top of page

Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR)

A person's waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), also called waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), is defined as their waist circumference divided by their height, both measured in the same units. The WHtR is a measure of the distribution of body fat. Higher values of WHtR indicate higher risk of obesity-related cardiovascular diseases; it is correlated with abdominal obesity. WHtR is a much better measure of the risk of heart attack, stroke or death than the more widely used body mass index (BMI). For people under 40 the critical value is 0.5, for people aged 40–50 the critical value is between 0.5 and 0.6, and for people over 50 the critical values start at 0.6. The WSR is calculated as follows:

 

 

Waist in inches / Height in inches

​

Click here for an online WHtR Calculator.

​

Subjects

Waist-to-Height Ratio

Marilyn Monroe

0.3359

Female college swimmer

0.4240

Male college swimmer

0.4280

Bodybuilder

0.4580

Female at increased risk

0.4920

General healthy cutoff

0.5000

Risk equivalent to BMI of 25

0.5100

Males at increased risk

0.5100

Risk equivalent to BMI of 30

0.5770

Obese

0.5700

Substantial risk increase

0.5820

WHtR Health Table

Children (up to 15)

Men

​

Women

​

Category           

<= 0.34

<= 0.34

<= 0.34 

Extremely Slim

0.46 to 0.51

0.43 to 0.52

0.42 to 0.48

Healthy

0.52 to 0.63

0.53 to 0.57

0.49 to 0.53

Overweight

0.64 +

0.58 to 0.62

0.54 to 0.57

Very Overweight

N/A

0.63 +

0.58 +

Morbidly Obese

bottom of page