42’’ doesn’t sound at skinny to me.
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### Author:  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/10 "2003-10-23T08:12:53Z")
It depends on how big you are.
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### Author:  [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/11 "2003-10-23T09:33:20Z")
It don’t look skinny to me, but not fat either if you are a big lad and 6’+.
Are you living in the US? Now, I don’t want to suggest you guys are fat but from what I have seen you all look a bit more **big-boned** than us Europeans!! In comparison maybe you do look skinny. I used to live in Texas and I felt like a ghost compared to the size of some of the guys in the office.
Me, 6’1", 34" waist, 42" chest, 165lbs; that looks skinny to me.
I would be happy to put on another 10lb of muscle, but then again I been told otherwise, that I look pretty normal. GF does not seem to mind…
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/12 "2003-10-23T13:15:01Z")
My secret is to keep getting more and more relaxed fit pants. That way, the waist measurement stays the same, despite any increases in my bulk. 😃
Keep those button fly 501s away from me, thank you.
Also, you have the ever popular alternative of simply cinching your belt under your gut…
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### Author:  [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/13 "2003-10-23T15:00:14Z")
6’2", 42" waist and I can assure you that I do not look skinny.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/14 "2003-10-23T15:25:53Z")
I’m 6’1" and I have about a 41" waist (40’s a little too tight, 42’s a bit loose, oh the joy of being between sizes) and I look fat if I’m not dressed. Because almost all of my remaining fat is right at my waist, dammit. I can see the outline of a pretty tight torso under all of that…
But with the right clothes I don’t look fat at all. I was in the doctor’s office yesterday and got weighed. The nurse couldn’t believe I weighed over 200 lbs.
I also got rejected by a chubby chaser because I looked too skinny…
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/15 "2003-10-23T15:26:35Z")
“I just had a friend tell me i look skinny, which makes no sense to me.”
Maybe you could ask them why they think you look skinny?
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### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/16 "2003-10-23T19:31:11Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by handy \*
> \*\*“I just had a friend tell me i look skinny, which makes no sense to me.”
>
> Maybe you could ask them why they think you look skinny? \*\*
i already know but didn’t include it in the OP because i didnt think it was pertinent. I have a large ribcage and when i am lying on my back my thorax is roughly 13" thick (front to back) but my waist is only about 7" thick, giving the illusion of a small waist by comparison between the 2.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/17 "2003-10-23T19:44:39Z")
Oh, so it’s one of _those_ type of “friends,” is it? Maybe it was just shameless flattery.
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### Author:  [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/18 "2003-10-24T02:32:54Z")
6’5", 34" waist. Not fat.
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### Author:  [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/19 "2003-10-24T02:52:26Z")
I’m 6’3", and depending on the ‘fit’ of the pants, 38"-40".
I am over 200 pounds too.
I am medically speaking about 20 lbs, overweight - but I see so many really heavy people where I live, I don’t have a self-image of being overweight, just “normal”. If I lived in one of those cities where a “big breakfast” means a double latte and cigarette (and not a chicken fried steak, two eggs, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns), I’d probably be a major lardass.
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### Author:  [@Shepherdless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shepherdless)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-considered-a-thin-non-fat-waist-size-for-a-man/208941/20 "2003-10-24T04:26:16Z")
Wearing larger sizes can make you look smaller. I wore 34" for years, then started to gain weight as I tried to quit smoking. It showed and I finally decided to move on to 36" and was asked by my GF and mother whether I had lost weight. Nope. Just the pants. Wide legged pants, as opposed to tapered, will also make you look “slimmer”.
It depends on your body shape as well. If you have skinny legs but a big gut you’ll look fat; OTOH if you have big thighs and large waist the gut won’t show as much.
But, truth be told, 42" is beyond “skinny”, no matter what. But you can still be considered “athletic” if well-proportioned.
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