Waist to Height Calculator

What is waist-to-height ratio?

Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is exactly what it sounds like: your waist circumference divided by your height. The guidance fits in one sentence — keep your waist under half your height — and a growing body of research says it screens for metabolic risk better than BMI does. Add a hip measurement and this calculator gives you waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) as well.

How it works

Abdominal fat — especially the visceral fat around your organs — is the type most strongly linked to cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Waist circumference captures it directly, and dividing by height normalises for frame size. A 2012 meta-analysis covering more than 300,000 adults found WHtR outperformed both BMI and waist circumference alone at predicting diabetes and cardiovascular outcomes. The commonly used bands: under 0.4 very lean, 0.4–0.49 healthy, 0.5–0.59 elevated risk, 0.6+ high risk. For waist-to-hip ratio, the WHO flags increased risk above 0.90 for men and 0.85 for women.

Frequently asked questions

Why is this better than BMI for lifters?

Muscle lives on your frame, not your waistline. A muscular lifter scores "overweight" on BMI but perfectly healthy on WHtR — while someone slim-limbed with abdominal fat passes BMI and fails WHtR. It measures the fat that matters, not total mass.

How do I measure my waist correctly?

At the navel, standing relaxed at the end of a normal breath out — no sucking in. Tape parallel to the floor, snug but not digging in. Morning, before food, gives the most repeatable number.

References

1. Ashwell M, Gunn P, Gibson S. Waist-to-height ratio is a better screening tool than waist circumference and BMI for adult cardiometabolic risk factors: systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2012;13(3):275–286.
2. World Health Organization. Waist circumference and waist–hip ratio: report of a WHO expert consultation. 2008.

Related

• BMI Calculator — the classic screen, with its caveats
• Body Fat Calculator — uses the same tape measure