Photo: Andres Ayrton

What is the smallest healthy waist size?

Scientists say the ideal is a tiny 26.5 inches, and these women have just that Facebook. 465 shares.

dailymail.co.uk - How we got perfect waists: Scientists say the ideal is a tiny 26.5inches

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Marlene Dietrich, Lauren Bacall and Lily James. What do these actresses all have in common? The ideal waist measurement. Never mind perfectly sculpted cheekbones, enviably arched brows or a pert derriere, a recent study has discovered the most attractive female attribute is a cinched-in waist: one that measures a fraction under 26½ in (the equivalent of a size eight). But how does any modern woman over the age of 18 get a waist like that? Five who managed it reveal all...

MY SECRET? DOING THE HOOVERING!

Bust: 33 in

Waist: 26½ in

Hips: 35 in

Height: 5 ft 8 in

Weight: 8 st 5 lb

Sanna Kelly, 59, a retired dance teacher, is single and lives in Bristol. She says: I wouldn’t go so far as to declare myself irresistible to men, but there are certainly those who appreciate a trim waistline. I’ve never been married, but that’s not from lack of male attention: I used to be a professional dancer, so was always more focused on my career than settling down. My boyfriend compliments my figure often and, even when you’re approaching 60 — or perhaps especially — it’s nice to be appreciated. Friends often ask how I have such a flat stomach and they’re shocked when we eat out and I don’t just order salad. Sanna Kelly, 59, a retired dance teacher, is single and lives in Bristol. She says she never deprives herself of anything she fancies but balances out pizza and cheesecake with fruit and vegetables the next day I never deprive myself of anything I fancy, but if I go out for dinner and eat pizza and cheesecake, the following day I’ll have fruit and vegetables instead of a big meal. I’m used to keeping active, but these days it’s housework that keeps me fit, specifically vacuuming. I always make sure I engage my core muscles to keep them strong. Admittedly, my body has never been through pregnancy. But then, my mother, who had three children, is 86 and still only a size ten, so I don’t think that would have made much difference. I once went up to 9 st 5 lb when I was in my 20s and I really didn’t like it. I was working as a medical researcher at the time, but then retrained as a dance teacher and the weight fell off. I’m sure one reason that 26½ in is considered the perfect waist size is because your middle is overtly feminine. That said, I’ve heard about a new trend for wearing corsets to get a 19 in waist, which seems horribly excessive. I’m happy just as I am.

I WALK THREE MILES A DAY

Bust: 34 in

Waist: 26½ in

Hips: 37 in

Height: 5 ft 2 in

Weight: 8 st 7 lb

Anna Kennedy, 56, manages a school she founded for children with autism and the charity Anna Kennedy Online. She lives in Hillingdon, West London, with husband Sean, 53, a barrister, and their sons, Angelo, 23, and Patrick, 26. She says: The main reason I like having a nipped-in waist is that I love to wear tailored Fifties dresses, like Diana Dors and Sophia Loren. I have a huge collection, mostly picked up on eBay. I like to look stylish and curvy, as opposed to skinny, and I think those sort of clothes really accentuate the female form. Anna Kennedy, 56, of Hillingdon, West London, does a Zumba class every week and walks three or four miles most days My husband says one of the things that first attracted him to me was my petite figure. We’ve been married 28 years and he still compliments me on it and says I look much younger than my age. Apart from during and after my two pregnancies, my waist has stayed the same size all my adult life. I went up to 14 st when I was pregnant with Angelo. I lost it all within a year, but would never want to bulk up like that again.

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I’m very disciplined about what I eat and how much I exercise. I do a Zumba class every week and I also walk three or four miles most days. I exercise not only to look good, but also to keep healthy because I worry about what will happen to my sons, who both have autism, when I’m not able to look after them any more. I eat porridge for breakfast and then snack on nuts, bananas and apples, little and often, during the day because I don’t like feeling too full. Then I have a huge chicken salad in the evening with a delicious olive oil or balsamic vinegar dressing. I’m determined to keep my youthful figure for as long as I can.

