The waist is the part of the abdomen between the rib cage and hips. On proportionate people, the waist is the narrowest part of the torso.

Waistline refers to the horizontal line where the waist is narrowest, or to the general appearance of the waist. People who diet are often said to be trying to "improve" their waistline.

Women tend to have narrower waists than men.

In Arabic, wasaṭ وسط (lit. "middle") has the same meaning.

Fashion

Traditionally belts are worn around the waist.

Jewelry, such as a belly chain, may be worn around the waist.

Waist-hip ratio

A waist-hip ratio of 0.7 for women and 0.9 for men have been shown to correlate strongly with general health and fertility.

Hip and buttock padding is used by some males who cross-dress as females to increase the apparent size of the hips and buttocks to resemble those of a female.

Waist measurement

Strictly, the waist circumference is measured at a level midway between the lowest rib and the iliac crest. The waist-hip ratio equals the waist circumference divided by the hip circumference. Practically, however, the waist is usually measured at the smallest circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button. In case the waist is convex rather than concave, such as is the case in pregnancy and obesity, the waist may be measured at a vertical level 1 inch above the navel.

The size of a person's waist or waist circumference, indicates abdominal obesity. Excess abdominal fat is a risk factor for developing heart disease and other obesity related diseases. The National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) classify the risk of obesity related diseases as high if: men have a waist circumference greater than , and women have a waist circumference greater than .

A study published in the European Heart Journal April 2007 showed waist circumference and waist-hip ratio were predictors of cardiovascular events.

Waist reduction and training

Waist reduction or waist training refers to the act of wearing a corset or other constricting garment to reduce or alter the waistline. The four floating ribs may be permanently compressed or moved by such garments. A girdle may also be used to alter the appearance of the waist.

Waist reduction may be used simply to reduce the width of the waist. This change can be permanent or temporary.

Waist training may be used to achieve a certain permanent waist shape, such as a pipe-stem waist.

See also

References

Category:Abdomen Category:Secondary sexual characteristics

Peter "Pete" Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer and an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival: hour-long programs were recorded at WNJU's Newark studios in 1965 and 1966, produced by Seeger and his wife Toshi, with Sholom Rubinstein.

(Summer 2005), a magazine that he helped found in 1950 and to which he still occasionally contributes]]

An early booster of Bob Dylan, Seeger, who was on the board of directors of the Newport Folk Festival, became upset over the extremely loud and distorted electric sound that Dylan, instigated by his manager Albert Grossman, also a Folk Festival board member, brought into the 1965 Festival during his performance of "Maggie's Farm". Tensions between Grossman and the other board members were running very high (at one point reportedly there was a scuffle and blows were briefly exchanged between Grossman and board member Alan Lomax).In a 1995 interview, however, he insisted that "I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more what Russia made of it than Christianity is what the churches make of it." "I certainly should apologize for saying that Stalin was a hard driver rather than a very cruel leader. I don't speak out about a lot of things. I don't talk about slavery. A lot of white people in America could apologize for stealing land from the Indians and enslaving Africans. Europe could apologize for worldwide conquest. Mongolia could apologize for Genghis Khan. But I think the thing to do is look ahead."

Raffi on his concert video "Raffi on Broadway" during the introduction of May There Always Be Sunshine:

"And this song is the one that I first heard Pete Seeger singing. And he tells me that it was written by a four-year-old boy in Russia. And it's just got four lines and it's been translated into a number of languages."

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Category:Harvard University alumni Category:American activists Category:American folk musicians Category:American folk singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American banjoists Category:American buskers Category:American communists Category:American environmentalists Category:American folk-song collectors Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Civil rights activists Category:American anti-Vietnam War activists Category:American anti-war activists Category:American pacifists Category:American tax resisters Category:American Unitarian Universalists Category:Pantheists Category:American social commentators Category:People from New York City Category:People from Greenwich Village, New York Category:People from Dutchess County, New York Category:The Weavers members Category:Fast Folk artists Category:Seeger family Category:Songster musicians Category:Camp Rising Sun alumni Category:1919 births Category:1930s singers Category:1940s singers Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people

Blanks began his acting career in the 1980s where he starred in several unsuccessful action-adventure feature films. He was hired to act as a bodyguard for lead actress Catherine Bach during the filming of Driving Force, due to the political unrest present in Manila at the time; he impressed the producers so much, they wrote him into the script.

In the late 1980s, Blanks invented the Tae Bo workout, while running a karate studio in Quincy, Massachusetts. He used components of his martial arts and boxing training. The name is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing. Blanks opened a fitness center in Los Angeles to teach his new workout. He later attracted some celebrity clients such as Paula Abdul and the popularity of the workout quickly grew, becoming a pop culture phenomenon after Blanks began releasing mass-marketed videos. The popularity of the workout later waned, but Blanks still attracts many celebrity clients and Tae Bo videos and DVDs have continued to sell well.

Most of Billy Blank's products are licensed to DRTV, as can be seen by the copyright info in the footer of www.billyblanks.com. DRTV is an infomercial product company included under the umbrella of Gaiam, a lifestyle brand media company with offices in Broomfield, CO and New York, NY.

Personal life

He married Gayle H. Godfrey, whom he met in karate class. Gayle's daughter, Shellie, born on June 28, 1974, was adopted shortly after they married. Shellie Blanks Cimarosti is now an accomplished martial artist, is prominently featured almost all of Billy's Tae Bo videos and has recently produced her own video (Tae Bo Postnatal Power), as well as hosted her father's new infomercial Tae Bo T3 (Total Transformation Training). Gayle and Billy also have a son, Billy Jr., who has acted in a touring production of Fame and, separate from his father's endeavors, has started his own fitness video line called CARDIOKE.

Billy and Gayle were divorced in 2008 after 33 years of marriage. According to the Petition for Legal Separation filed by his wife Gayle on April 22, 2008 in Los Angeles Superior Court, she and Billy had been separated since September 25, 2007. The reason given in the petition for the separation is "irreconcilable differences."

In November 2008, Blanks became the father of a new daughter named Angelika. The mother was his Japanese interpreter Tomoko whom he had known since 2007. Billy and Tomoko's marriage was formally registered in January 2009 and their wedding ceremony was held on June 20, 2009. He has also adopted his new wife's two daughters, Marriett and Erika Peterson. He is currently living with them in Osaka, Japan.

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American Christians Category:American exercise instructors Category:American karateka Category:American taekwondo practitioners Category:People from Erie, Pennsylvania Category:Actors from Pennsylvania Category:African-American sportspeople Category:African American film actors Category:American expatriates in Japan