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Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator

Divide your waist by your hip circumference to get your waist-to-hip ratio and find your sex-based low, moderate or high health risk level.

Risk level is based on World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds.

How it is calculated

Waist-to-hip ratio is WHR = waist / hip. Measure both circumferences in the same unit (centimetres or inches); the unit cancels out, so only the ratio matters. The tool then compares it with sex-specific cut-offs: for women, below 0.80 is Low Risk, 0.80 to under 0.85 is Moderate Risk and 0.85 or more is High Risk; for men, below 0.90 is Low, 0.90 to under 1.00 is Moderate and 1.00 or more is High. The ratio is shown to two decimals but the category uses the unrounded value. Any selection other than female is treated as male. The women's 0.85 matches the WHO cut-off for substantially increased risk; WHO uses 0.90 for men, which is where the tool's Moderate band starts. These are screening thresholds, not a diagnosis, and they do not account for age or ethnicity.

Worked example

A woman measures a waist of 82 cm and hips of 98 cm. Divide: 82 / 98 = 0.8367, shown as 0.84. For women the Moderate band runs from 0.80 up to but not including 0.85, so 0.84 falls in it and the tool reports Moderate Risk.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Measuring the waist at the belt line instead of the narrowest point or navel level, and the hips away from the widest point.
  • Mixing units, such as waist in inches and hip in centimetres.
  • Selecting the wrong sex, which shifts every threshold (the same 0.84 is Low Risk for a man).
  • Measuring over thick clothing or after a large meal.
  • Treating a Low Risk label as proof of health; the ratio ignores weight, fitness and blood markers.

Sources

About this calculator

This tool divides your waist circumference by your hip circumference to produce your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), a simple number that describes how your body fat is distributed rather than how much of it you carry overall. Because it uses sex-specific thresholds, the same ratio is classified differently for men and women when placing the result into a low, moderate or high health risk category.

WHR is widely used alongside or instead of BMI because it specifically flags abdominal (visceral) fat, which research links more closely to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes than fat stored on the hips or thighs. Doctors, dietitians and people tracking their own health use it as a quick screening measurement that only requires a tape measure, making it a common check in general health assessments and fitness progress tracking. The tool's thresholds are women: Low under 0.80, Moderate 0.80 to under 0.85, High 0.85 or more; men: Low under 0.90, Moderate 0.90 to under 1.00, High 1.00 or more. The World Health Organization's expert consultation (2008, published 2011) uses a single cut-off for substantially increased risk, 0.85 or more for women and 0.90 or more for men, so the women's High band matches WHO while for men WHO already flags the tool's Moderate band.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The cut-offs depend on sex, so the same ratio can land in different bands: waist 90 and hip 100 give 0.90, which is Moderate for a man but High for a woman. The ratio ignores size, so a waist and hip that both grow can leave it unchanged while the waist itself keeps rising. Waist and hip need only share one unit. This is a screening ratio, not a diagnosis. Would you like the single WHO cut-off shown as well?

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