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Where body fat is stored matters for cardiovascular health risk, not just how much there is. Waist-to-hip ratio is a simple, tape-measure-only way to estimate this, and is used by the World Health Organization as a screening indicator.
This calculator divides your waist by your hip circumference and categorizes the result using WHO's sex-specific risk thresholds.
How it works
Enter your waist circumference, hip circumference, and sex. The tool divides waist by hip to get your ratio, then compares it against WHO's risk thresholds, which differ between men and women.
- Enter waist circumference (cm).
- Enter hip circumference (cm).
- Enter sex.
- Click Calculate to see your results.
Examples
A low-risk ratio for a male
An 85cm waist and 100cm hip gives a ratio of 0.85, which falls in the "low risk" category for men (under 0.90).
Who should use it
- Estimating cardiovascular risk category from body fat distribution.
- Tracking body composition changes over time during a fitness program.
Industry applications
- Healthcare and clinical screening
- Fitness and personal training
Advantages
- Requires only a tape measure — no special equipment.
- Uses established, sex-specific WHO risk thresholds.
Limitations
- Sensitive to measurement technique and location consistency.
- A screening indicator, not a clinical diagnosis.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Measuring waist and hip at inconsistent locations between sessions, making tracked changes unreliable.
- Treating the ratio as a standalone diagnosis rather than one screening indicator among several.
Best practices
- Measure at the same time of day and body position for consistent tracking over time.
- Use this alongside BMI and other measures for a fuller picture, not in isolation.
Tips
- Track the ratio over months rather than reacting to any single measurement, since small measurement inconsistencies can shift the result slightly.