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Waist to Hip Ratio - Measurements instead of body weight
Much like the body mass index, this ratio is often used to determine your risk for disease. As its name implies, the WHR is a comparison between the circumference of your waist to the circumference of your hips and is expressed algebraically as:
The resulting value will be the same since we are solving for a ratio. The trouble with this method is that standards for risk vary with age and sex, and professional sources differ regarding what constitutes "obesity"-- however, the following general guidelines can be applied: --You are "obese" if you are male and have a ratio of more than 0.95 Many of these same sources state that indeed, just the WAIST circumference can be used alone as an indicator of abdominal obesity. The generally accepted waist circumference cut-offs for obesity are: --Men: greater than 40 inches, or 102 cm
Use a tape measure and take duplicate measurements at each site in a rotational (as opposed to consecutive) order. Take the average of the two measures and try to come within ¼ inch (5 mm) to reduce inaccuracies in your measurements. The waist measurement is the smallest waist circumference usually about one inch above the navel. The hip measurement is the largest circumference around the buttocks. Make sure the tape measure is parallel to the floor and that it fits snugly without compressing the skin. Read the tape measure at the end of a breath exhalation. Let’s try an example. This time, suppose you are a female. You've taken your measurements twice, came within a ¼ inch, and averaged them out. Let's say the results show that you have a waist circumference of 24 inches and a hip circumference of 36 inches. Your waist to hip ratio can be calculated as follows:
In fact, as long as you are under 0.76, your risk for disease would be considered "low" even if you were between the ages of 60 and 69. As you can see, if we only took your waist measurement as the sole indicator-- at 24 inches you are very far from the 35 inches it would take to classify you as obese. For fun, if we converted your measurements to the metric system, your waist circumference would be 60.96 cm (i.e., 24 in x 2.54 cm per in. = 60.96 cm). Your hip circumference would be 91.44 cm (i.e., 36 in x 2.54 cm per in. = 91.44 cm). Inevitably, your waist to hip ratio would still be 0.67 irrespective of whether we use the English system or the Metric system:
Are you apple-shaped or pear-shaped?... The pattern of body fat distribution whether characterized by greater fat in the abdominal or trunk area called android obesity (apple-shaped), or more fat in the hip and thigh area called gynoid obesity (pear-shaped)-- is recognized as an important predictor of health risks. By comparison, BMI simply measures weight and height and therefore fails to differentiate between body fat, muscle mass, and bone. Since body fat is really the culprit in many health issues, it makes even more sense to know how much of your total weight is body fat, and how much is lean body mass. Let's take a look at body fat percentage and how you can tell if you are within a range of what can be considered an ideal weight...
Jump from Waist to Hip Ratio back to Ideal Weight Section
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