Can Your Rib Cage Become Smaller When You Lose Weight?
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Can Your Rib Cage Become Smaller When You Lose Weight?

Can Your Rib Cage Become Smaller When You Lose Weight?
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Updated on August 7, 2025
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Yes, your rib cage might appear smaller after you lose weight, even though the bone structure underneath hasn’t changed.

Weight loss happens when you burn more calories than you consume.

 The body stores excess calories in fat deposits, and this can affect the circumference of your body at your rib cage.

Bones Don't Lie

Most areas of your body, including the hips, torso, and even feet and fingers, can become smaller when you lose weight. Bones and body frame size don't change with weight loss, so the structure of your ribs won’t change in size, but as you lose overall body fat through weight loss, your measurements will likely get smaller.

Many people store body fat on their backs and throughout their torso. As this layer of fat over your rib cage and back decreases, your body's size at the rib cage becomes smaller. This could mean a smaller shirt or bra band size as weight loss progresses.

Body Fat Distribution

Body fat includes subcutaneous fat, which is the layer of fat just beneath the skin; and visceral fat, or intra-abdominal fat, which surrounds the vital organs. In some people, body fat distribution includes a significant amount of abdominal fat. Abdominal fat often increases with age, due at least in part to age-related muscle loss. Inactivity can accelerate this process.

Abdominal fat increases the size of your torso and rib area. Deep abdominal fat covers your internal organs and increases your risk of heart disease and other chronic health conditions.

Exercise is the most effective way to burn off all forms of body fat, including abdominal fat. Combining exercise with a healthy, moderate calorie-restricted diet may lead to a smaller torso.

Ratio of Muscle to Fat

Exercise can lead to a smaller torso by improving your metabolism and building lean muscle, which takes up less space than body fat pound for pound.

 Exercise, especially weight-bearing exercise and strength training, also increases bone strength — helping prevent the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, according to Mayo Clinic.

Trading fat for muscle won’t always lead to a smaller torso though. For example, people who put on a lot of back muscle might actually increase the size of their torso, even though they’re losing fat. In this case, the body develops a healthier ratio of muscle to fat, and you might have a smaller waist size. For physical fitness and weight loss, perform at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio five days a week and at least two full-body strength training sessions each week.

To aid weight loss, concentrate on creating a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume). The National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute recommends that you reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 to 750 calories for a safe rate of weight loss; that generally yields a loss of 1 to 1.5 pounds per week. Don't reduce daily calories below 1,200 to 1,500 for women and 1,500 to 1,800 for men.

The Takeaway

  • If your torso appears smaller after losing weight, it’s because you’ve burned subcutaneous or abdominal fat, not because your bone structure has changed.
  • Building lean muscle while burning fat can also shrink the size of your torso because muscle takes up less space than fat.
  • Excess abdominal fat increases your risk of heart disease and other chronic health conditions.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Balance Food and Activity. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. February 13, 2013.
  2. Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It. Harvard Health Publishing. July 29, 2024.
  3. Taking Aim at Belly Fat. Harvard Health Publishing. March 26, 2024.
  4. The Difference Between Muscle Vs. Fat Weight. Cleveland Clinic. April 12, 2024.
  5. Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier. Mayo Clinic. April 29, 2023.
  6. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2018.
  7. Healthy Eating Plan. National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.
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Reyna Franco, RDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.

In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.

Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.

She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

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