If you were the perfect height/weight, would you still have a stomach?

I see your subject indicates you’re in your sixties. If that’s the case, if you are a woman and have reached menopause, you may have some fat around your stomach. I know women who are a perfect weight according to their BMI and still have a thickened stomach after menopause.

(I am trying to imagine what the perfect height is.)

I think you mean belly fat rather than the stomach, which is an organ probably you don’t want to eliminate from your life.

Here’s what the Mayo clinic says about belly fat for post-menopausal women;

Several tidbits;

“Many women… notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren’t gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen…

”You can tone abdominal muscles with crunches or other targeted abdominal exercises, but just doing these exercises won’t get rid of belly fat. However, visceral fat does respond to the same diet and exercise strategies that can help you shed excess pounds and lower your total body fat. To battle the bulge:”

*** Eat a plant-based diet, keep portion-size in check and include varied physical activities in your daily routine.

I see from the other questions you asked about losing weight that you are male. Advice above*** is still valid,

It’s possible. BMI is nothing more than a ratio between height and weight, it makes no allowances for how the weight is distributed or what it is comprised of.

GA @gailcalled

It seems to me that if you were the perfect weight for your height then by definition you would not have a tubby belly. The problem possibly lies with the idea that a chart can tell you your perfect weight.

To have a toned tummy you can do exercises. Weight lifting is very beneficial and actually gives results quite quickly. Good for your bones too. You will end up with a toned but fat tummy as it won’t help you lose weight in that specific area,. A calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight. Where you lose weight or gain weight is largely genetic. First place it goes on for me is my tummy. This is the last place it goes as well.

Lastly, a little bit of extra weight, if it isn’t harming you, can actually have a protective effect. Although it is better if it is distributed on your hips rather than your tummy.

You don’t state what you consider “perfect”. For a fit woman, a fat percentage below about 21% is too low for women of child bearing age, And below 17% is too low for fit men. (The numbers are lower for athletes.)

So one can be fit with a bit of a tummy depending on how you wear your weight. I’ve lost a lot but still have a residual amount of tummy fat. It really only shows though when I am sitting down.

Even when I weighed 111 pounds in high school, I had a bit of a pot belly. I am still trim but it’s still there.

It would depend. Would I have some genetic predisposition. (Family trait) Or do I have some health issues dealing with my intestines. My hubby is the perfect height and weight but when his colon is unhealthy, he tends to get bloated in his belly. People think he gained weight and yet it isn’t that at all. Sit ups won’t do anything for him when he is like that except make his belly firmer and seem more bloated and agitate his condition. There is no one size fits all, in the way of exercise and diet and health routines. Some things are beyond our control and some things can be improved slightly and sometimes they can be improved completely. According to charts, I should weigh 10 to 18 pounds what I consider my healthy weight.

One of my daughter’s friends, 43, is tall and slender but after she gave birth eight years ago she got sagging stomach skin and it also sticks out. In fact, I asked her if she was pregnant two years after the baby was born. She said, “no; I just can’t take pain so I’m not getting a tummy tuck.”
If I lost a whole lot of weight I have no idea what my stomach would look like but I have a feeling I’d never get an offer to model bikinis. I sit too much for one thing.

Some people hold weight in their stomach. It’s called an apple shape. They can be a very good weight and still have some stomach fat.

I’m nearly underweight and 5’9’. I still have a bit of a tummy. I collect fat there, not a whole lot I can do about it

Duh, Yes, I would still have a stomach, and an upper intestine, and a lower intestine, and an asshole.

Speaking of usage and assholes, the lower GI tract consists of the small intestine and the large intestine.

The upper GI tract contains the liver, esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, omentum, and spleen.

I spent a large portion of my life ‘skinny’ and still had a tummy. So during my skinny phase I clearly went from correct weight and height ratio to underweight and height ratio. Proportionately my belly was bigger. So from experience I’d so no. I’d say that I tend to accumulate fat there.(Just like some might on their butt for example or thighs)

As I have gotten older, 51 I find my belly has gotten more out of hand. I have removed things like wheat, sugar, lactose and other things in a bid to help reduce my waist width. (Trust me though it’s not easy and not going that well!).

I found the best tummy reducer was cardio exercises then spot toning.

Yep, my whole shape has changed and I have put on weight since menopause too. It sucks. I do tend towards a belly, and had one even when I was younger and in amazing shape.
Menopause changes everything, and I mean everything! Pffft!

@Coloma Oh gosh tell me about it. I am having belly wars here.