Keep your waist under half your height
Divide your waist measurement by your height in the same units. The ratio has no units, so centimetres or inches give the same answer. The whole message fits in one line: your waist should measure less than half your height. That single 0.5 cut-off holds across sex, ethnicity and age from about six years old.
What the number means
| WHtR | Category | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Below 0.40 | Low | May be underweight |
| 0.40 to 0.49 | Healthy | Normal fat distribution |
| 0.50 to 0.59 | Increased | Central weight, cardiometabolic risk rising |
| 0.60 and above | High | Strong link to heart disease and diabetes |
Your 0.5 waist limit by height
Half your height is the waist figure you want to stay under. These are the 0.5 boundaries; being well below them is better still.
| Height | Waist at 0.5 (healthy limit) | Waist at 0.6 (high risk) |
|---|---|---|
| 150 cm (59 in) | 75 cm (29.5 in) | 90 cm (35.4 in) |
| 160 cm (63 in) | 80 cm (31.5 in) | 96 cm (37.8 in) |
| 170 cm (67 in) | 85 cm (33.5 in) | 102 cm (40.2 in) |
| 180 cm (71 in) | 90 cm (35.4 in) | 108 cm (42.5 in) |
| 190 cm (75 in) | 95 cm (37.4 in) | 114 cm (44.9 in) |
Why it beats stepping on the scale
- It reads fat, not just mass. Two people at the same weight can score very differently. A muscular person with a trim waist scores low; someone lighter but carrying belly fat can score above 0.5.
- Belly fat is the risky kind. WHtR tracks visceral fat around the organs, which is more strongly tied to heart disease, stroke and diabetes than overall weight.
- Measure it right. Waist and height must be in the same units, and the tape goes at the natural waist without pulling your stomach in. A wrong tape position is the usual source of a misleading number.
Common questions
What is a healthy waist-to-height ratio?
Below 0.5. The simple rule is to keep your waist under half your height. From about 0.5 the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes starts to rise, and 0.6 and above is high risk.
Is waist-to-height ratio better than BMI?
For predicting heart disease and diabetes, yes, in most studies. BMI cannot tell muscle from fat or say where fat sits. WHtR captures belly fat around the organs, which is the more dangerous kind, so it flags risk that a normal BMI can miss.
Do I measure my waist at the belly button?
Measure at the midpoint between the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hip bone, roughly at the navel, with the tape snug but not compressing the skin. Breathe out normally and do not hold your stomach in. Use the same units for waist and height.
