Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator
Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator
Work out your waist to hip ratio and your waist to height ratio from tape measurements, in centimetres or inches, and see where each one falls on the published bands: the World Health Organization lines for waist to hip ratio and waist circumference, and the NICE bands for waist to height ratio. Or find the waist that would reach a target ratio, and see how far one centimetre of measuring error moves each figure.
Where the ratio falls
Your measurements against the bands
Waist to hip ratio = waist ÷ hip, and waist to height ratio = waist ÷ height, with all three measured in the same unit. The World Health Organization report of 2008 lists a waist to hip ratio of 0.90 or more in men and 0.85 or more in women as a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications, and waist circumference above 94 cm in men and 80 cm in women as increased risk, above 102 cm and 88 cm as substantially increased. NICE guideline NG246 bands waist to height ratio as 0.4 to 0.49 healthy, 0.5 to 0.59 increased and 0.6 or more high central adiposity, for adults with a BMI under 35. Bands are applied to the ratio before rounding. These are population level markers for adults, not a diagnosis, and cut points for some ethnic groups are lower. This is general information, not medical advice. The CSV, image and printed report contain the values you entered, nothing preloaded.
How to use this tool
Pick a mode, then centimetres or inches. The default takes your waist, hip and height and returns both ratios with the band each falls in. The single ratio modes need two of the three measurements. “Target waist” needs only your height and gives the waist for 0.5 and 0.6, plus the change to the WHO line if you add a waist and hip. “Waist size alone” compares one measurement with the WHO waist levels.
The input people get wrong most is the waist. Measure halfway between the lowest rib and the top of the hip bone, not at the navel, and type the figure as the tape shows it. Sex changes only the WHO lines, because the height bands are the same for everyone. If the units do not match the values, the tool flags figures that cannot be right.
What the calculation is doing
Waist to hip ratio (WHR) is the waist divided by the hip, and waist to height ratio (WHtR) is the waist divided by the height, in one unit. A waist of 84 cm over a hip of 100 cm gives 0.84, and over a height of 165 cm it gives 0.509. Units cancel, so inches and centimetres give the same ratio.
The World Health Organization report of the 2008 expert consultation, Table A1, lists a waist to hip ratio of 0.90 or more in men and 0.85 or more in women as a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications. The same table puts waist circumference above 94 cm in men and 80 cm in women at increased risk, and above 102 cm and 88 cm at substantially increased risk. NICE guideline NG246, published in January 2025, bands waist to height ratio for adults with a BMI under 35 as 0.4 to 0.49 healthy, 0.5 to 0.59 increased and 0.6 or more high.
The target modes run the sums backwards. The waist for 0.5 is half your height, the waist on the women’s line is 0.85 times the hip, and the hip that puts a waist on the line is the waist divided by 0.85. The sensitivity table adds exactly one centimetre to each measurement in turn. Bands are judged on the unrounded ratio, and the printed figure is never allowed to cross an edge.
Why the waist tells you something BMI cannot
BMI uses height and weight only, so it cannot tell where the weight sits. The WHO consultation report says abdominal adipose tissue is related to decreased glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and adverse lipid profiles, which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A tape cannot separate the fat under the skin from visceral fat around the organs, but researchers use the waist as a proxy for central obesity.
NICE says to interpret BMI with caution in adults with high muscle mass, where it may be a less accurate measure of central adiposity, and that its waist to height bands can be used for people with a BMI under 35, including those with high muscle mass.
The evidence for waist to height is real but modest. A 2012 systematic review by Ashwell, Gunn and Gibson covered 31 studies and over 300,000 adults and found it had significantly greater discriminatory power than BMI. An earlier review of 78 studies by Browning, Hsieh and Ashwell found mean areas under the curve of 0.704 for waist to height, 0.693 for waist circumference and 0.671 for BMI, on a scale where 0.5 is a coin toss. All three help and none decides.
Waist to hip or waist to height: which ratio and when
Waist to hip needs two readings, and the hip has no bony landmark, so it depends on where the tape sits. Its WHO lines differ by sex: 0.85 for women and 0.90 for men. Waist to height needs one reading and a height you already know, and NICE gives one set of bands for both sexes and all ethnicities among adults with a BMI under 35. Its message is to keep your waist under half your height, and the NHS obesity page says the same.
