Skip to content
2xKit

Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator

Calculate your waist-to-height ratio, a simple screening measure for health risk.

Formula v1.0.0GlobalMethodologyReport an issuewaist-to-height-ratio-v1
How this is calculated
WHtR = Waist circumference ÷ Height

About this calculator

BMI treats a tall, broad-shouldered person and a short person carrying the same weight around their midsection identically, missing where fat is actually distributed, which is why researchers increasingly point to waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as a simpler, more informative screening measure. This calculator divides your waist circumference by your height, both in the same units, to compute WHtR, then classifies the result against the widely cited rule of thumb that keeping your waist under half your height (a ratio below 0.5) is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk. Unlike waist-to-hip ratio, it needs no separate hip measurement and unlike BMI, it directly captures abdominal fat rather than an overall weight-to-height index. It's a two-number ratio that's easy to compute by hand, but having it calculated and categorized instantly avoids the small arithmetic slip of dividing the wrong way or misreading where 0.5 falls relative to your own numbers.

Worked example

80cm waist, 170cm height

Result: 0.47 — Healthy

Was this helpful?

Frequently asked questions