Waist-to-height ratio


A person's waist-to-height ratio, also called waist-to-stature ratio, 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.
A 2010 study that followed 11,000 subjects for up to eight years concluded that WHtR is a much better measure of the risk of heart attack, stroke or death than the more widely used body mass index. However, a 2011 study that followed 60,000 participants for up to 13 years found that waist–hip ratio was a better predictor of ischemic heart disease mortality than WHtR.
Conversely, WHtR was not a predictor for new-onset diabetes melitus in at least one study.
A WHtR of over 0.5 is critical and signifies an increased risk; a 2010 systematic review of published studies concluded that "WHtR may be advantageous because it avoids the need for age-, sex- and ethnic-specific boundary values". 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.
SubjectsWaist-to-height ratio
Marilyn Monroe0.3359
Female college swimmer0.4240
Male college swimmer0.4280
Bodybuilder0.4580
Female at increased risk0.4920
General healthy cutoff0.5000
Risk equivalent to BMI of 250.5100
Males at increased risk0.5360
Risk equivalent to BMI of 300.5700
Obese0.5770
Substantial risk increase0.5820

As a comparative, the following table categorises the boundaries of persons in terms of health:
Children MenWomenCategorisationExamples
<=0.34<=0.34<=0.34Extremely SlimMarilyn Monroe
0.35 to 0.450.35 to 0.420.35 to 0.41Slim
0.46 to 0.510.43 to 0.520.42 to 0.48HealthyFemale College Swimmer
Male College Swimmer
Body Builder
0.52 to 0.630.53 to 0.570.49 to 0.53OverweightFemale at increased risk
Male at increased risk
0.58 to 0.620.54 to 0.57Very Overweight
0.64 =>0.63 =>0.58 =>Obese