What’s Your Waist to Hip Ratio? Your Health Depends on It

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP

The waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a quick measure of fat distribution that may help indicate a person’s overall health.

What does a person’s waist-to-hip ratio say about their health?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), having a WHR of over 1.0 may increase the risk of developing conditions that relate to being overweight, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

This may be the case even if other measures of being overweight, such as body mass index (BMI) are in normal range.

The following chart shows how the WHO classify the risk of being affected by weight related health conditions according to WHR:

Impact on Health

Research shows people who are “apple-shaped” are at a greater risk of certain health conditions than those who are “pear-shaped” (when the hips are wider than the upper body).

These health conditions include:

Cardiovascular disease: One study found that abdominal obesity increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Another study found the WHR predicted cardiovascular disease more effectively than BMI or waist circumference. A third study found that WHR is a better indicator of risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease than waist circumference alone.

Type 2 diabetes: A 2016 study found that an increased waist circumference was linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Fertility: A 2002 study found that women with a WHR of over 0.80 have a lower pregnancy rate than those with a lower WHR, regardless of their BMI.

A 2006 study with almost 15,000 older people (75 years of age or older), it was concluded that “waist to hip ratio” is more important than how much you weigh. The researchers looked at the relationship between waist to hip ratio and Body Mass Index (BMI – how we measure weight for height) and how many people died over the next 6 years.

As it turned out, WHR is even more accurate than BMI for predicting the risks of cardiovascular disease and premature death. In other words, it was “location, location, location” of fat that was most important – not how much you weigh. 

More studies include related to WHR and Health Issues include:

A 2021 study found that WHR is an accurate tool for predicting hypertension.

A 2015 study showed that increased WHR is a better indicator than BMI for predicting complications in trauma patients.

A 2018 study shared that a high WHR was a significant predictor of death in women with heart failure.

A 2016 study found that a high WHR was associated with hypertension and diabetes.

The Health Benefits of Decreasing WHR

A 2020 study found that decreasing WHR by 5 percent significantly lowered risks of developing chronic kidney disease in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

So how do you measure your waist to hip ratio? You need a tape measure and a calculator. Here’s how you do it: 

1: Measure your waist at the smallest point – usually at the naval or just above it
2: Measure you hips at the widest, largest part
3: Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement (Waist Measurement ÷ Hip Measurement)

The idea here is that your waist should be smaller than your hips. If your waist is bigger than your hips, than you may have too much fat concentrated around the middle part of your body – something known as “intra-abdominal obesity”.

The concept is quite simple here in that intra-abdominal fat is bad for your health.

Conclusion

Measuring a person’s WHR is a quick way to get an indication of:

1. Overall health
2. Obesity levels
3. Risk of weight-related health conditions

Compliments from Functional Medicine University

References:

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m14-2525
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejhf.1244
https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-016-0297-z

Nervous System “Switching:” Tattoos, Piercings & Scars Can Damage Your Health

Do you have a health problem that hasn’t resolved with conventional medical treatment? 

A possible reason for your frustration is “Autonomic Dysregulation” or nervous system switching. Over the past three decades, I’ve seen thousands of chronic cases resolved only because I could test for and help the body to heal from nervous system switching.

Most medical schools in the US don’t teach nervous system switching, so your doctor has probably never heard of it. However, it’s not uncommon and can have a devastating but hidden effect on your health.

Scars, including tattoos, are the most common cause of nervous system switching.

“Autonomic dysregulation” is the technical term for nervous system switching. Switching causes the electrical orientation of your nervous system to “switch” back and forth from positive to negative. Switching can happen once every few minutes to once every few milliseconds.

Common Switching Symptoms

(If you find yourself on this list, you should consider getting tested):

• Getting suddenly worse or better from a health problem with no apparent reason. Also, you may alternate back and forth between recovering and relapsing.
• A treatment, remedy, supplement, or drug working to help you heal suddenly becomes ineffective.
• Some drugs may have opposite effects (for example, coffee puts you to sleep).
• Drugs may work in extremely large or small doses only.
• Extreme sensitivity to drugs or supplements.
• You have health conditions that should resolve, but you just can’t get well.

What Causes Nervous System Switching?

Your body runs itself using a special dedicated nervous system called the autonomic nervous system (“ANS”). The ANS is a private network that you have no control over. It handles your heart rate, digestion, immune system, etc.

Most of the nerves in the ANS are right under your skin. There are so many that if you took away the rest of your body and just left your ANS, you’d still be recognizable.

If you cut through your skin, these underlying ANS nerve cells are damaged. If the cut doesn’t heal completely, it will leave a scar.

Sometimes a damaged nerve cell inside a scar won’t heal and will partially block a nerve path. This blockage can store up electrical energy from the nervous system and then suddenly release it. This sudden charge released into your ANS can flip the entire nervous system’s polarity (positive or negative electrical charge) for an instant.

