Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator
Calculate your waist-to-hip ratio and health risk category.
What Is Waist-to-Hip Ratio?
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a simple measurement that assesses how fat is distributed on your body — and fat distribution matters enormously for health risk. Visceral fat, stored deep in the abdomen around internal organs, is metabolically active and associated with significantly higher risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers. Subcutaneous fat stored in the hips, buttocks, and thighs is much less harmful from a metabolic standpoint. WHR separates people who store fat centrally (apple shape) from those who store it peripherally (pear shape), providing health risk information that BMI alone cannot.
WHO Risk Categories
The World Health Organization defines risk thresholds as: for men, low risk below 0.90, moderate risk 0.90–0.99, high risk 1.0 and above. For women, low risk below 0.80, moderate risk 0.80–0.84, high risk 0.85 and above. Women naturally have lower WHR thresholds because they typically carry proportionally more hip and thigh fat even at healthy body weights — this is the pear shape that carries lower metabolic risk compared to apple-shaped fat distribution.
WHR vs. BMI vs. Waist Circumference
All three metrics capture different information. BMI reflects overall weight relative to height but cannot distinguish muscle from fat or central from peripheral fat distribution. Waist circumference alone is a strong predictor of metabolic risk — above 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women is considered high risk by most guidelines. WHR adds the context of hip size, which matters because larger hips at a given waist size actually reduce risk. For a complete picture, most clinicians use a combination of BMI, waist circumference, and WHR alongside blood pressure and metabolic blood markers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is WHR better than BMI?
WHR is considered a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than BMI because it directly measures abdominal obesity, which is more metabolically harmful than fat stored in the hips and thighs.
How do I measure my waist for WHR?
Measure your natural waist u2014 about 1 inch above your belly button, not at the narrowest point. Measure your hips at the widest point. Both measurements should be taken while relaxed, not sucked in.