Waist-to-height ratio

The waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) of a person is defined as the person's waist circumference, divided by the person's height. 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.

The WHtR should not be confused with the Waist–hip ratio (WHR), which has also been used to measure body fat distribution.

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 ischaemic heart disease mortality than WHtR.

Conversely, WHtR was not a predictor for new-onset diabetes melitus in at least one study.

For people under 40, a WHtR of over 0.5 is critical; for people in the age group between 40 and 50 the critical value is between 0.5 and 0.6, and for people over 50 the critical values start at 0.6.