Free body measurement tool
Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator
Your waist-to-height ratio is your waist measurement divided by your height. Enter both in the same unit, centimetres or inches, and see the ratio and the waist that would be exactly half your height.
Worked example
A waist of 85 cm at a height of 178 cm is a waist-to-height ratio of 0.48. Half that height is 89 cm.
Calculate your waist-to-height ratio
The result below starts from the example's numbers. Change any field and it updates as you type.
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Results are estimates from published formulas, not medical advice. Your own body can sit above or below them.
Where the formulas come from, and how we check them: how we calculate.
The calculation
Waist ÷ height, both in the same unit. An 85 cm waist at a height of 178 cm gives 85 ÷ 178 = 0.48. Because both lengths are in the same unit, the ratio is the same in centimetres and in inches.
Why half your height comes up
Ashwell and Gibson (2014) proposed a primary screening message in the title of their paper in BMC Medicine: keep your waist circumference to less than half your height. That is a ratio of 0.5, so the calculator shows half your height and how far your waist is above or below it. It is a screening idea from a paper, not a diagnosis, and this page does not call any ratio healthy or unhealthy.
How to get a useful measurement
- Use a flexible tape, flat against the skin, snug but not pressing.
- Measure the same place every time. Guides differ on exactly where the waist is, and a few centimetres of difference moves the ratio.
- Measure relaxed, after breathing out, and do not pull the tape in.
- Measure your height without shoes, standing straight, for the second number.
Compared with BMI
BMI uses weight and height only. This ratio uses where the length is, at the waist, so two people with the same BMI can have different ratios. Neither says anything about your health on its own. If you are pregnant, have a medical condition, or are worried about your weight or your body, talk to your doctor. This page makes no health claims about any result.
Sources
Ashwell M, Gibson S, BMC Med 2014;12:207. All our sources are on the sources page.