What Waist-To-Hip Ratio Measures
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is simply your waist measurement divided by your hip measurement. It's one of the oldest and simplest body-proportion references still in common use, popularized by the World Health Organization as a general population screening tool — it's a proportion reference, not a diagnosis of anything on its own.
How To Read Your Number
The WHO reference ranges commonly cited for women place a ratio under 0.80 in the lower-risk range, 0.80 to 0.85 in a moderate range, and above 0.85 in a range associated with increased health risk in population-level studies. These are broad statistical reference points from large population studies, not individual medical thresholds — your doctor will always weigh WHR alongside many other factors, not in isolation.
WHR Versus Body Shape
It's easy to confuse this with our Body Shape Calculator, but they answer different questions. Body shape describes bust, waist and hip together for styling purposes; WHR only compares waist and hip, and leans toward general wellness context rather than fashion. A high WHR and an hourglass body shape can absolutely coexist — they're simply not measuring the same thing.