The three most commonly used measures are BMI body mass index , waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. But is one better than the others?

The measure most commonly used to assess weight-related risk is BMI, a ratio calculated from your weight and height. Specifically, your BMI equals your body in kilograms divided by your height squared in meters. The BMI is useful because this measurement has been employed in numerous clinical studies, so lots of analysis has been done with the BMI measure.

Body Mass Index BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such as body composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age.

This is because abdominal obesity correlates with an increased risk for not only cardiovascular disease, but also metabolic syndrome , hypertension , and diabetes. Studies have shown that a waist circumference of 40 inches or more cm in men, and of 35 inches or more 88 cm in women, is associated with elevated cardiovascular risk.

The waist-to-hip ratio is another way of assessing abdominal obesity, and studies have confirmed that this measure correlates with cardiovascular risk. To calculate your waist-to-hip ratio, measure both your waist and hip circumferences, then divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement.

In women, the waist-to-hip ratio should be 0. In women, the waist should be narrower than the hips, and in men, the waist should be narrower or the same as the hips. The waist-to-hip ratio is helpful because in smaller people waist circumference alone may underestimate risk.

By comparing waist circumference to hip circumference, you can get a better indication of abdominal obesity.

There is no definitive answer to this question. These recommendations, again, are based on the large body of research that has used BMI to predict cardiovascular outcomes. However, it is important to realize that, while BMI is quite good at predicting overall risk in large populations, it might not be a particularly accurate measure for a given individual.

Also, it does not specifically take into account the degree of abdominal obesity a person may have. Several studies have suggested that a measure of abdominal girth can be more accurate than BMI in predicting heart disease.

In contrast, some studies have shown an elevated waist-to-hip ratio to be a strong predictor of heart disease, especially in women. Many doctors are now relying on a combination of measures to advise patients on their weight-related risk.

And if your BMI is , unless you are a bodybuilder or other type of muscular athlete, you are almost certainly too fat. One advantage of the waist-to-hip ratio is that you can assess it yourself, without formally measuring anything, in the privacy of your own home.

Just strip down to your skivvies and look at yourself in the mirror, both head-on and in profile. To reduce that risk, your weight is something you will need to address. Being overweight is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and metabolic conditions such as diabetes.

Coutinho T, Goel K, Corrêa de sá D, et al. Combining body mass index with measures of central obesity in the assessment of mortality in subjects with coronary disease: role of "normal weight central obesity". J Am Coll Cardiol. Zhang C, Rexrode KM, Van dam RM, Li TY, Hu FB.

Abdominal obesity and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: sixteen years of follow-up in US women. Tran NTT, Blizzard CL, Luong KN, et al. The importance of waist circumference and body mass index in cross-sectional relationships with risk of cardiovascular disease in Vietnam.

PLoS ONE. doi: Flint AJ, Rexrode KM, Hu FB, et al. Body mass index, waist circumference, and risk of coronary heart disease: a prospective study among men and women. Obes Res Clin Pract. Peters SAE, Bots SH, Woodward M. Sex differences in the association between measures of general and central adiposity and the risk of myocardial infarction: results from the UK Biobank.

J Am Heart Assoc. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Ogden CL. Practically, the measurements are usually taken at the smallest circumference of the natural waist, usually just above the belly button.

For example, a person with a 28 in 71 cm waist and 5 ft 7 in cm height has a waist—height ratio of 0. The general guidance is that a waist-to-height ratio between 0. It may suggest that you're underweight if it's below 0. On the other hand, values exceeding 0. The waist-to-height ratio is used to identify the risk of obesity-related diseases as well as body fat distribution.

It's often used as an alternative for BMI. As a rule of thumb, it should be less than half of your height. For example, if you're cm 5 ft 7 in tall, a healthy waist circumference is roughly between 68 cm Embed Share via.

