A 70 inch waist certainly isn’t a normal waist circumference for a man or woman of any height.
Although you don’t need to be skinny in order to be healthy, having a 70″ waist is disastrous for your long-term health, and you’ll soon learn why.
What causes people to have a 70 inch waist?
Although many people like to blame their genetics for the fat around their waist, genetics alone don’t explain such a colossal waist size. Indeed, the only way that an individual can realistically accumulate a huge 70 in waist is by leading an overly sedentary lifestyle and gorging on calorie-dense food—repeated over a number of years.
But since you can be happy with your body at many sizes, why is having a 70 inch waistline so unhealthy for a man or a woman?
Since research shows that waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are stronger predictors of all-cause mortality than BMI (your BMI doesn’t tell you how big your waist is), storing excessive amounts of fat on your stomach can be particularly damaging to your long-term physical health. [1]
Having a 70″ waist also increases your risk for a number of diseases and medical problems, including stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
How can you lose your 70 inch waist and keep the fat off?
Since anyone with a 70 inch waist is clearly obese, there’s a high likelihood that you can benefit from consuming a very low-calorie diet if your doctor gives you the go-ahead.
Although it’s often recommended to slowly reduce your calories so that you can achieve sustainable weight loss, there comes the point in body mass when your health is at such a daily risk that losing weight rapidly becomes the main priority.
There are many tasty low-calorie snacks that you can enjoy while trying to slim your 70 inch belly, such as fruit salads and beans on toast. [2]
Obviously, the exercise side of the fat-loss equation is much more challenging than usual for someone with a 70 inch waist. As such, you should stick to low-intensity exercises like walking until your fitness levels improve and your body mass decreases.
If you struggle to support your weight for prolonged periods of time, then exercising in a chair with weights can be a viable option. You can do arm curls, shoulder presses, and tricep extensions while sitting down, which can burn quite a lot of calories if you perform them one after the other.
Conclusion: How bad is it to have a 70 inch waist?
Of course, for anyone who cares about their health, having a 70 inch waist is undesirable because such a stomach size puts a massive amount of strain on your body.
But you shouldn’t feel like you’re climbing Mount Impossible. There are numerous examples of people who had 70″ waists and then who completely transformed their bodies by gaining the right knowledge and then putting the knowledge into practice—you can do the same if you’re willing to make a change.
The good news about having a 70 in waist is that, since your body weight is so high, you can actually experience a rapid reduction in both weight and waist size once you get your nutrition on point.
References
- Seidell, J. C. (2011). Waist circumference and waist/hip ratio in relation to all-cause mortality, cancer and sleep apnea. Obesity and Metabolism, 8(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.14341/2071-8713-5196
- NHS website. (2021a, November 18). Surprising 100-calorie snacks. Nhs.Uk. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/surprising-100-calorie-snacks/