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Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator

Is my waist-to-height ratio healthy?

How it is calculated

Waist-to-height ratio is WHtR = waist / height, with both lengths in the same unit (cm or inches, which cancels). The category uses these cut-offs on the unrounded ratio: below 0.4 is low, 0.4 to under 0.5 is healthy, 0.5 to under 0.6 is increased risk and 0.6 or more is high. The same thresholds apply to men and women and to all heights, which is the appeal of the measure: a widely quoted rule of thumb is to keep your waist under half your height. The ratio is shown to two decimals. It is a screening aid and does not replace a clinical assessment, and it is not designed for children or pregnancy.

Worked example

A person with a waist of 82 cm and a height of 175 cm: 82 / 175 = 0.4686, displayed as 0.47. That is at least 0.4 and below 0.5, so the category is Healthy. To stay under 0.5 at this height, the waist would need to remain below 87.5 cm.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering waist in centimetres and height in metres or inches; both must use the same unit.
  • Measuring the waist over clothing or pulling the tape tight into the skin.
  • Using the hip measurement instead of the waist.
  • Applying the adult cut-offs to children or during pregnancy.
  • Reading Healthy as a guarantee, or a low ratio below 0.4 as automatically good; it can also reflect low body weight.

Sources

About this calculator

This tool divides waist circumference by height to produce the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), then places the result in a health category — commonly a ratio under 0.5 is considered healthy for most adults, while higher values signal increasing risk. Many researchers consider WHtR a better screening measure than BMI alone because it directly captures central (abdominal) fat, which is more strongly linked to cardiovascular and metabolic risk than overall body weight, and because a simple "keep your waist below half your height" rule works across a wide range of heights.

It is used by people tracking their own health markers at home alongside or instead of BMI, and referenced by clinicians and public health researchers as a quick, no-equipment screening tool for cardiometabolic risk, since it needs only a tape measure and a height. It complements rather than replaces other measures — someone can have a normal BMI but an elevated WHtR if their fat is concentrated around the midsection.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The familiar rule of thumb, keep your waist under half your height, matches the 0.5 line where the tool moves from Healthy to Increased. At a height of 170 that means a waist under 85, in the same unit. A low result below 0.4 is only a category and not automatically good news. The ratio is a screening aid, so talk to a clinician about any worry. Would age-specific bands be useful to you?

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