Waist to Height Ratio Calculator Created by Małgorzata Koperska , MD. Reviewed by Bogna Szyk and Jack Bowater. Browning LM, Hsieh SD, Ashwell M. A systematic review of waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool for the prediction of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: 0·5 could be a suitable global boundary value.

Ashwell M. Charts Based on Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Height Ratio to Assess the Health Risks of Obesity: A Review; The Open Obesity Journal; Table of contents: Why is waist-height ratio important?

Shape chart based on waist-to-height-ratio How to measure your waist? What does waist to height ratio calculator do? Why is waist-height ratio important? This review , which covers all cardiometabolic outcomes from studies in fourteen different countries, sets the following cut-off values for WtHR: 0.

Shape chart based on waist-to-height-ratio After research showed that WHtR was as good a predictor of health outcomes as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, a simple "Shape Chart" was produced:.

Diagram description: Waist circumference is presented along the x-axis, and height on the y-axis. Chart is suitable for adults and children over 5 years old. The Green area indicates OK. Red area indicates Take Action. The chart presented above was created by Margaret Ashwell and comes from the following publication: Ashwell M.

Charts Based on Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Height Ratio to Assess the Health Risks of Obesity: A Review. The Open Obesity Journal, , 3, How to measure your waist? FAQ How do I calculate waist-to-height ratio?

To calculate your waist-to-height ratio: Measure your waist circumference midway between the lower rib and the iliac crest this is usually just above the belly button. Determine your height. Make sure that the units of both measurements are the same!

Divide the waist circumference by height — this is the waist-to-height ratio.

The guideline also recommends, in line with international guidance, using lower BMI thresholds for overweight and obesity for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African, or African-Caribbean family compared to the general population.

This approach is already widely used because research shows people from some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups are more prone to central adiposity and have an increased cardiometabolic health risk at lower BMI thresholds. The guideline highlights the importance of healthcare professionals asking permission before any discussions with people that are linked to being overweight, obese or central adiposity, and to ensure they do so in a sensitive and positive manner.

Waist-to-height ratio is a simple, easy to use measure that identifies people who are at increased health risk and would benefit from weight management support to improve their health. A waist measurement of more than half of a person's height, is an indication of greater risk. Young people should be encouraged to seek advice about weight management, and sensitively supported to lower their risk of developing these conditions, and to improve overall health and wellbeing.

Article Google Scholar. Lamarche B, Lemieux S, Dagenais GR, Despres JP. Visceral obesity and the risk of ischaemic heart disease: insights from the Quebec cardiovascular study Growth Hormone IGF Res 8 : 1—8.

Daniels SR, Morrison JA, Sprecher DL, Khoury P, Kimball TR. Association of body fat distribution and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents Circulation 99 : — Article CAS Google Scholar. Leung SSF, Chan YL, Lam CWK, Peng XH, Woo KS, Metreweli C.

Body fatness and serum lipids of year-old Chinese children Acta Paediatr 87 : — Rosenbaum M, Leibel RL, Hirsch J. Obesity New Engl J Med : — Conway JM, Chanesta FF, Wang P.

Intraabdominal adipose tissue and anthropometric surrogates in African American women with upper- and lower-body obesity Am J Clin Nutr 66 : — Pouliot SC, Despres JP, Lemieux S, Moorjani S, Bouchard C, Tremblay A, Nadeau A, Lupien PJ.

Waist circumference and abdominal sagittal diameter: best simple anthropometric indexes of abdominal visceral adipose tissue accumulation and related cardiovascular risk in men and women Am J Cardiol 73 : — Taylor RW, Keil D, Gold EJ, Williams SM, Goulding A. Body mass index, waist girth, and regional adiposity in women: evaluation using receiver operating characteristic curves Am J Clin Nutr 67 : 44— Flodmark CE, Sveger T, Nilsson-Ehle P.

Waist measurement correlates to a potentially atherogenic lipoprotein profile in obese 12—year-old children Acta Paediatr 83 : — Freedman DS, Serdula MK, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS.

