Divide your waist by your hip measurement to get your waist-to-hip ratio — a quick marker of how fat is distributed and your health-risk category using World Health Organization thresholds.
cm
cm
Waist-to-hip ratio
0.88
Low health risk
WHO risk thresholds
Risk
Men
Women
Low
below 0.90
below 0.80
Moderate
0.90 – 0.99
0.80 – 0.84
High
1.0 and above
0.85 and above
How to use the waist-to-hip calculator
Choose your sex, enter your waist and hip measurements in centimetres or inches, and read your ratio and risk band. Because the same unit is on the top and bottom of the division, the ratio is identical whichever unit you use — just be sure to measure both in the same one.
Why waist-to-hip ratio matters
Fat stored around the abdomen sits near vital organs and is more strongly linked to heart disease and type 2 diabetes than fat on the hips and thighs. A higher waist-to-hip ratio flags more of this central fat. It is a cheap, quick check that complements BMI — you only need a tape measure.
Frequently asked questions
It is your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. It indicates how much fat is stored around your middle versus your hips, and is a simple marker of health risk — carrying more weight around the waist (an ‘apple’ shape) is linked to higher risk than around the hips (a ‘pear’ shape).
Using World Health Organization thresholds, men are at low risk below 0.90 and women below 0.85. Men of 0.90–0.99 and women of 0.80–0.84 are at moderate risk; men at 1.0 or above and women at 0.85 or above are at higher risk. Because the units cancel out, the ratio is the same in centimetres or inches.
Stand relaxed and breathe out normally. Measure your waist at the narrowest point (usually just above the navel) and your hips at the widest point of your buttocks, keeping the tape level and snug but not tight.
They measure different things. BMI uses height and weight; WHR looks at fat distribution, which BMI ignores. Used together they give a fuller picture — someone with a healthy BMI but a high WHR may still carry risky abdominal fat.
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to or stored on a server.