Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator

Waist-to-hip ratio compares the girth of your middle to the girth of your hips. It exists because where fat sits matters as much as how much there is. Fat stored around the abdomen — visceral fat that wraps the organs — is linked to a higher risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes than fat stored on the hips and thighs, and the ratio captures that difference in one number.

The calculation is trivial: waist divided by hip. Because it is a ratio of two lengths, the units cancel, so it does not matter whether you measure in centimetres or inches as long as you use the same unit for both. Measure the waist at the narrowest point between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone, and the hips at the widest point around the buttocks, with the tape level and snug but not tight.

The World Health Organization recognises the ratio as a useful risk indicator. For men, a ratio below 0.90 is considered low risk, 0.90 to 0.99 moderate, and 1.00 or above high. For women the thresholds are lower: below 0.80 low, 0.80 to 0.84 moderate, and 0.85 or above high. Women naturally tend to have wider hips, which is why their cut-offs sit lower.

Two cautions are worth keeping in mind. First, the ratio can be distorted by body shape at the extremes — someone very slim with narrow hips may score high without carrying much visceral fat, and a person with a naturally large hip circumference can score low while still having a large waist. Second, because it is a ratio, losing weight evenly from both sites will not move it at all. Many clinicians now prefer waist-to-height ratio or a plain waist measurement for exactly these reasons, and it is sensible to look at all of them together rather than trusting a single figure.

This calculator returns estimates for general information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it cannot replace an assessment by a qualified health professional. Individual results vary, and figures such as calorie needs, body-fat percentage and heart-rate zones are approximations based on population averages rather than measurements of you.