Waist-to-hip ratio is waist ÷ hips; the WHO flags 0.90+ in men and 0.85+ in women as substantially higher health risk.
Waist-to-hip ratio divides your waist measurement by your hip measurement, and the World Health Organization treats 0.90 or above in men and 0.85 or above in women as substantially increased health risk. The calculation takes two seconds. Getting a reliable number depends almost entirely on measuring the right places in the right way, which is where most people go wrong. This guide covers exactly where to put the tape, what the resulting number means, and why a ratio can flag risk that the bathroom scale never will. To get your figure without the arithmetic, the CalcRange Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator takes both measurements.
What Waist-to-Hip Ratio Tells You
It tells you where your body stores fat, which turns out to matter as much as how much you store.
Fat around the abdomen is largely visceral, meaning it sits packed around the liver, pancreas, and intestines. Fat around the hips and thighs is mostly subcutaneous, sitting under the skin. These behave differently in the body. Visceral fat is metabolically active, releasing fatty acids and inflammatory signals directly into the bloodstream serving the liver, and it is far more strongly associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Two people can weigh the same, stand the same height, and share a BMI, while one carries the weight around the middle and the other around the hips. The ratio separates them. The scale cannot.
How to Measure Properly
Use a flexible tape that does not stretch. Measure against bare skin or a single thin layer, never over a jumper or jeans. Stand upright with feet together and arms relaxed at your sides.
Waist
Find the midpoint between the bottom of your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone. That is usually around the narrowest part of your torso, roughly level with or just above the navel. Wrap the tape horizontally, breathe out normally, and read the measurement at the end of a relaxed exhale. Do not suck in.
Hips
Wrap the tape around the widest part of your buttocks, which is generally 18 to 20 cm below the waist measurement. Keep the tape level all the way round, which is easier said than done behind you. A mirror helps.
Both
Snug, not tight. The tape should sit flat against the skin without denting it. Take each measurement twice and average them, and if the two readings differ by more than a centimetre, take a third.
Measure first thing in the morning before eating, since a full stomach and bloating can add a couple of centimetres to your waist by evening. Consistency of conditions matters more than the time you pick.
The Formula
Waist-to-hip ratio = waist measurement / hip measurement
Both measurements must use the same unit. Because you are dividing one length by another, the units cancel out and the result is the same whether you measured in centimetres or inches, which is a small mercy.
Worked Examples
Woman, waist 80 cm, hips 100 cm
80 / 100 = 0.80
That falls below the 0.85 threshold, placing her in the lower-risk category.
Man, waist 100 cm, hips 105 cm
100 / 105 = 0.95
Above the 0.90 threshold for men, indicating substantially increased risk on WHO criteria and a good reason to look at waist circumference and blood markers.
The same waist, different hips
Take a woman with an 85 cm waist. With 110 cm hips her ratio is 0.77. With 95 cm hips it is 0.89, which crosses into the higher-risk band. Identical waist, different classification, because the ratio is measuring distribution rather than size.
That sensitivity to hip measurement is both the strength of the ratio and its main weakness, covered below.
Get Your Ratio
Enter your two measurements into the CalcRange Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator and it returns your ratio alongside the WHO risk category. Pair it with the body fat calculator, which uses the same waist measurement you have already taken.
Reading Your Result
Thresholds from the 2008 WHO Expert Consultation on waist circumference and waist-hip ratio.
| Risk level | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Lower risk | Below 0.90 | Below 0.85 |
| Substantially increased risk | 0.90 and above | 0.85 and above |
The same consultation set thresholds for waist circumference alone: substantially increased risk from about 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women. Worth checking alongside the ratio, because raw waist size carries information the ratio can hide.
Two caveats on the numbers. They mark population-level risk gradients rather than personal diagnoses, and 0.86 is not meaningfully different from 0.84 despite sitting on opposite sides of a line. Risk also varies by ancestry, with several Asian populations showing elevated risk at lower measurements than these cutoffs suggest.
Apple and Pear Shapes
The everyday version of this measurement. Higher ratios describe apple-shaped bodies that store fat centrally, lower ratios describe pear shapes that store it around hips and thighs.
