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

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