Enter your waist and hip circumference into the calculator below to determine your waist-to-hip ratio.

Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator

Enter waist and hip circumference (commonly measured in inches or centimeters) to calculate the waist-to-hip ratio.

Educational use only. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a screening indicator and cannot diagnose disease; risk depends on many factors (age, ethnicity, medical history, blood pressure, and lab results). Talk to a healthcare professional for individualized interpretation. WHR cutoffs are not validated the same way for children/teens, and pregnancy/postpartum body changes can make WHR misleading.

Waist To Hip Ratio Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). 

WHR = \frac{W}{H}
  • Where WHR is the waist-to-hip ratio (unitless)
  • W is the waist circumference (use any unit)
  • H is the hip circumference (use the same unit as W)

To calculate the waist-to-hip ratio, divide the waist circumference by the hip circumference (using the same unit for both).

Waist-to-Hip Ratio

A waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of the circumference around your waist compared with the circumference around your hips.

What is Waist to Hip Ratio Used For?

WHR is commonly used as a simple indicator of body fat distribution—particularly how much body size is carried around the waist relative to the hips. A higher WHR generally reflects a greater proportion of abdominal (central) size compared with hip size and is associated with higher cardiometabolic risk in many populations. Both waist and hip circumferences can change over time with fat gain/loss, muscle changes, aging, pregnancy, and other factors, and people vary widely in where they tend to store fat (including the hips and thighs). WHR can be useful for tracking changes within the same person over time and for comparing to sex-specific risk cutoffs, but it should be interpreted along with other health information (such as BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, and lab results).

How to calculate waist to hip ratio?

How to calculate waist to hip ratio?

  1. First, measure your hip circumference.

    Measure around the widest part of your hips/buttocks with the tape level and snug (not compressing the skin).

  2. Next, measure your waist circumference.

    Measure at the narrowest point of your waist, or at the midpoint between the lowest rib and the top of your hip bone (iliac crest), after a normal exhale.

  3. Finally, calculate your ratio.

    Using the equation above, divide waist circumference by hip circumference (use the same unit for both).

FAQ

What are commonly used waist-to-hip ratio risk thresholds?
Waist-to-hip ratio is often discussed using sex-specific thresholds. A commonly used guideline is that a WHR below 0.90 for men and below 0.85 for women is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk, while values above these cutoffs are associated with higher risk. Cutoffs can vary by organization and population (including age and ethnicity), so consider these as general reference values and check guidance from reputable public health/clinical organizations for the most appropriate thresholds.

Can waist-to-hip ratio predict health outcomes better than BMI?
In some cases, WHR (and other measures of central adiposity, like waist circumference) can be a better predictor of cardiometabolic risk than BMI because it captures fat distribution, not just total mass relative to height. However, BMI can still be useful, and the best assessment often considers multiple measures together.

How often should I measure my waist-to-hip ratio?
There is no single required schedule. For general tracking, measuring every few months (for example, every 1–6 months) is common. If you are actively changing your weight or training plan, you may choose to measure more frequently, as long as you measure consistently (same landmarks, same tape tension, similar time of day).