This is the simple way to determine if you are too heavy. It won't tell you if you are too thin. All you need is a tape measure which can be found wherever sewing supplies are sold. You need both your waist measurement as well as to calculate your BMI (simple calculator is listed in previous post) to determine the normal weight range for your particular body type.
More information from the National Institutes of Health:
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/tools.htm#circumf
In essence it has been determined that:
women should have a waist no larger than 35 (89 cm) inches
men no more than 40 inches (101 cm).
Measuring the waist determines how much internal fat you have stored in an internal organ called the omentum. It feeds stores and sends fat to the liver. When it is enlarged by excess fat the internal organs are squeezed and they suffer. Your get indigestion (medically referred to as GIRD or Gastro-intestinal Reflux Disorder) because the stomach contents are pushed up and overflow back into your esophogas especially when you lie down or eat a big meal. You get sleep problems including apnea because your belly is pushing your diaphram up against your lungs and heart. You get out of breath. You get gas pains because your gut is pinched. Fat in the omentum is much more dangerous to your health than fat under the skin.
If you want to understand how your body organs work together storing and burning fat you may be interested in the book "You on a Diet" by doctors Roizen and Oz. The book is written for readers with little knowledge or understanding of how the body works. It may seem a little too cutsy to some but it is very informative IMO.
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