THE WAIST - Part 2 of 3

From a health perspective, the ideal waist measurement for women is 32.5" -- per Dr. Oz. Half one's height is another accepted healthy waist size.(See my 9/16 and 9/22 blogs.)

The beauty perspective on a woman's waist size is another thing altogether. I would like to rail against the arbiters of beauty -- what gives them the right to decide? -- but it seems that credible studies have found that males are fundamentally wired or attracted by a certain female shape. And that ideal shape has everything to do with waist size and its relative proportions. (So this is a woman's physical beauty as defined by the opposite sex, which I suppose can't be ignored, at least not yet. I didn't look into whether the numerical ratio I'm about to lay out is true across the planet!)

The ideal waist, from the standpoint of beauty, is a 0.7 ratio between waist size & hip size -- regardless of a woman's actual weight.

What does this mean? 

You measure the waist around the smallest area below the rib cage and above the belly button. Let's say Jane Doe's waist measures 32.5". (Dr. Oz would be pleased.) You then measure the hips around the largest extension of the buttocks.  Let's say Jane Doe's hips measure 46" (yikes!). Believe it or not, her numbers equal a waist-hip ratio of 0.7, the ideal.  

Formula:  Divide the waist size by 0.7 to determine proportionally attractive hip size. Jane Doe math:

        32.5" waist ÷  0.7 = 46" hips

Let's look at Jane Doe's thinner sister Jill, whose waist size is 30". When you divide 30" by 0.7, the proportionally attractive hip size is 42". (Still seems huge, doesn't it?)

So for we sisters, after all is said and done and we're at a weight we're happy with -- let's say our hips measure 36".  The proportionally attractive waist size would have to be a daunting 25.5".

Myself, I don't know quite what to do with this information other than to toss it out the window. I suspect only a tiny percentage of women over age 40 (maybe even 30), fit this so-called ideal shape. But I do think knowing about this waist-hip ratio may be helpful in this way:  it may help me go the distance to a slimmer waist, in other words, not to settle for a wide-ish waist because my clothes fit better.

Love,
The Professor