The WHO report favoured the waist on its own for its ease of measurement, so the tool has a mode for that.
The two ratios can disagree. The default example, a woman with a waist of 84 cm, a hip of 100 cm and a height of 165 cm, has a WHR of 0.84, just under the WHO line, and a WHtR of 0.51, in the NICE increased band. One more centimetre of waist would put her WHR exactly on the line.
What the bands mean and what they do not
The bands are population level markers for adults. They describe how risk changes across large groups, not what is happening in one body: a ratio over the line does not mean you have a condition, and one under it does not clear you. NICE names increased risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
The WHO report says Table A1 holds the values often attributed to WHO, and that the sex specific waist values in its 2000 obesity report were an example only and not WHO recommendations. It also says cut points should relate to health outcomes.
Cut points also depend on ancestry. The report found that Asian populations appear to have increased metabolic risk at lower waist and waist to hip values than Europeans, and gave waist values of 85 cm and 80 cm and ratios of 0.90 and 0.80, for men and women, as examples. This calculator does not shift its lines for ethnicity, so for South Asian, Chinese or other Asian adults the standard lines may understate risk. NICE keeps its waist to height bands the same for all ethnicities but lowers its BMI thresholds for several groups.
NICE names no band below 0.4, so the tool reports that as below the healthy band and gives no verdict. This calculator gives general information and is not medical advice, so talk to a doctor or nurse about what your own numbers mean.
Waist targets and WHO levels by size
The tables come from the calculator’s engine. Staying below the 0.5 column is the NICE message to keep your waist under half your height.
| Height, cm (in) | Waist for 0.4 | Waist for 0.5 | Waist for 0.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 (59.1) | 60 (23.6) | 75 (29.5) | 90 (35.4) |
| 160 (63) | 64 (25.2) | 80 (31.5) | 96 (37.8) |
| 170 (66.9) | 68 (26.8) | 85 (33.5) | 102 (40.2) |
| 180 (70.9) | 72 (28.3) | 90 (35.4) | 108 (42.5) |
| 190 (74.8) | 76 (29.9) | 95 (37.4) | 114 (44.9) |
Waist in cm, inches in brackets. The NICE bands start at 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6.
| WHO measure | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Waist above this: increased risk | 80 (31.5) | 94 (37) |
| Waist above this: substantially increased | 88 (34.6) | 102 (40.2) |
| Waist to hip ratio at or above this: substantially increased | 0.85 | 0.90 |
WHO 2008 expert consultation report, Annex A, Table A1.
| Hip, cm (in) | Waist on the women’s line | Waist on the men’s line |
|---|---|---|
| 90 (35.4) | 76.5 (30.1) | 81 (31.9) |
| 100 (39.4) | 85 (33.5) | 90 (35.4) |
| 110 (43.3) | 93.5 (36.8) | 99 (39) |
| 120 (47.2) | 102 (40.2) | 108 (42.5) |
Waist at which the ratio reaches 0.85 for women or 0.90 for men.
A worked example you can check on paper
Take a woman with a waist of 84 cm, a hip of 100 cm and a height of 165 cm. WHR is 84 ÷ 100 = 0.84, under the women’s line of 0.85. The waist on the line is 0.85 × 100 = 85 cm. The hip that puts an 84 cm waist on the line is 84 ÷ 0.85 = 98.82 cm, which is 1.18 cm smaller.
WHtR is 84 ÷ 165 = 0.5091, which rounds to 0.51 and sits in the increased band. The waist for 0.5 is 165 × 0.5 = 82.5 cm, so 1.5 cm less, and for 0.6 it is 99 cm. Against the WHO waist levels, 84 cm is 4 cm over the 80 cm level and 4 cm under the 88 cm level: increased, not substantially increased.
One more centimetre of waist moves WHR by 1 ÷ 100 = 0.0100 and WHtR by 1 ÷ 165 = 0.0061. One more of hip gives 84 ÷ 101 = 0.8317, a change of −0.0083, and one more of height gives 84 ÷ 166 = 0.5060, a change of −0.0031.
Mistakes that catch people out
Measuring at the navel. The WHO report notes that a reading at the umbilicus may underestimate the true waist. Its protocol is the midpoint between the lowest rib you can feel and the top of the hip bone, so find both with your fingers and mark halfway before wrapping the tape.
