Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) measures fat distribution. Abdominal fat (apple shape) carries greater health risks than hip/thigh fat (pear shape).
How to Measure
Waist: narrowest point between ribs and hip bone. Hips: widest point around buttocks. WHR = Waist / Hip.
Health Risk Thresholds (WHO)
- Men: Low risk < 0.90 | Moderate 0.90–0.99 | High ≥ 1.0
- Women: Low risk < 0.80 | Moderate 0.80–0.84 | High ≥ 0.85
WHR vs. Waist Circumference Alone
Some health organizations, including the WHO, now favor waist circumference alone (or waist-to-height ratio) over WHR for simplicity, since hip measurement adds a step without dramatically improving predictive accuracy for most people. Either metric is aimed at the same underlying concern: visceral (abdominal) fat carries more cardiometabolic risk than fat stored elsewhere.
Why Abdominal Fat Is Riskier
Visceral fat surrounds internal organs and is metabolically active, releasing inflammatory compounds linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease — unlike subcutaneous fat (stored under the skin at the hips and thighs), which carries comparatively lower health risk.