Relation of circumferences and skinfold thicknesses to lipid and insulin concentrations in children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart study Am J Clin Nutr 69 : — Hsieh SD, Yoshinaga H. CAS PubMed Google Scholar. Barlow SE, Dietz WH. Obesity evaluation and treatment: Expert Committee Recommendations Pediatrics : e Rexrode KM, Carey VJ, Hennekens CH, Walters EE, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Wilter WC, Manson JE.

Abdominal adiposity and coronary heart disease in women JAMA : — Ashwell M, Lejeune S. Ratio of waist circumference to height may be better indicator of need for weight management BMJ : Dwyer JT, Stone EJ, Yang M, Feldman H, Weber LS, Must A, Perry CL, Nader PR, Parcel GS. Predictors of overweight and overfatness in a multiethnic pediatric population Am J Clin Nutr 67 : — Freedman DS, Serdula MK, Percy CA, Ballew C, White L.

Obesity, levels of lipids and glucose, and smoking among Navajo adolescents J Nutr : S—S. Pietrobelli A, Faith MS, Allison DB, Gallagher D, Chiumello G, Heymsfield SB. Body mass index as a measure of adiposity among children and adolescents: a validation study J Pediatr : — Siervogel RM, Wisemandle W, Maynard LM, Guo SS, Roche AF, Chumlea WC, Towne B.

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The Fels longitudinal study Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 18 : — Download references. We would like to thank the Ministries of Health and Education and Culture of Cyprus, the Popular Bank of Cyprus, and the Clinical Chemistry Laboratory of the General Hospital of Nicosia.

Research and Education Program of Child Health, Cyprus, Greece. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Crete School of Medicine, Crete, Greece. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Correspondence to SC Savva. Reprints and permissions.

Savva, S. et al. Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio are better predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children than body mass index. Int J Obes 24 , — Download citation. Received : 31 August Revised : 22 May Accepted : 22 May Published : 17 November Issue Date : November

As a rule of thumb, it should be less than half of your height. For example, if you're cm 5 ft 7 in tall, a healthy waist circumference is roughly between 68 cm Embed Share via.

Waist to Height Ratio Calculator Created by Małgorzata Koperska , MD. Reviewed by Bogna Szyk and Jack Bowater. Browning LM, Hsieh SD, Ashwell M. A systematic review of waist-to-height ratio as a screening tool for the prediction of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: 0·5 could be a suitable global boundary value.

Ashwell M. Charts Based on Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Height Ratio to Assess the Health Risks of Obesity: A Review; The Open Obesity Journal; Table of contents: Why is waist-height ratio important?

Shape chart based on waist-to-height-ratio How to measure your waist? What does waist to height ratio calculator do? Why is waist-height ratio important?

This review , which covers all cardiometabolic outcomes from studies in fourteen different countries, sets the following cut-off values for WtHR: 0. Shape chart based on waist-to-height-ratio After research showed that WHtR was as good a predictor of health outcomes as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, a simple "Shape Chart" was produced:.

Diagram description: Waist circumference is presented along the x-axis, and height on the y-axis. Chart is suitable for adults and children over 5 years old.

The Green area indicates OK. Red area indicates Take Action. The chart presented above was created by Margaret Ashwell and comes from the following publication: Ashwell M. Charts Based on Body Mass Index and Waist-to-Height Ratio to Assess the Health Risks of Obesity: A Review.

The Open Obesity Journal, , 3, How to measure your waist? FAQ How do I calculate waist-to-height ratio? To calculate your waist-to-height ratio: Measure your waist circumference midway between the lower rib and the iliac crest this is usually just above the belly button.

Determine your height. Make sure that the units of both measurements are the same! Divide the waist circumference by height — this is the waist-to-height ratio. What is a good waist-to-height ratio?

What does waist-to-height ratio mean? What should be my waist size for my height? Małgorzata Koperska , MD. Waist circumference. Your waist to height ratio. Check out 17 similar body measurements calculators 📏.

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