Measure waist and hips, get the ratio, and see where it sits against the WHO cutoffs — one of the simplest useful body metrics.
Why this ratio matters
Where the body stores fat tells more than how much it weighs — abdominal storage tracks metabolic risk in ways BMI misses. The waist-to-hip ratio captures it with a tape measure: waist divided by hips, compared against the WHO’s cutoffs of 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women. Enter both measurements in the same unit and this calculator returns the ratio and the category.
How to use it
- Measure the waist at navel level, relaxed, tape level.
- Measure the hips at the widest point.
- Enter both — inches or centimetres, as long as they match — and pick your sex for the right cutoff.
The formula
A worked example
A 34-inch waist over 40-inch hips is a ratio of 0.85 — for a woman, exactly at the WHO cutoff, the honest reading being “at the boundary, worth tracking” rather than either alarm or dismissal. The same tape a month apart, measured the same way, is more informative than any single reading.
An honest boundary
This is a screening ratio, not a diagnosis — cutoffs are population statistics, athletic builds shift them, and one number never summarises a person’s health. Use it as a trend to watch and a conversation-starter with a doctor, not a verdict.