The WHO uses waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) alongside waist circumference to flag central obesity risk. It's a useful second check when your BMI is borderline.
Men: WHR under 0.90 is low risk. Women: under 0.85 is low risk.
Above those thresholds, cardiovascular and diabetes risk climbs regardless of BMI.
Waist-to-height (WHtR) beats waist-to-hip in most large studies because it's simpler and works across ethnicities. But WHR is still a useful sanity check.
Start with the simpler and stronger ratio.
WHtR Calculator →
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