Waist-to-hip ratio calculator

Your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. The WHO expert consultation report on waist circumference and waist-hip ratio lists a ratio of 0.90 or more in men, and 0.85 or more in women, as a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications such as type 2 diabetes. So a man with 98 cm hips wants a waist under 88.2 cm, and a woman with 100 cm hips wants a waist under 85 cm.

How the ratio is calculated

Waist-to-hip ratio = waist ÷ hips

Use the same unit for both. Because it's a ratio, the answer is the same in centimetres or inches.

Three worked examples:

• A man with an 86 cm waist and 98 cm hips: 86 ÷ 98 = 0.88. That's under his cut-off of 0.90. His waist would have to pass 0.90 × 98 = 88.2 cm to cross it.
• A woman with an 80 cm waist and 100 cm hips: 80 ÷ 100 = 0.80, under her cut-off of 0.85. The line for her is 85 cm.
• A woman with a 34-inch waist and 38-inch hips: 34 ÷ 38 = 0.89, above 0.85. At her hip size, 0.85 × 38 = 32.3 inches, so she's about 1.7 inches over.

The calculator also shows the waist that would bring you under the cut-off at your current hip size, and how far you are from it. Treat that as a guide, not an exact target: when you lose fat, your hips usually get a little smaller too, so the line moves.

How to measure your waist and hips

Most odd results come from measuring in the wrong place. The WHO report (section 2.5) sets out one protocol for both measurements:

1. Stand with feet close together, arms at your sides and weight spread evenly, in little or no clothing.
2. Waist: find the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone (iliac crest). Measure at the midpoint between them, at the end of a normal breath out. This is usually just above the belly button.
3. Hips: measure around the widest part of the buttocks, with the tape parallel to the floor.
4. Use a tape that doesn't stretch, snug but not digging in.
5. Take each measurement twice. If the two readings are within 1 cm, use the average. If not, measure both again.

A mirror helps keep the tape level at the back. Don't use your trouser size for either number.

What the cut-offs mean

WHO gives a single line for each sex, not a ladder of bands, so the calculator does the same: you're either below it or at or above it. The report's Annex A table traces these numbers back to earlier WHO reports, including the 1999 diabetes report, which used a ratio above 0.90 for men and above 0.85 for women to define abdominal obesity.

The cut-offs differ by sex because, as the WHO report notes, men store relatively more fat centrally while women store more of it peripherally, on the hips and limbs. A high ratio means more of your fat sits around the middle, and that belly fat is the kind most linked with diabetes and heart disease. The report found convincing evidence that a higher waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio goes with higher disease risk in many populations, though most of the data came from people of European descent.

The Indian waist check

The WHO report notes that, for the same BMI and waist measures, risk appears higher in Asian populations. Indian doctors set their own waist cut-offs in the 2009 consensus statement for Asian Indians (Misra et al.): 90 cm or more for men and 80 cm or more for women counts as abdominal obesity. The 2025 revised definition of obesity in Asian Indians keeps those numbers.

That's why the calculator shows your waist against 90 or 80 cm next to your ratio. It's possible to be under the WHO ratio and still over the Indian waist line, especially if your hips are broad. If that's you, take the waist number seriously.

Waist-to-hip or waist-to-height?

Waist-to-hip ratio is well known, but most current guidance has moved towards other measures:

• The WHO report itself favoured plain waist circumference over the ratio, because hips are harder to measure well.
• The 2025 Indian revision calls waist circumference the best measure of abdominal obesity, and says waist-to-height ratio should be preferred over waist-to-hip ratio. It points out that hip measurement is especially hard in Indian women, and that a ratio can stay the same even when waist and hips both grow.
• The UK's NICE guideline NG246 found that BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio could all predict weight-related conditions, but it chose waist-to-height ratio, alongside BMI, for adults with a BMI under 35. Its rule is simple: keep your waist under half your height.

So use this ratio as one view, not the only one. The waist-to-height ratio calculator uses the same tape, and the BMI calculator uses Asian-Indian cut-offs.

Limits of this check

• It's a screening number, not a diagnosis. It can't tell you your blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol.
• Not for pregnancy or the months after birth, and not for children.
• Muscular glutes and thighs lower the ratio, so a lifter can look better on WHR than on waist alone.
• If your BMI is very high, both measurements get harder to take accurately.

If you're over the cut-off, get a check-up, especially if diabetes or heart disease runs in your family. A steady calorie deficit and regular training bring the waist down over time; crunches alone won't spot-reduce belly fat. The calorie calculator sets a daily target, and the body fat calculator tracks progress with the same tape. The waist-to-hip ratio guide and body fat percentage chart for Indians explain more.

Useful links

• WHO: Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio, report of a WHO expert consultation (Geneva, 2008)
• Misra A et al. Consensus statement for Asian Indians. J Assoc Physicians India, 2009
• Misra A et al. Revised definition of obesity in Asian Indians living in India. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome, 2025
• NICE NG246: identifying and assessing overweight, obesity and central adiposity

This calculator is for general information and isn't medical advice.