Nerve cells heal slowly, so this condition can go on for many years. The scars can be from surgeries, accidents, tattoos, piercings or other causes. If you have several scars, not all of them may be causing the problems, so it’s important to test to find out which one(s) are involved.

There are other causes for nervous system switching, such as infections, toxins, and even dead teeth.

Testing for Nervous System Switching

The most accurate way to test for switching is a lab test called Heart Rate Variability or “HRV,” usually used for nervous system research.

How HRV testing works:

Your autonomic nervous system controls your heart rate beat to beat, depending on internal and external environmental factors. By measuring the variability of your heart rate, beat-to-beat-to-beat, and comparing this measurement between standing and lying down, it’s possible to determine the condition of your ANS. The test takes less than 10 minutes and is highly accurate.

Treating Switching Scars and Tattoos

Short Term: To temporarily stop switching (usually up to a few days), you can laser the scar for about 5 to 10 minutes with a “cold” laser (a laser using bio frequencies of 600 to 700 nanometers). I use these lasers in the clinic. You can find them for about $300.

Long Term: Repeatedly treating the scar with vitamin E may eventually break down the scar tissue and assist the damaged nerve cells to heal. I usually tell patients to rub the oil on their scar twice a day for at least three months.

Both these techniques can be effective on tattoos as well.

When other stresses are causing nervous system switching, more specific treatment techniques are needed.

Patient Stories

These stories are from patients whose nervous systems were switching. Resolving the switching was instrumental in their successful treatment.

Thanks to following Dr. Billiot’s advice and recommended supplement regimen, my health has significantly improved. Not only have I lost weight, but my cholesterol, blood sugar, and A1C are now within normal limits. I look forward to continuing to see improvement and am super thankful!— M.M.

I’ve had four months of normal periods for the first time in my life! I’ve ovulated properly and my period has been on a consistent schedule. I’ve also been producing normal levels of hormones by myself for the first time ever! I’m very proud of my body!— S.R.

HOW TO ENHANCE YOUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

The High-Performance Health Trap

“I create my own success in life. (I don’t waste time with excuses or blaming others.)”

This can be the high-performance attitude of:

• Corporate CEOs
• Sports heroes
• Moms
• Employees working their way to a better job
• Entrepreneurs and business owners
• Teachers
• YOU!

If this is YOU, ask yourself this simple question, and give yourself an honest, thoughtful answer:

WOULD I PERFORM BETTER AND BE HAPPIER IF I PHYSICALLY FELT BETTER?

Does your answer start you thinking of multiple health issues you are ignoring? Sleep, energy, digestive problems, weight, pain, brain fog, memory, concentration?

Just for a second, imagine your life without these health problems. How are these problems slowing you down, frustrating you, worrying you, or frightening you?

ARE YOU IGNORING THESE PROBLEMS BECAUSE YOU DON’T THINK THEY HAVE A SOLUTION?

Did you ask your doctor about these problems and get no help?

High-performance people commonly push through health issues. Nothing stops them! This habit can become a trap when the problems aren’t temporary. The person can just keep going until they crash.

If You Feel Bad, Something is Very Wrong

The truth is that if you take the right actions, you can reverse your health issues, improve your performance and happiness, and avoid worse problems in the future.

If you don’t do anything effective about your health, your happiness can be reduced. Your health may worsen, and you may eventually have a health problem that your doctor can diagnose. At this point, treatment will likely be long-term medication to control a symptom while your health continues to deteriorate.

There Is a Solution That Will Work for You

The truth: You can resolve your problems and return to a higher level of physical and mental performance. As a high-performance person, this may be all you need to know.

Are you ready to prioritize your health, so it gets handled? The alternative might be kicking the can down the road.

You Don’t Need a Treatment; You Need a Guide and a Program

For problems that don’t respond to medical treatment, no single treatment is likely to help. Your problem is probably more complex than a single drug, supplement, or diet solution.

You need an entire program to work with your body, diet, and lifestyle to restore your life and health. You’ll also need a guide working with you through the program to ensure you get a full result.

This doesn’t have to be hard. It could be done in less time than you may be imagining.

I understand how you feel; it was my own frightening health experiences that inspired my clinic. I’ve been where you are myself.

I’ve been helping cases like yours for 28 years and have developed a comprehensive program that is individualized and unique to you. What I do isn’t a secret! You can go to my Information and Education Hub webpage and read as much as you like about what I do and how it works.

Here is your plan:

1. Use the link below to go to my online health quiz, (or just call to talk to us.)
2. If you submit your quiz, we’ll call you for a phone consultation to determine if it’s likely that we could help you.
3. You’ll get started toward feeling better and achieving your health goals.

START A PLAN!

Feeling So Much Better!