Waist to hip ratio calculator

The measurement that describes fat distribution rather than fat quantity, and the WHO thresholds that go with it.

This is a ratio of two circumferences, so the unit does not matter as long as both are measured the same way. It describes shape, not quantity, and it is a screening number rather than a diagnosis.

WHO categories

Cutoffs come from the WHO expert consultation on waist circumference and waist-hip ratio held in Geneva in December 2008: above 0.90 in men and above 0.85 in women is described as abdominal obesity with substantially increased risk of metabolic complications.

  • At or below the WHO cutoff: 0.90 or less in men, 0.85 or less in women. Fat distribution is not flagging additional metabolic risk by this measure. It says nothing about your total body fat.
  • Above the WHO cutoff: Above 0.90 in men, above 0.85 in women. Described by the WHO as abdominal obesity, associated with substantially increased risk of metabolic complications. A reason to look at fasting insulin, glucose, HbA1c, lipids and blood pressure.

What this measures that other numbers do not

Two people can weigh the same, have the same BMI, and carry that weight in places with very different consequences. Waist to hip ratio is the crudest useful way of describing that difference: fat concentrated around the abdomen behaves differently from fat on the hips and thighs.

The reason is not cosmetic. Visceral fat around the organs is metabolically active, drains into the portal circulation and is more strongly associated with insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular risk than subcutaneous fat elsewhere.

The INTERHEART case control study across 52 countries found waist to hip ratio was more strongly associated with heart attack risk than BMI, which is a large part of why the measure survived into WHO guidance.

Waist to hip or waist to height

If you only track one, waist to height ratio is the more practical choice. It needs one circumference instead of two, uses the same boundary for everyone, and hip measurement is the harder of the two to reproduce accurately.

Waist to hip ratio earns its place when shape is the question rather than size, and it is still the measure used in a lot of the epidemiological literature, so it is useful for comparing yourself against published populations.

Both share the same weakness. A ratio can stay flat while both numbers move, so track the raw measurements too rather than the ratio alone.

Where this number is misleading

  • The ratio can stay unchanged while you lose both waist and hip circumference, which hides real progress. Keep the raw numbers.
  • Hip measurement is harder to reproduce than waist, so small technique differences show up as apparent change.
  • The WHO cutoffs were derived largely in European populations, and risk at a given ratio is higher at lower values in several South and East Asian populations.
  • It does not measure how much fat you have, only roughly where it sits, and it is not validated in pregnancy.

Common questions

What is a healthy waist to hip ratio?

The WHO expert consultation puts the threshold at 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women. Above those values it describes abdominal obesity and substantially increased risk of metabolic complications.

Why are the cutoffs different for men and women?

Men typically carry more fat abdominally and women more on the hips and thighs, so the same ratio represents a different degree of central fat in each. The thresholds were set to reflect comparable risk rather than comparable shape.

Should I use waist to hip or waist to height ratio?

For simple tracking, waist to height ratio, since it needs one measurement and one boundary for everyone. Waist to hip ratio is more useful when the question is fat distribution specifically, and it appears more often in older research.

Read the full explanation

Sources and disclosures

  • World Health Organization. Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio: Report of a WHO Expert Consultation, Geneva, 8 to 11 December 2008, published 2011
  • Yusuf S, et al. Obesity and the risk of myocardial infarction in 27,000 participants from 52 countries: a case-control study (INTERHEART). Lancet, 2005
  • NICE guideline NG246, Overweight and obesity management, central adiposity assessment, 2022
  • These calculators are for education. They do not diagnose, they do not replace testing, and they are not a prescription. Baseline is a wellness consultancy, and any prescription is written by an independent licensed provider in our network who has reviewed your history, your goals and any lab work you choose to share.