Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator
Enter your waist circumference and height to calculate your waist-to-height ratio and see its general category.
Waist-to-Height Ratio Calculator
Calculates your waist-to-height ratio and a general risk category, a simple alternative to BMI for assessing central body fat.
This calculator divides your waist circumference by your height to produce a simple ratio that's widely referenced as a quick screening indicator for central body fat and associated health risk — the well-known 'keep your waist under half your height' guideline corresponds to a ratio below 0.5. Because it uses a ratio rather than an absolute waist measurement, it adjusts naturally for people of different heights. As with any single screening number, it's a general indicator rather than a diagnostic tool.
Example
- With the default values shown above, this calculator returns: Waist-to-Height Ratio ≈ 0.471; General Category = 0.4705882352941177.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use waist-to-height ratio instead of BMI?
Waist-to-height ratio is often cited as a simple way to account for central (abdominal) body fat, which BMI alone doesn't distinguish from overall body mass — a keep-your-waist-below-half-your-height rule of thumb is widely referenced.
Is a ratio below 0.5 always healthy?
Generally it's associated with lower health risk in population-level research, but body composition and health are influenced by many factors — this ratio is only one general screening indicator, not a diagnosis.
Sources
- Standard formula, publicly documented method