Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator
Your waist-to-hip ratio shows where you store fat, not just how much. For total body fat, pair it with our body fat percentage calculator.
What Is Waist-to-Hip Ratio?
Waist-to-hip ratio, or WHR, compares the size of your waist with the size of your hips. It shows how your body stores fat. People who carry more fat around the middle generally face more health risk than people who carry it on the hips and thighs.
Waist-to-Hip Ratio Formula
A 32-inch waist with 40-inch hips gives a ratio of 0.80.
Waist-to-Hip Ratio Chart
The World Health Organization’s expert consultation report lists these levels as a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications:
| Sex | Substantially increased risk |
|---|---|
| Men | 0.90 or higher |
| Women | 0.85 or higher |
Different ratios are sometimes used for particular populations, and a result near the line matters less than the direction it moves over time.
How to Measure Waist and Hips
- Stand with your feet close together and your arms at your sides.
- For your waist, wrap the tape midway between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone.
- For your hips, wrap the tape around the widest part of your buttocks.
- Keep the tape level and snug without pressing into the skin, and read it at the end of a normal breath.
Waist-to-Hip Ratio vs. Waist-to-Height Ratio
WHR can look healthy in someone with both a large waist and large hips, because it only compares the two. The waist to height ratio measures your waist against a fixed reference instead, and it needs only one tape measurement. Many people find it useful to check both.
What This Ratio Does Not Tell You
WHR shows fat distribution, not how much fat you have. To estimate total fat, compare your number from the calculator above with the body fat chart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under the WHO levels, the risk threshold is 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women, so a lower number sits below that line.
Men and women store fat differently. Women tend to carry more on the hips, which lowers the ratio, so the cut-off is lower for them.
Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement, using the same unit for both.
Your bone structure sets part of it, but losing abdominal fat lowers your waist measurement and with it your ratio.