The Natural Waist

The Natural Waist

One important concept that I'd like to mention is the natural waist. The natural waist is the smallest horizontal cross-section of the torso. This site has a good description of how to locate one's natural waist. While traditionally, men's trousers were made with higher waists, today pants with lower rises are in style. While clothing such as low-rise jeans is a good option to have, I believe that there is a hole in the market for pants (and underwear) with higher rises that come closer to sitting at the natural waist.

Why is the natural waist important? The natural waist is the smallest part of the torso. Thus, pants that sit around this area have to be tightened the least, and have the greatest tendency to stay put when one is walking. Having pants that fit well in this regard has a big influence on how active and robust one feels.

If one's pants sit too low, there is a tendency for the pants to need to constantly be pulled up, and for the belt to be tightened to a greater extent. This is because the pants are gripping the body at a segment where the circumference, say, an inch below is less than the circumference at which the pants are sitting. The waistline of the pants will want to migrate to an area that is smaller to relieve the tension of the belt. This effect is, of course, compounded by gravity which also wants to pull the belt down. The result is one's pants gradually falling down as one walks.

By contrast, when pants sit at the natural waist, the circumference of the torso below the waistline is larger than the level at which the pants sit. Thus, the tension in the belt will cause the pants to want to remain in place, and counteract the force of gravity. This means that less tension is needed in the belt, and the pants will tend to stay up when one is active in walking or running.

This concept explains why I prefer wearing my pants higher than average.

Discussion questions:

Is it always best to think of the natural waist as being the circumference of a horizontal cross-section, or is it worthwhile to also consider angled cross-sections? In other words, can one's "natural waist" be tilted?