A tape that slopes, sags or bites. Keep the tape level with the floor all the way round and snug without pressing into the skin. A tape that rides up at the back travels a longer path and reads long; a tight one reads short.
Breathing in or holding your stomach in. Measure at the end of a normal breath out, standing with feet together and arms relaxed, over bare skin or light clothing.
Taking the hip at the wrong place. The hip is the widest part of the buttocks. Any other level gives a smaller number, and so a higher ratio than the true one.
Trusting one reading. The WHO report asks for each measurement to be repeated and averaged if the two readings are within 1 cm. One centimetre of waist moves WHR by 0.01 at a 100 cm hip, which can be the whole distance to a band edge.
Popular calculations
Each opens the calculator with its own address, and every value can be changed once it is open.
Waist to hip ratio for women
Waist to hip ratio for men
Waist to height ratio
Both ratios together
Target waist for a height
Waist size against the WHO levels
How this was checked
The engine was tested in Node before this page was written. Every band value from the sources was reproduced, including behaviour exactly on each edge: a ratio of exactly 0.5 is increased, and a waist of exactly 80 cm is not above the women’s 80 cm level. The band function also matched the one on our BMI Calculator over 1,601 ratios from 0.20 to 1.00, with no differences.
Then 200,000 random waist, hip and height triples in whole millimetres were classified again with integer arithmetic and cross multiplication, plus every exact boundary multiple, with no disagreement. Target waist round trips on 20,000 heights returned exactly 0.5 each time. Inches and centimetres agreed for 20,000 random people, and the sensitivity figures matched brute force one centimetre changes on 5,000 cases.
The sources are the WHO report Waist Circumference and Waist Hip Ratio (2008), NICE guideline NG246 recommendations 1.9.11 to 1.9.15, Browning, Hsieh and Ashwell (2010) and Ashwell, Gunn and Gibson (2012). The checks show that the arithmetic and bands match those sources, not that the bands suit you. Every address in the lists above was also opened and checked for a distinct title, the right answer, charts that render and clean exports.
Common questions
What is a healthy waist to hip ratio?
The WHO lists 0.85 or more in women and 0.90 or more in men as a substantially increased risk of metabolic complications, so a ratio below those figures sits outside that group. It is not a guarantee of health. A waist of 84 cm and a hip of 100 cm give 0.84.
What is a good waist to height ratio?
NICE calls 0.4 to 0.49 healthy, 0.5 to 0.59 increased and 0.6 or more high, for adults with a BMI under 35. The simple message is to keep your waist under half your height: below 85 cm at 170 cm, or below 35 in at 70 in.
How do I measure my waist and hip properly?
Stand with your feet together and arms relaxed. Put the tape level halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone for the waist, and around the widest part of your buttocks for the hip. Read at the end of a normal breath out, snug but not squeezing, and measure twice.
Which is better, waist to hip or waist to height?
Neither always wins. A 2012 systematic review of 31 studies found waist to height discriminated cardiometabolic risk factors better than BMI, and the WHO report favoured the waist alone for ease of measurement. Waist to height needs one fewer tape reading, so it is easier to repeat.
Do the numbers change for Asian and other ethnic groups?
They can. The WHO report found that Asian populations appear to have increased metabolic risk at lower waist and ratio values than Europeans. This calculator keeps the standard lines for everyone, so the lines may understate risk if that applies to you.
What waist size is too big?
On the WHO levels, a waist above 94 cm (37.0 in) in men or 80 cm (31.5 in) in women is increased risk, and above 102 cm (40.2 in) or 88 cm (34.6 in) is substantially increased. On the NICE ratio, half your height is where the increased band starts.
Related Calculators and Reference
- BMI Calculator: body mass index, the companion measure when the two disagree.
- Body Fat Calculator: body fat percentage from tape measurements.
- Ideal Weight Calculator: weight ranges by height.
- Calorie Deficit Calculator: the daily calorie cut for a chosen pace of loss.
- TDEE Calculator: how many calories you use in a day.
- Bra Size Calculator: another size worked out from tape measurements.
- LDL Cholesterol Calculator: another health measure read against published rows, here lipid panel values.
- WHO report on waist circumference and waist hip ratio: the source of the WHO lines used here.