The $1 Health Test I Think We’re Overlooking

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

The year was 2010, and I had just hit publish on my first-ever article on this now archaic-looking website...👇🏻

The article was about "Knowing Your Numbers" - specifically the ones which influence metabolic and cardiovascular health, and it was THE article I chose to write as I launched that website.

The topic, and public health, mattered to me then, and still matter to me, some 16 years later.

(By the way, before I move on, can I just say how cute we were? 😁)

IIt’s a core belief of mine that we are personally responsible for knowing our numbers—tracking at least a few key health markers to drive our decisions and health forward in a positive way.

That means we own what we track, when and how often we track it, and understand what our goals are.

I don’t believe we should outsource all of that responsibility to our physicians. We MUST be active participants in knowing our own numbers, understanding them, and taking responsibility for improving them when needed.

That being said, I'm fully aware that this IS my world (kind of).

I trained as a Doctor of Pharmacy, practiced as a pharmacist for twelve years, worked as an online health coach for many years after that, and to this day have a voracious appetite for learning strategies to optimize my health.

So I feel some responsibility to make this stuff easier for other people to understand, too.

I pay close attention to several numbers — HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, fasting insulin, A1C, and others.

But today I want to spend the entire article on a health marker I think often gets overlooked: waist circumference.

And it requires no blood draw, no prescription, no wearable, and no fancy technology.

You need a $1 tape measure.

Hot take🔥: I believe routinely tracking waist circumference could have massive implications for public health.

I think we should evaluate waist circumference along with blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight, pain symptoms, and depression symptoms at every doctor visit.

Why?

It costs essentially nothing.
It takes less than a minute.
Best of all, you can repeat it at home.

And unlike body weight alone, it tells you something about where you are carrying fat.

That matters because fat stored around our belly—particularly visceral fat around our organs—is strongly associated with insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. To be clear, waist circumference DOES NOT directly measure visceral fat, but it is a practical measure of abdominal fat and can help identify people more likely to carry excess visceral fat.

A bathroom scale can’t tell the difference between losing fat, gaining muscle, or holding extra water.

A $1 tape measure (like the one I use below) gives you a key piece of the metabolic puzzle.

(Warning: The one thing I don't like about this tape is that it's a lil chilly on the skin. Ha.)

And here’s the part I think gets missed:

The fat you hate most in the mirror may not be the fat that matters most for your health.

Love handles, bat wings, and a double chin can absolutely affect how you feel about your body. I’m not dismissing that. My love handles piss me off, some days more than others.

But metabolically, I care much more about the fat you can’t see as easily—the visceral fat packed deeper in your abdomen around your organs.

So when I measure my waist, I’m not chasing some perfect Instagram perfecto physique.

I’m trying to keep an eye on the kind of fat that matters most for my long-term metabolic health.

The number I’m watching

I definitely want my waist below 40 inches, with a stretch goal of getting below 36.

Right now I’m at 38 inches. I have some work to do.

Here’s why...

For adults with a non-Asian background, the American Diabetes Association’s 2026 obesity guidance considers a waist circumference of 40 inches or more in men and 35 inches or more in women to be elevated. The thresholds are lower for adults with Asian backgrounds.

But 39 inches isn’t magically “good” just because it’s under 40.

In fact, 40 is a number I want more distance from.

My goal of thirty-six isn’t some magical medical cutoff. It’s simply the goalpost I’ve chosen for myself to have something to work toward.

And if your number is above 40 or 35, this isn’t meant to shame you. It’s meant to give you one simple number you can start tracking and, hopefully, start moving in the right direction over time.

Stick with me; I hope I can help, and I sure want to.

How to measure your waist circumference

This section is important, so gimme just another minute.

You don’t just pick a random spot on your stomach and call it your waist.

The method I use is to measure just above the top of the hip bone…which on me happens to be roughly an inch above my belly button — a much easier landmark for me to find. LOL.

Stand normally, keep the tape level with the floor and snug without squeezing, relax your stomach, gently breathe out, and take the measurement at the end of that normal breath.

Then, use that same method every time.

Personally, I measure once a week under the same basic conditions, usually right when I get out of bed.

In closing, the real value isn’t obsessing over one measurement. It’s watching the direction over time, and learning to do what it takes to see measurable progress, too.

Are you ready to start measuring with me?