IT’S ONE POTATO, THEN DOWN FORKS

Bust: 34 in

Waist: 26½ in

Hips: 36 in

Height: 5 ft 6 in

Weight: 8 st 9 lb

Sarah Ellison, 47, a marketing executive, lives in Witney, Oxfordshire, with her 11-year-old son. She says: When I was out with friends at a bar last weekend, a young man came up behind me and wrapped both his hands around my waist so that his thumbs and fingertips touched. He told me I was stunning with the perfect figure. Sarah Ellison, 47, a marketing executive, lives in Witney, Oxfordshire, with her 11-year-old son. She stays in shape by running, cycling and swimming at least twice a week I’m used to the attention my hand-span waist brings, but now-adays I tactfully wriggle out of their grasp and downplay the compliment. But I can’t deny it’s flattering — especially as I’m due to have a hysterectomy this summer. Back in my 20s, I worked as a croupier in upmarket casinos in Mayfair. We wore couture ‘uniforms’ — beautifully cut, long evening dresses designed to show off a killer waist. The high-rollers who came to the club would regularly request me at their table as their dealer. At New Year’s Eve 1999, I wore a red Jessica Rabbit-style dress to work and won the award for Sexiest Croupier of the Millennium! Apart from a blip when I was 18 (and a size 14), I’ve always been a youthful size eight. Not that I’m one of those people who can eat whatever I like and never put on weight. If I’m served four potatoes on my plate, I’ll eat the most appealing one and leave the other three. It’s worth it to look good. These days I stay in shape by running, cycling and swimming at least twice a week. As for a 26½ in waist making you more attractive to the opposite sex, I’d say that’s true. I’m single, and picky about who I choose to see, but it’s certainly not through lack of choice.

EVEN AFTER THREE BABIES, I’M TRIM

Bust: 35 in

Waist: 26½ in

Hips: 37 in

Height: 5 ft 4½ in

Weight: 10 st

Josa Young, 57, a content strategist and novelist, lives in central London. She is single and has three children aged 27, 23 and 15. She says: Love your body no matter what. That’s my advice to my 27-year-old daughter because I didn’t always appreciate mine, and I wish I had. I see pictures of myself when I was young — with the supposedly ideal waist measurement of 26½ in — and, though I was always perfectly confident, that was due to my academic ability rather than my slimline appearance. Josa Young, 57, a content strategist and novelist, lives in central London. She says she is a size ten to 12 and gets compliments from men and women, but appreciates most that she is healthy

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I’m a size ten to 12 and get compliments from men and women, but my body is healthy and that’s what I really appreciate about it. It’s carried three babies — one of whom was a massive 9 lb — and given birth naturally three times. My body has carried me to far-off places and it’s even climbed up the Himalayas. In the past six months I’ve started to dress more to emphasise my figure and I’ve had quite a few compliments recently from both men and women. It’s so hard to find clothes to fit me from the High Street. Unless it’s a wrap-dress or something that ties in the middle with a belt, the waists tend to gape. My mother was an incredibly talented dressmaker and has made me some wonderful clothes to exactly fit my shape — specifically a lovely red shift dress, which fits me perfectly. My daughter has inherited my small waist. She has enormous style and dresses perfectly to suit her figure. I love that she feels more confident than I did at her age.

I’M A MUM WHO’S ALWAYS ON THE GO

Bust: 34 in

Waist: 26½ in

Hips: 36 in

Height: 5 ft 2 in

Weight: 8 st

Ruth Brandon, 44, from Bingham, Nottinghamshire, is married to Steve, 43, and they live with her children from a previous relationship, aged 11 and eight. She says: To those who ask if I like my figure, I’d say: ‘Does any woman in her 40s really like how she looks?’ I guess I look OK, but I don’t get as many compliments these days. As for feeling sexy because I have a tiny waist? Not really, though my husband is always complimenting my figure so I’m lucky. I think sexual allure is more about someone’s personality, their aura. If anyone is going to judge a woman solely on her figure, then they’re pretty shallow. I haven’t always been this slim. I’m a size six and my figure is more pear-shaped than hourglass. My legs are athletic and I’m pretty trim, but not skinny. Ruth Brandon, 44, from Bingham, Nottinghamshire, is married to Steve, 43, and they live with her children from a previous relationship, aged 11 and eight. She puts her slimmer figure down to the fact that she never stops moving In my 20s I was a size eight to ten. But as I got closer to my 30s, I started paying more attention to my diet and fitness, which is when I lost the weight. These days I’m a married mother and live in wellies and jeans at the school gate. The compliments I get tend to be from girlfriends rather than men, but that’s because women notice these things more. I love food, but I put my slimmer figure down to the fact that I never stop moving. I run my own holiday cottage business, in which I do everything from the cleaning to 15 hours of gardening a week and chasing around after chickens. I also took up running ten years ago. I joined a club and now I run between 25 and 45 miles a week and train for around two marathons a year.