Waist-to-Hip Ratio Calculator
Calculate your waist-to-hip ratio and WHO body-shape risk category.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Screening tool only: WHR is a screening indicator, not a diagnosis, consult a healthcare professional for a full assessment.World Health Organization waist-to-hip ratio guideline (2008)
About this calculator
BMI can't tell you where on your body fat is distributed, and abdominal fat carries different health implications than fat carried elsewhere, which is why waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) exists as a separate screening measure. This calculator divides your waist circumference by your hip circumference to compute WHR, then classifies the result against WHO risk thresholds, applying different cutoffs for men and women since the sexes typically carry fat differently, women naturally have more hip and gluteal fat, so a WHR that's low-risk for a woman can indicate elevated risk for a man at the identical value. WHR is used as a practical proxy for visceral (abdominal) fat, which research links more strongly to cardiovascular and metabolic risk than total body fat or BMI alone. Like any tape-measure ratio, it's a screening indicator meant to flag risk patterns worth discussing with a doctor, not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for a full clinical health assessment.
Worked example
Waist 80cm, hip 100cm
Result: WHR 0.8 (low risk)
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