--- title: How to Tell If Your Weight is Healthy description: If you've been focusing on healthy ways to lose weight, try these methods to check your waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) canonical: https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-04T15:00:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:41.136Z article:section: Health og:title: 4 Ways to Tell If You're At a Healthy Weight og:description: Try these methods to checking your waist circumference and BMI og:url: https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7392763c8d86cd/698878bcab6d77f5196a7ef2/scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment-motto-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 4 Ways to Tell If You're At a Healthy Weight twitter:description: Try these methods to checking your waist circumference and BMI twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7392763c8d86cd/698878bcab6d77f5196a7ef2/scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 4 Ways to Tell If You're At a Healthy Weight > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Weight Loss Woes [Watch (HLS stream): Weight Loss Woes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0iPEQn0T.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2016-05-02. A new study reveals why it's tough to stay lean after weight loss_ by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor May 4, 2016 3:00 PM UTC  Molly Cranna for TIME by [Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Health.com Contributor May 4, 2016 3:00 PM UTC More than 54 million Americans who are labeled overweight or obese according to their body mass index (BMI), a weight-to-height ratio, [are actually healthy](http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ijo201617a.html), found a recent study in the _International Journal of Obesity_. Wondering where you stand? Check into these digits instead. **Waist circumference** If your belly is home to excess fat, you may be at greater risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Wrap a tape measure around your middle just above your hip bones, at about your belly button. A healthy measurement for women is less than 35 inches. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_This Indiana Teen Explained to Her Teacher Why BMI Is Total BS_](http://news.health.com/2016/04/06/this-indiana-teen-explained-to-her-teacher-why-bmi-is-total-bs/?xid=time) **Resting heart rate** Put two fingers over your pulse—at the wrist or neck—and count the number of beats in one minute. Between 60 and 100 beats is normal. A lower resting heart rate generally implies better physical health; a less active lifestyle can lead to a higher rate because the heart has to work harder. **_Health.com_**_:_ [_13 Best (and Worst) Ways to Measure Body Fat_](http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20948380%5F2,00.html?xid=time) **Body fat percentage** Unlike BMI, this number reveals the amount of excess fat, separate from muscle mass. A healthy range for women is 20 to 32 percent. Get a bioelectrical impedance analysis at your health club; a machine sends electricity through your body to calculate the amount of fat versus lean tissue. **_Health.com:_** [_The Big Benefits of Losing a Little Bit of Weight_](http://news.health.com/2016/04/15/the-big-benefits-of-losing-just-a-little-bit-of-weight/?xid=time) **Basal metabolic rate** BMR factors in your height, weight, gender, activity level and age to approximate the number of calories you burn while at rest; you can also use it to estimate how many calories to cut from your diet each day to achieve your weight-loss goal. Plug in your info at [supertracker.usda.gov/bwp.](https://supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/) _This_ [_article_](http://news.health.com/2016/04/22/4-ways-to-tell-if-youre-at-a-healthy-weight/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://www.health.com) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/"},"headline":"4 Ways to Tell If You're At a Healthy Weight","datePublished":"2016-05-04T15:00:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:41.136Z","description":"Try these methods to checking your waist circumference and BMI","url":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7392763c8d86cd/698878bcab6d77f5196a7ef2/scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Health.com","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/health-com/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7392763c8d86cd/698878bcab6d77f5196a7ef2/scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment-motto-stock","caption":"scale-3-weight-body-image-diet-health-fitness-betterment-motto-stock","creditText":"Molly Cranna for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/","name":"4 Ways to Tell If You're At a Healthy Weight"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Weight Loss Woes","description":"A new study reveals why it's tough to stay lean after weight loss","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0iPEQn0T/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-05-02T20:38:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0iPEQn0T.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4316523/healthy-weight-check/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```