A quick measure of body-fat distribution that adds context to BMI. Enter your waist and hip measurements to get your ratio and risk category.
Use the same unit for both — the ratio is the same either way.
WHO risk bands for your sex:
| Category | Ratio |
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Waist-to-hip ratio is one screening indicator and doesn't diagnose anything on its own. Measurement technique affects the result, so measure consistently. This tool is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice; discuss your health with a qualified professional.
Your waist-to-hip ratio is simply your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. It captures where your body stores fat, which matters because fat carried around the abdomen is linked to higher health risk than fat carried on the hips and thighs.
That's what makes WHR a useful companion to BMI: two people can share a BMI but have very different fat distribution, and WHR helps tell those shapes apart.
Measure your waist at the midpoint between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hip bone — roughly level with your belly button — while standing relaxed and breathing out normally. Measure your hips at the widest part of your buttocks.
Keep the tape snug but not compressing the skin, and measure on bare skin or thin clothing. Because technique changes the number, measure the same way each time to track changes reliably.
The World Health Organization uses different cut-offs for men and women because body composition differs by sex. For men, a ratio below 0.90 is considered low risk, 0.90 to 0.99 moderate, and 1.0 or above high. For women, below 0.80 is low, 0.80 to 0.84 moderate, and 0.85 or above high.
These are population-based thresholds, so they describe statistical risk rather than an individual diagnosis. Your result is a prompt to look at the bigger picture, not a verdict.
BMI measures overall weight relative to height but ignores shape. Waist circumference alone flags abdominal fat. Waist-to-hip ratio adds the relationship between the two, which can reveal "apple" versus "pear" body shapes that BMI misses entirely.
No single number is complete. Using WHR alongside BMI and a plain waist measurement gives a fuller, more useful read on health risk than any one of them on its own.
WHR has blind spots. It can misjudge very muscular people, doesn't apply in the same way during pregnancy, and isn't validated for children. Measurement error is also easy, since small tape-placement differences move the ratio.
Treat it as one quick indicator among several, and bring any health concerns to a doctor who can consider your full history.
Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement using the same unit for both. For example, a 90 cm waist and 100 cm hips give a ratio of 0.90.
By WHO guidelines, a lower-risk ratio is below 0.90 for men and below 0.80 for women. Higher ratios indicate more abdominal fat and greater statistical risk.
It's not better, but it's complementary. BMI measures overall weight; WHR captures fat distribution. Using both gives a clearer picture than either alone.
No. Because it's a ratio of two measurements, centimetres and inches give the same result — just use the same unit for waist and hip.
Waist at the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone, and hips at the widest part of the buttocks, with the tape snug but not tight.