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Waist to height ratio calculator
Your waist to height and waist to hip ratios, with their risk bands. One tape measure, and a better read on risk than BMI alone.
Only for the waist to hip ratio.
A screening number, not a diagnosis. Talk to a doctor about anything that worries you.
About this number
Both ratios predict cardiometabolic risk better than BMI alone, and both need one tape measure.
A waist under half your height is the rule the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence gives adults. Waist to hip uses the thresholds of a 2008 WHO expert consultation, which differ for men and women.
Waisttoheight=Waist÷Height
Waisttohip=Waist÷Hip
Sources
- Identifying and assessing overweight, obesity and central adiposity
NICE, 2025
- Waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of early health risk
BMJ Open, 2016
- Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio: report of a WHO expert consultation
World Health Organization, 2011
Questions people ask
What is a healthy waist to height ratio?
Under 0.5 for adults: keep your waist to less than half your height. From 0.5 to 0.59 the risk is increased, and from 0.6 it is high.
What does the waist to height ratio tell you?
Whether your waist is large for your height, which BMI cannot see because it does not tell muscle from fat. Both waist ratios predict cardiometabolic risk better than BMI alone.
How do I measure my waist?
Around your middle at the navel, standing relaxed, at the end of a normal breath out. Keep the tape level and do not pull your stomach in.
What is the difference between waist to height and waist to hip ratio?
Both predict cardiometabolic risk better than BMI alone, and this page shows both. Waist to height needs only your waist and height and uses one line for everyone, half your height; waist to hip adds a hip measurement, and its thresholds differ for men and women.
What is the Army waist to height ratio standard?
Since 2026 the US Army and the Department of Defense use the waist to height ratio for body composition, with 0.55 as the pass line. The Army measures in its own way, so this page gives the health bands, not an Army pass or fail.
Every calculator, free
Eight ways to read the same measurements. No account, nothing saved anywhere but your browser.
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