How to use it
- Measure your waist with a tape held level, midway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone (for most people just above the navel), at the end of a normal breath out.
- Measure your hips around the widest part of the buttocks, feet together.
- Enter both values and your sex. The ratio and the WHO comparison appear at once; the unit toggle converts what you typed.
- Add your height for the waist-to-height ratio and the waist you would need to stay under half your height.
Example
Woman, waist 82 cm, hips 95 cm, height 170 cm. WHR = 82 ÷ 95 = 0.86, which is at or above the WHO cut-off of 0.85 for women. Her waist of 82 cm is above the 80 cm “increased risk” level but below the 88 cm “substantially increased” level. Waist-to-height ratio = 82 ÷ 170 = 0.48, inside the healthy band; half her height is 85 cm, so she has 3 cm of headroom on that rule. For a man the same waist and hips would give 0.86 against a cut-off of 0.90 – below it.
Cut-offs and their sources
WHR = waist ÷ hip WHO: men ≥ 0.90, women ≥ 0.85 → substantially increased risk
Waist circumference (WHO): men ≥ 94 cm increased, ≥ 102 cm substantially increased
women ≥ 80 cm increased, ≥ 88 cm substantially increased
WHtR = waist ÷ height under 0.5 = waist less than half your height
NICE bands (adults): 0.4–0.49 healthy · 0.5–0.59 increased · 0.6 and over further increasedThe WHR and waist cut-offs come from the WHO expert consultation on waist circumference and waist–hip ratio (Geneva 2008), which also notes that the thresholds were derived mostly from European populations and that lower waist values are appropriate for some Asian groups (90 cm men, 80 cm women in the IDF definition). Ratios are unit-free, so inches and centimetres give the same result; the waist cut-offs are converted exactly. The waist-to-height ratio was popularised by Ashwell and Hsieh and adopted by NICE in its 2022–2025 obesity guidance as a measure of central adiposity for all ethnic groups. The previous version of this page classified results into “pear”, “normal” and “apple” with cut-offs of 0.8 (women) and 0.9–1.0 (men) that had no single source; this version uses the WHO figures and shows the waist and waist-to-height checks alongside. None of the ratios applies in pregnancy or to children.
Sources: WHO 2008 – Waist circumference and waist–hip ratio: report of a WHO expert consultation, NICE NG246 – Overweight and obesity management (waist-to-height ratio), Ashwell & Hsieh 2005, Int J Food Sci Nutr.
A ratio is a screening figure, not a diagnosis, and small measuring errors move it by several hundredths. Discuss results with a doctor, who will look at blood pressure, blood sugar and lipids as well.
Why fat around the waist matters
Fat stored inside the abdomen (visceral fat) is metabolically active: it raises fasting glucose, triglycerides and blood pressure more than the same amount of fat on the hips and thighs. That is why two people with the same BMI can carry very different risk, and why the waist measurements add to BMI rather than replace it. Of the three checks on this page, waist-to-height ratio is the simplest to remember and works at any height.
Questions
- What is a healthy waist-to-hip ratio?
- Below 0.90 for men and below 0.85 for women according to the WHO. Values rise with age even at a stable weight, because fat gradually shifts towards the abdomen.
- Is waist-to-hip ratio better than BMI?
- For predicting heart disease and diabetes, measures of central fat (waist circumference, WHR, WHtR) generally do better than BMI, and the INTERHEART study found WHR the strongest of the three for heart attack risk. BMI is still useful for total weight and underweight.
- Does the calculator work in inches?
- Yes. Switch to imperial and type inches; ratios are the same in any unit and the WHO waist levels are shown converted (37 and 40.2 in for men, 31.5 and 34.6 in for women).