Men more often carry fat centrally, which is reflected in their higher threshold. Women more often store it peripherally before menopause, and the pattern frequently shifts toward the abdomen afterwards as oestrogen falls. A woman noticing her ratio climb through her fifties is observing something real and common rather than a measurement error.
Body shape has a strong genetic component and you cannot choose where fat comes off first. What you can influence is the total amount, and abdominal fat does tend to respond well to sustained calorie deficits and regular activity.
Measurement Mistakes That Ruin the Number
- Measuring the waist at the trouser line rather than the anatomical waist. Trousers sit at the hips on many people, which produces a waist figure that is far too large.
- Sucking in. It feels like a small cheat and can shift the result by several centimetres, which is enough to change your category.
- Pulling the tape tight enough to compress the skin, which understates both measurements unevenly.
- Measuring the hips at the hip bones instead of the widest point of the buttocks. The widest point is usually lower.
- Letting the tape slope. It happens most at the back where you cannot see it, and a tilted tape reads long.
- Measuring over clothing, which adds bulk that varies with the outfit and makes comparison across months meaningless.
Where the Ratio Falls Short
Dividing by hip measurement introduces a genuine problem: two people can share a ratio for opposite reasons.
Someone with a slim waist and narrow hips can produce the same 0.88 as someone with a large waist and large hips. The first is likely lean, the second likely not. The ratio treats them identically, which is why raw waist circumference deserves a look alongside it.
The ratio also cannot distinguish muscle from fat, misses fat stored elsewhere in the body, and does not apply during pregnancy. It says nothing at all about blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar, which are the outcomes it is being used to predict.
A related measure, waist-to-height ratio, avoids the hip problem entirely by dividing waist by height and using a single 0.5 threshold across sexes and ages. Research increasingly favours it over both this ratio and BMI for cardiovascular risk prediction, and you can calculate it from the waist measurement you have already taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a healthy waist-to-hip ratio?
Below 0.90 for men and below 0.85 for women, on WHO criteria. Ratios below roughly 0.85 for men and 0.80 for women are often described as low risk. Treat these as gradients rather than pass-fail lines, since risk rises continuously rather than jumping at a threshold.
Is waist-to-hip ratio better than BMI?
For predicting cardiovascular and metabolic risk, generally yes, because it captures where fat sits rather than only how much you weigh. BMI remains useful as a fast population screen. Using both, plus a waist measurement, gives a fuller picture than any one alone.
Where exactly is the waist for this measurement?
Midway between the bottom of your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone, which usually falls at or slightly above the navel. This is the anatomical waist and it is often noticeably higher than where trousers sit.
Does the measurement unit matter?
No. Because you are dividing one length by another, centimetres and inches give an identical ratio. Just use the same unit for both measurements.
How often should I measure?
Monthly is plenty. Waist measurements shift with bloating, meal timing, and hydration, so measuring weekly mostly captures noise. Measure under the same conditions each time, ideally in the morning before eating.
Can I reduce my waist-to-hip ratio?
You can lower the waist component through a sustained calorie deficit and regular activity, and abdominal fat generally responds well to both. What you cannot do is target fat loss to a specific area through exercises like sit-ups, which build muscle underneath without preferentially burning the fat above.
Does the ratio work during pregnancy?
No. Abdominal measurement is meaningless during pregnancy, and it stays unreliable for some months afterwards while the body recovers. Follow guidance from your midwife or doctor instead.
The Bottom Line
Divide your waist by your hips, and compare against 0.90 for men or 0.85 for women. The number is only as good as the measurements, so find the anatomical waist between rib and hip bone, use the widest part of the buttocks for hips, exhale normally, and never suck in. Check raw waist circumference alongside the ratio, since the division can mask a large waist paired with large hips. Run your figures through the waist-to-hip ratio calculator, and read the result as one signal among several rather than a verdict.
Sources and Further Reading
- World Health Organization. “Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio: Report of a WHO Expert Consultation.” Geneva, 8-11 December 2008.
- WHO Expert Consultation. “Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations.” The Lancet, 2004.
- US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute – guidance on waist circumference and cardiovascular risk.
Health disclaimer: This article and calculator provide general educational estimates and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Body measurements are screening tools rather than diagnostic ones. Discuss any concerns with a qualified healthcare professional.
Last reviewed: August 2026. Recommended editorial review: every 12 months.